Touching Spirit Bear V.s. Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills

Author’s note: I am currently writing a comparative essay to inform the reader on the similarities and differences between two novels.

The two novels Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen and Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kill by Heather Brewer have many similarities, but they also have many differences. One of the main differences between the two novels are that they both deal with the main character trying to save themselves from a terrible disaster. One of the main differences is that Touching Spirit Bear is about a boy who gets sent to an island and is isolated from everyone, while Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills is about a bunch of vampires trying to save their friend from a huge group of people who hate him and want to kill him.

Both the novels deal with the main character trying to save himself. In the novel Touching Spirit Bear by a local boy, Cole Matthews I trying to save himself from basically himself. It all started when he beat up Peter Driscal and got sent to an island far away from everyone. Later on he found out that Peter tried to commit suicide and luckily he failed, after Cole heard the news he started to become afraid of what he might become and how he would ever be able to get Peter back. In Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills, Vladimir Tod is trying to save himself from what might happen to him because a lot of people really hate him and basically want to kill him because he is the chosen one of the vampires.

Also, in both the two novels they both deal with friendship. In the novel Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills Vladimir is trying to keep his friends but it is hard for him because he keeps lying to them about what is going to happen to him. He doesn’t know it is hurting them because he thinks that it is helping them about not telling them the truth. In Touching Spirit Bear Cole is trying to keep his friends Edwin and Garvey because they are growing apart from him because of what he did to Peter. They both think that he is going to turn into a bad person until the end.

In Touching Spirit Bear Cole Matthews made a big mistake and he got sent to an island isolated from everyone to learn that what he had done was wrong, and so that he can learn his mistake and make a change in his life. In Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills Vladimir makes a mistake of messing with the wrong people at the wrong times and they all want to kill him at the same exact time. In Touching Spirit Bear Cole Matthews is sent to an island far away for beating someone up really badly so that he could get revenge on him. In Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills Vladimir isn’t suppose to be born so a huge group of people set out to kill   at once.

I feel that there are more similarities than differences between the two novels. They both deal with the main character saving themselves, and friendship. Although, Touching Spirit Bear is mostly about Cole getting in trouble and trying to get everyone to see that he is a good person. Vladimir Tod: Twelfth Grade Kills is mostly about Vladimir’s friends and family trying to save Vlad from death.

Overall, I think that there are many similarities throughout both of the novels. They really convince you and almost make you want to read them right away.

Peter and the Letter

Author’s note: This essay is about when Peter Driscal got the letter from Cole Matthews asking him to come out to the island with him. I as the writer am informing the reader on my prediction on how I think it went after he read the letter.

In the novel Touching Spirit Bear by: Ben Mikaelsen, a local boy Cole Matthews robs a small store in town. Well, he made the bad decision of bragging about it to people and Peter Driscal was the brave one who snitched. When Cole found out Peter told them he wasn’t very happy. At the end of school that day Cole ran up to Peter and started beating him pretty badly.

Cole had two choices, to go to jail or go to an island off the cost of Alaska. He obviously thought that the island would be pretty easy but when he gets there he realizes it’s going to get pretty hard. After awhile he gets beat by his spirit bear and has to go to the hospital for awhile. After the hospital he agrees to go back to the island and then he finally starts getting scared of what he might become so he starts to change his ways. He finds out that Peter tried to commit suicide two times and luckily failed, so he invites him to the island to meet peace with each other.

I am making the prediction that after Peter read the letter that Cole had sent him he most likely freaked out at first and said “No!”. Then his parents had to try and convince him to go, and eventually he would end up saying yes. Here is how I think the scene would be.

“Dear Peter,

I have been on this island for almost a year and a half now, and I have finally come to peace with myself and finally met my spirit bear. I am writing this letter to ask you if you wanted to come to the island with me to try and meet your spirit bear. I know what I did to you will never be forgotten and you will probably never forgive me, or ever regain my trust. All I’m asking is that you give it a chance.

Sincerely,

Cole Matthews”

“So what do you say son?” Mr. Driscal asked. “I say, No!” Peter answered. “Your father, Garvey, and I will be with you until you are comfortable by yourself.” Mrs. Driscal said. “I will never feel comfortable with that monster!” Peter quickly replied. “Look, you’re going and that’s final. There is nothing you can say to change my mind. Mr, Driscal said. “Fine, but until then I am no longer speaking to anyone in this household.” Peter yelled at his father. “Thank you for coming out here and trying to help. We really appreciate it.” Mrs. Driscal says.

I made this prediction because whenever Peter was around Cole at the spiritual meetings the author described Peter as really shaky and scared. I also made this certain prediction because in one of the last spiritual meetings when it was Peter’s turn they gave him the talking stick and he said, “I think that someone should smash Cole’s head into the sidewalk so he knows how it feels.” After he said that the crowd was silent the whole time besides for the people who were talking. What Peter said basically showed how scared he was and how much he hated Cole Matthews. That’s why I feel that it would’ve taken awhile for his parents to get him to go.

How it feels

Author’s Note: I am writing this current piece to inform you on a quote from the novel Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.

            How would you feel if one day someone ran up to you and started smashing your head against the sidewalk? Well that’s what happened to a confident, harmless boy named Peter Driscal. In the first spiritual meeting for Cole in his Circle Justice, they all talked about how Cole should be sent to jail, and then it was Peter’s turn.

“I think someone should smash Cole’s head against a sidewalk so he knows how it feels.” Said Peter. After Peter said that the whole meeting went dead quiet except for the little comments throughout the meeting. Even the Keeper’s voice sounded tense as she took the feather away from Peter.

