This is a picture of the kind of bear our character, Cole Matthews, said he would kill if he saw one. Cole is a pretty angry, selfish person it seems. He continues to blame others for his situation, and his first thoughts seem to be about what has happened to him rather than about what he has done or can do.
What is your reaction to Cole so far? Please leave a comment, and remember to include evidence from the text in to support your opinion.
By The original uploader was Jackmont at English Wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
I agree with you Mr. Mr. Milloy Cole is really selfish and needs to control his temper and he needs patients . But he is also really sad and lonely. At the end i think he acting like this because he has nobody to go to
Thanks for your comment and for showing that you read my post. How do you know he is sad or lonely? What is your evidence?
Cole Matthews he’s a guy who needs help 1st he picks on this guy named Peter 2nd he beats Peter like a meat sack 3rd he laughs at Peter and 4th he goes to jail and agrees to stay at a remote island some where in Alaska I mean this guy is a brave soul but also rude too. I hope this give you an idea how Cole Matthews is like. Goodbye.
It is interesting to me that you described Cole as brave. What did he say or do (and when) that helped you see him that way?
I agree with you Mr. Milloy Cole is really self centred and needs to control his anger issues. But i think he’s like this because he has nobody to go to when he is sad or lonely.
Why do you think having someone to go to would help? Do you think he would be willing or able to tell someone like Garvey or anyone else that he felt lonely? He revealed in his thoughts that he didn’t trust Garvey because Garvey didn’t seem afraid of him. He described being angry at the bear because it did not show fear. Is someone like that going to turn to another person for comfort?
My reaction to Cole so far is that he is a rude, selfish person that only cares about himself and getting out of jail. For instance, when Garvey tells Cole about Circle Justice one of Cole’s reply’s is ” Will it get me out of going to jail.” so this is some proof that Cole only cares about himself.
I think you’re right that Cole’s knee-jerk reaction to worry about avoiding consequences shows his selfishness. Your example helped me connect your ideas with what I was thinking about and with the text. Thanks! (And do you have a page # so I can use that example?)
I think that Cole is also quite selfish too
Ok, why do YOU think he’s selfish? In class & here in these comments, some others have pointed at some other factors that tempered their thoughts about him. One person even suggested that he may be brave. Help us find out more about your ideas! (You would be helping us think more deeply about our own ideas and opinions.)
i think Cole only cares about himself aka selfish.He wasn’t raised well ether.
!HI GUYS!
How do you know Cole only cares about himself? How do you know he wasn’t raised well? And if he wasn’t, what do YOU think is significant about that?
Please have a look again at my post and remember our discussion about commenting. A revisit to our friends at Huzzah might be helpful.
I agree that Cole Matthews is a self-centred, angry person. But I think that he is just someone who is misunderstood and just can’t control his anger. I think he feels that nobody has been through the same thing as him. So even though I agree that Cole is bad at controlling his anger and caring about others, I think that he’s just a person that has to cared for in order for him to care for others. It’s not a great quality but it’s just how he is. He never actually talked about anyone caring about him. His parents were often drinking and abusing him. All in all, I think that there’s a little bit of good in everyone
OK, but isn’t it a little convenient for a person to argue that because other people haven’t shown them the kindness they deserve, that then they shouldn’t have to show any care or concern for others? Whether he is misunderstood or not, either he’s going to have to find a way to better control his anger or isn’t Society going to have to do something to protect other people from suffering what Peter has suffered?
I agree with you Mr. Mr. Milloy Cole is really selfish and self centerd but you have to know that he also very lonely and sad his dad was never there for him and he just beats him and drinks his mom drink alot to he pretty much is alone and has no one to talk to and hes just doing what he sees everday of his dad and mom but he also growing up doesnt need to follow the steps that his mom and dad are teaching him.
Well, I agree with you (I think) in that Cole may be acting out behaviour he has seen a lot of, but Cole is old enough to know more than a little better. He is smart enough to figure out how to manipulate a lot of people, if his attempts to pretend to want to change even while he planned to escape his banishment are anything to go by. Why should the people of Minneapolis risk him doing to another child what he did to Peter (or worse)?
i think he got raised in a bad way one learning to care only about himself because his father abused him. oh hi people on the blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not sure what you mean by, ” raised in a bad way one learning to care only about himself”.
