Garvey's Character Analysis

“Take my word for it, jail scars the soul. And I was never able to help those I hurt.” Garvey mentioned this to Cole as Cole says that Garvey never cared about him. Garvey tells Cole that he kept encouraging him to be a better person for himself. He mentioned this to Cole because he once was a troubled kid just like Cole. Garvey never got a chance to go through Circle Justice to better himself and to heal, so the only way he can heal is by helping those who need it. Cole has a chance to heal and help those who he hurt so he should have another opportunity to prove himself through Circle Justice. Cole Matthews is a juvenile delinquent from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is fifteen and has been in trouble with the law half of his life. He has …show more content…
Cole has changed since he first arrived on the island where he would be staying for the next year. When he first arrived he was a selfish, angry kid and he blamed all of his faults on everyone but himself. For example, Cole snapped at Edwin and Garvey and said, “Aren’t you guys ever leaving?” Cole did not think that anyone cared about him, he just knew everyone wanted him to be out of their site. Although Cole is depicted as a selfish and violent kid, he has shown improvement in his attitude from his time being on the island. For instance, after the bear mauled him half to death, Cole realized the true beauty of life. The text states, “A strange thought occured to Cole: the world was beautiful.” Cole wondered how much beauty he had destroyed with his words and actions. He did not want to be that person anymore. For example, Cole thought to himself, “...the past was another time and another life that Cole could never recapture---and didn’t want to.” He wanted and needed change, and he knew it. Cole has made so much progress for the short time he had been on the island. Circle Justice had already taken a toll on his …show more content…
At a Circle Justice meeting Peter’s mother says to Cole, “I have a son who has speech and coordination problems. He wakes up at night screaming with nightmares...Not sending you to jail would be a huge mistake.” Yes, Cole has hurt many people physically and emotionally and there’s no way he can really fix it. That being said, this just gives more reason for the Circle to accept Cole back into the system so that he can heal and find himself. He has already made a great deal of progress within his short time on the island and with a few more months Cole should clearly see that he needs to