I feel that this specific quote definitely affected the people especially Cole and just the whole story in general. If Peter wouldn’t have said that I think that Cole wouldn’t have ever felt bad and none of the isolation would’ve happened then he wouldn’t have met his spirit bear either because he met the bear when Peter said that Cole felt bad and didn’t want to feel bad so tried to go on with his bad boy life style.

That caused him to burn the shed and then get put on an island isolated from everyone else. Then that basically caused him to first see his spirit bear because there was nobody at the island so he thought he could escape, but the tide pushed him back to shore then that’s when he saw the bear. Later on he sees the bear again and starts messing with him, and the bear basically beats him to a pulp. The people who usually check up on him have to save his life because the find him on the ground bleeding to death.

I think Cole realizes then what Peter felt in a way but Cole felt it a lot more than Peter did obviously. But, he kind of got a taste for what he had gotten that day, and I think that changed his whole point of view. Now I think that he will change into a nice person and try to be nice to people and the community in general.

Summer 2011

Author’s Note: I am writing this piece to inform the reader on the time my mistake and my decision, changed my life.

It was the summer of 2011, summer school with friends and afterwards the beach. That was basically a daily routine for a small town boy living in Pewaukee, his name was Xavier Straub.

One very hot day Xavier had just gotten out of summer school, and was ready to go to the beach, but his parents said he needed to come home. Although he was very upset he accepted his parent’s demands. When he had gotten home he was assigned a few small chores around the house. When he finished them his friend called him and asked if he would like to hang out with him, Xavier asked his parents if he could and they said yes.

Xavier got there and his friend was outside waiting for him. They played football till it was almost dark. They decided to go inside for awhile and eat. When they came back outside they played some more football. After awhile Xavier’s friend’s friends came over and wanted to walk around town. Now, Xavier didn’t like these people very much at all but he decided to give it a chance. So they were all walking around town when one of them had the idea to go to the school, Xavier felt like leaving but didn’t want to be alone, so he proceeded. When they had got to the school Xavier had no clue what they were even going to do, and that’s when it happened.

His friend and the others started climbing the side of the school to get to the roof. Now, Xavier felt pretty scared and didn’t want to do it. But his friend got him into doing it anyways. When they were up there Xavier didn’t feel so bad, they didn’t really do anything but it was cool. Then, someone had saw them and asked if they were supposed to be up there, so they all started getting down. But Xavier couldn’t find a way to get down besides jump, and he didn’t want to jump. That’s when Xavier called his parents to let them know what was happening, and they called the local police department to let them know. By now the other kids had fled the scene, except for one my friend.

It wasn’t very long until they had all showed up watching Xavier as he couldn’t get down. Eventually, they had safely gotten him down. The police had asked him some questions about the other kids; he answered them with a quiet voice. After that his parents drove him home asking him what he was thinking, but whatever he said it would’ve sounded like a big excuse.

In the end I knew I made a big mistake. So I started doing community service. After awhile I was finally finished with my mistake.

Octavian Nothing v.s. The Patriot

Author’s Note: I am writing this current essay to inform the people of our Country, the similarities and differences of Octavian Nothing, and The Patriot.

The book Octavian Nothing and the movie The Patriot have much in common, but also have a couple of differences. One of the biggest similarities is that there are many slaves in the book and the movie. One of the biggest differences is that in The Patriot they are dealing with fighting in the war, in Octavian Nothing it is taking place in the time of the war but nothing is about the war. Overall, The Patriot and Octavian Nothing have many similar traits.

Both Octavian Nothing and The Patriot deal with slavery. In The Patriot it doesn’t deal with it as much but one of the slaves wants to fight and gets treated pretty bad by one of the people. Then Benjamin Martin also hid his kids and his step sister in a town of slaves, they were really nice to them to be honest. In Octavian Nothing, the whole book is about a boy who’s a slave with his mother and he is going through some tough times.

Also, they both took place in the time of the Revolutionary war. In Octavian Nothing it doesn’t really talk about the war, or deal with it at all but it takes place in the time that it was going on. In The Patriot as you can see it definitely takes place in the Revolutionary war because they were fighting in it.

This move and this book are quite different, though. Although, they both take place in the Revolutionary war, The Patriot is mostly about what was going on IN the Revolutionary war. Octavian Nothing just took place in Boston and in the time when the war was happening. Another difference is that, in The Patriot most of the slaves are treated like real slaves, as if they were nobody’s. In Octavian Nothing through most of the book his slave owner’s treat him like h is normal, as if he were and regular person.

So, Octavian Nothing has to do with some slavery as well as The Patriot. But the slaves are treated a lot better in Octavian Nothing than in The Patriot. Overall, Octavian Nothing and The Patriot have a lot in common but also have some differences.

Character

            I am currently reading the book Touching Spirit Bear By Ben Mikaelsen. I am doing character as my speech topic. For my character I am doing a boy named Peter.

Peter was one of the people who weren’t liked by very many others. There wasn’t that much about his beliefs and values, but you can see his attitude through the story. He was brutally beat by the main character Cole getting his head smashed against the side walk a number of times. Through the story Cole has spiritual meetings with the community including Peter, his family, and his lawyer. As he is talking you can almost hear how he is still afraid of what Cole might do next and just the community in general.

I feel that Peter has a great impact on Cole and a lot of other people in the story. At first when Cole beat Peter he didn’t feel bad at all. But as Peter was talking at the meeting he finally started realizing what he had done to the boy. Slowly Cole starts to feel sad and bad, but he doesn’t want to feel that way so he goes on with his bad boy life. Now, doing so made him find his spirit bear.