I think he is neither of those i think he has a survival need and a fun need. My evidence is that it says in the book that he hates his parents and his life but everyone always waits for the aftermath to tell him to stop that’s my evidence please read carefully. 🙂
I’m not sure I follow you. How do his hatred for his parents and the fact that people wait to tell him to stop demonstrate the two needs you mentioned? (I am glad you are bringing up the needs wheel though.) For that matter, I’m not sure you’ve shown that “everyone always waits for the aftermath (?) to tell him to stop”.
I think that the idea that Cole has any “good” in his heart is absurd! I agree that he has gone threw some bad things, but Cole has been given many chances, yet never took any of them. In the end, it goes down to how you see Cole Matthews.
Cole has sure shown us plenty of rage. What do you think about the first two sentences of the last paragraph on page 4o?
Cole Matthews is being selfish right now. I understand his childhood sucked but, putting anger on someone else is not in any way good. you should not be angry at some one else for your actions. and leave the day with “its not my fault!” or “it wouldn’t had happen if peter just shut his mouth!” (lines from the book). I under stand why he is acting this way, he has been abused by his dad, and does not loved. that sucks! but do not put the anger on some one else. yes, it is okay to be angry, sad, depressed, emotional. but its not okay to blame every one else. all I think right now is that he needs to be less selfish, and more selfless.
It would be tough to disagree with you (especially after you pointed so clearly to the parts of the text on which you formed your opinion!). How do you think someone that violent, angry and selfish cna be helped to overcome those feelings, get some self-control and find some way to consider others?
I agree with Mr. Milloy and Nick Cole a selfish teen. He needs help he has anger issues. at the same time he is sad lonely. I think at the end of the book Cole is going to be a good person.
I hope you are right about Cole in the end. Maybe you see some reason for hope that I have missed. What makes you so optimistic? When Cole saw Peter walking so awkwardly from the injuries Cole had given him and Cole still glared at him with menace in the circle, that didn’t make me think there was much room for compassion in him.
i think that Cole Matthews has lot’s of anger and blames other people, Cole also is very selfish and thinks only for himself but fears being alone.
OK (and hopefully you know where in the text to find examples of the characteristics you’ve mentioned). Why do you think he fears being alone?
I also agree with Mr. Milloy because Cole made his dissension for that and if Cole didn’t get in trouble so many times he wouldn’t be in this mess. He is also shellfish about himself and doesn’t care to others,everyone didn’t really care because of his mistakes he’s done.His Mom and dad always got drunk and started whipping Cole.
AND HELLO EVERYONE 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
What do you mean when you say that Cole is “done”? What is your point about his parents? We have heard a little from Cole about his home life, and we know about the things he did to Peter and others. What should be done now?
I agree with Mr. Milloy because Cole is being really selfish and he is putting his anger on to other people who didn’t hurt him or bother him. But, he is also going through a lot of things.
How do you think the things Cole is going through should make us look at his actions differently? Should we look at him differently or treat him differently?
……That’s my reaction on Cole Matthews 🙂
Sorry. I’m not sure I follow you. What, exactly, is your reaction?
Cole Matthews is a boy who needs help because sometimes he’s mad and he needs to control his temper
OK, but don’t we all get mad sometimes? We should all experience a wide range of emotions, and that is healthy. What, exactly, makes you say Cole needs help to control his temper? Do you think he is getting the help he needs?
I think that his parents are who made Cole Matthews a pretty angry person .His parents always get themselves drunk by drinking. I think that Cole Matthews will become a good person and might not have to go to jail.
Cole seems pretty remorseless, blaming Peter for Peter getting beat up and calling Circle Justice a game. What makes you think he will suddenly become a good person?
I think Cole needs be less selfish, rude, and hateful. He also needs to control his hot temper too. Still I think he’s probably acting like that because of his parents. They always say negative things about him. My theory is that Cole’s parents don’t really care about him.
It seems like Cole might agree with you. Can you point to something Cole’s mom has said or done that shows she doesn’t care about him?