Cole Matthews has been banished to an island off the coast of Alaska and has been mauled by a spirit bear. Cole is lying, stuck, unable to move, in the forest, alone, on the verge of dying. Even as Cole is dying he still lies to himself. He insists on thinking that it is everyone else’s fault that he is on the island, and got mauled by a bear, when actually, it is his fault. This is an example of one of the four major conflicts, Man vs. Self. He was the one who attacked Peter, which put him in Juvenile Hall, which gave him two choices, Circle Justice or jail. Cole was also the person who attacked the spirit bear, which made the bear’s self defense instincts kick in.
Cole also faces the problems of starvation and survival. That is an example of one of the four major conflicts, Man vs. Nature. Cole had to eat grass, worms, a caterpillar and other bugs to keep from starving to death. Cole learned that food makes energy, which makes life. So if you want to stay alive you need food.