Tangerine By Edward Bloor: Character Analysis

Not only does Luis Cruz’s choices substantially affect Paul’s development in Tangerine, but he impacts Paul’s personality and choices too. To explain, one of the countless choices Luis chooses is to talk to Erik about punching his younger brother: “Erik and his group had gathered up their gear and were preparing to leave. Luis stood in their path, like the brave sheriff of a town full of cowards” (Bloor 211). When Luis decides to stand up to Erik, Paul is influenced to be undaunted by his elder brother. Continuing, Luis also improves Paul’s life by showing him his family’s tangerine nursery: “He said, ‘Look around you. This is a nursery’” (Bloor 164). As Paul journeys through the nursery, he becomes passionate about the trees and loves the

Tragic things happen so superb things can come, it depends on a person’s perspective. In Edward Bloor’s novel, Tangerine, there are many decisions Paul, the main character makes that damage him literally, but lead to his development, such as his move to Tangerine Middle School and tackling the principal. Despite all the tragic conditions around Paul, moving to Tangerine Middle School becomes a marvelous thing for him.

I held my hands out, as he had done, and said, ‘I’m not afraid of you Erik. come on.’ ” Another quote on page two hundred and fifty-nine is, “All I remember is Mom shouting ‘Paul!’ as I took off, flying through the air. I landed hard on Coach Warner’s back and held on tight, riding his neck and shoulders.” In both quotes, Paul did one thing in common, which is overcoming a fear. In the first quote, Paul overcame his fear by standing up to Erik who he usually feared. In the second quote, Paul overcame his fear by helping his friends out, regardless if he got in trouble. Characterization goes with the book because throughout the novel, Paul has been afraid of many things but he is trying to overcome those fears. In addition, Paul’s characteristics have overcame many fears that he has

Because of Eric’s decisions Paul is now not afraid to speak up. And he will now know to speak up when there is a problem. In the book Tangerine, Eric’s choices and the consequences of his choices affected the development of Paul in two ways. When Eric hit Tino and when Paul figured out that Eric was the reason he was

Paul’s parents and Erik create many problems for Paul, and it makes it difficult for him to uncover his true self. Paul’s parents don’t pay attention to what Erik truly is, but are also absorbed in his high school football career. Dad said,” You’re saying that I know everything about Erik’s season and nothing about yours. Your right, and I’m sorry.” (Bloor pg.234) But Erik also creates problems

When Paul sees all the horrendous things Erik has done, such as punching Tino and commanding Arthur to hit Tino’s brother, Luis Cruz with a blackjack, Erik threatens to hurt Paul. Seeing all these acts keeps Paul from telling the truth. “I was on the verge of asking him, Dad? Did you see Erik punch Tino in the face so hard that he nearly knocked him out?

One of the cruelest things Erik did in the book was damage Paul’s eyesight. Because of what Erik did, it ruined Paul’s child/teen hood. He couldn’t play on the Lake Windsor soccer team, he got called mean names, and he was seen as “handicapped” by people including his mom. This just shows how much of a sick person Erik is. Erik may be cruel, but Paul is very compassionate. He enjoys helping people. In the story, Paul helped Luis Cruz with his tangerine business. Even though Paul didn’t have to, he chose to fight the freeze and try to save the tangerines with Luis and his family. Paul may have gotten sick and had problems during the freeze, but he fought through it to be with his friends. Based on that, you know that Paul is a true

In the beginning of the book, when eating dinner, dad talks about the Erik Fisher Football Dream. Paul abnormally asks, “How long did it take dad to get to his favorite topic, the Erik Fisher Football Dream?” (11) The quote shows how dad doesn’t have a sight/thought for Paul, and only cares about Erik. Dad is unable to realize that he doesn’t support Paul, thus leaving Paul feeling unnoticed and unimportant. Of course, Paul is also feeling neglected by other members of the family, especially Erik. “I remembered Erik prying my eyes open while Vincent sprayed white paint into them” (263-4). The quote makes the reader realize that Erik doesn’t see Paul as a kind brother. Instead Erik sees Paul as a little pest who means nothing to him, thereby treating Paul with a non caring attitude. The examples both use sight as a factor that is missing. This can greatly interfere with the character’s understanding of each

For starters, not allowing Paul to feel safe in his house is a reason how Erik’s choices affected Paul. Erik had chose to form a negative bond with Paul, therefore, causing Paul to always have to be aware of his surroundings. “And I could see Erik lurking behind me, in the shadows of the clock” (Bloor 168). This text came from Paul, who was deeply terrified that Erik was going to do something to him. Sadly, this is the feeling Paul always feels, even if Erik is not around.

The sentence “This place is weirder than it looks,” is especially true when it come to the novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor. Throughout his whole life, Paul Fisher, a supposedly blind middle schooler, has been living in his cruel brother, Erik’s, shadow. Until a transition from Texas to Florida gives Paul a fresh start at a new school. It will unveil shocking secrets that changes everyone in Tangerine county”s lives forever. As Paul strives to live as a normal without an IEP, incidents begin to occur around him that are too perfect for his brother’s life to be just accidents. In Tangerine, Edward Bloor exquisitely uses foreshadowing and motif to convey the theme of identity and conquering fear.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said, “One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” What Seneca means by this is that friendship is not only about being nice and enjoying each other but to be able to share your feeling and thoughts and be agreed-upon. In Edward Bloor's Tangerine, Paul and his friends show this act on multiple occasions throughout the book. Within the story Paul is often understood and they share information that they often wouldn’t share with others.the action of understanding got them all this far and actions leading up to the end of the book and even the end of the book itself wouldn’t happen without friendship and understanding. The topic that is most evident in Edward

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are (in our raw and pure form), without all the worldly superfluities and additions in our characters and morals brought about by personal decisions and undertakings defacing your true colors.” In the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor, Paul is faced with an overwhelming load of adversity upon moving to the lightning-strike capital of the entire continental U.S., Tangerine County, Florida. Along the way, throughout the whole novel, Paul is forced to battle a plethora of internal conflicts, doubts, and opposition, including the strange nature of the city resulting in a perpetual muck fire. To surmount this adversity and stay strong, Paul makes countless impactful choices, all of which serve to either make or break him, depending on how he bounces back from predicaments and acts.

Did you ever want to see the truth about everyone and understand what they mean? In the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor the themes seeing and truth is expressed. "But I can see. I can see everything. I can see things that Mom and Dad can't. Or won't." These are Paul's words and they foreshadow what's to come. In other words, Paul’s parents are underestimating his eyesight and believe that Paul is only a handicap kid that needs assistance with everything. In addition to that Paul has an older brother named Erik, he’s the star of the show. Paul’s parents think of Erik as the golden child, but in reality Erik is a psychopath that wants to kill Paul, sadly only Paul sees Erik’s inner demon. All in all, Paul isn’t relevant in his family and his

This proves that paul is no longer afraid of Erik and will stand up to him now. Paul now can stand up to people unlike before when he was to afraid. That he doesn’t have to hide from anybody. Paul will never lie again from now on he will only tell the

A choice made by Erik affects paul by making him not confident for the rest of his like. At least his life until he becomes an adult. Erik bullied paul and criticized him until he felt like nothing. He did it all his life. Erik might be jealous of Paul. When Paul was younger, he definitely got more attention than Erik. This lack of consideration triggered Erik’s feelings towards Paul. Paul reacts by proving to others, and himself, that he doesn’t believe in himself. “I watched in disbelief” (52 Bloor). Paul is not