Touching Spirit Bear Themes

In Touching Spirit Bear, Cole deals with some pretty serious isolation and loneliness, which makes perfect sense since he has to live on a deserted island in Alaska for an entire year. But being ba...

Touching Spirit Bear doesn't shy away from descriptions of harrowing violence, whether it's talking about Spirit Bear tearing open Cole's flesh or Cole bashing Peter's head into the pavement. Thing...

Cole spends a lot of time in Touching Spirit Bear mulling over his family life—or rather, the lack thereof. Even though his parents buy him lots of presents and bail him out whenever he gets into...

At the beginning of Touching Spirit Bear, it seems like Cole is never going to accept responsibility for his actions—instead, he's pretty good at pushing the blame onto other people. But as he go...

In Touching Spirit Bear, Cole learns the importance of perseverance, especially when it comes to surviving in a harsh climate like Alaska. When Cole is attacked by Spirit Bear, he's sure that he's...

In Touching Spirit Bear, Cole Matthews is definitely facing a formidable foe when he arrives on the deserted island in Alaska—and he finds himself immediately at the mercy of the elements. He dea...

The specter of death is very real in Touching Spirit Bear. After all, during his time on the island, Cole has to confront death head-on. He's mauled by Spirit Bear and starts to fade away, certain...

Although there isn't a lot of discussion about God or organized religion in Touching Spirit Bear, Edwin and Garvey do end up introducing Cole to a kind of spirituality that has to do with living of...

Over the course of Touching Spirit Bear, Cole Matthews undergoes a dramatic transformation. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, per say—Cole mostly changes on the inside, where he learns to l...

When Touching Spirit Bear begins, it's clear that Cole is in a lot of trouble with the law. He has a whole laundry list of past offenses and has been arrested after beating up one of his classmates...