“It is our choices... that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”-J.K Rowling. We often get to choose what we do and we have to deal with the consequences of our choice. Tangerine is filled with choices and more often than not it is Paul Fisher who had to deal with the repercussions.The Novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor is about Paul Fisher, a shy boy who comes from a dysfunctional family, that moves from Houston, Texas to Tangerine, Florida. Paul is a legally blind, but he doesn’t let that get in his way he decides to become a soccer player. He lost his eyesight from staring at a solar eclipse for too long or so he's told. We follow him as he goes through many hardships and challenges at Tangerine but he also makes new friends
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Jerk by night. So many of Erik's choices affect Paul that I don't even know where to begin. So let’s start at the beginning. The Author constantly uses flashback throughout the novel mainly focusing on Paul and Erik’s relationship. From showing Paul slowing remembering the truth behind his past, we slowly start to peel back layers to only Paul’s character but also Erik’s. We start to see Paul change from being scared of his older brother to being traumatized for life because of him. Erik starts to go from an older brother figure to being a villain of the story. Throughout the story we know that Erik is a very rude and inconsiderate person for many reasons, from celebrating Mike Costello's death, to punching a kid because he was annoyed. Yet when it is revealed that Erik was the one who made Paul blind we really see how horrible he is. Not only did he cause his brother to be blind, but he caused Paul to think that he was "such a stupid idiot fool that[he] stared at a solar eclipse for an hour and blinded [himself]"(264) He made Paul blind and forced him to live like that for the rest of his life and it is that blindness that causes so many of Paul's problems. Paul even says "What if Erik was the body at the undertaker's now? How would I feel about that? I would feel relieved. I would feel safer"(55). Had Erik been a normal brother Paul would have never felt this way about his brother. Or he would have never had to go through all the hardships that built him into who he is today whether that is for better or for
Jerk by night. So many of Erik's choices affect Paul that I don't even know where to begin. So let’s start at the beginning. The Author constantly uses flashback throughout the novel mainly focusing on Paul and Erik’s relationship. From showing Paul slowing remembering the truth behind his past, we slowly start to peel back layers to only Paul’s character but also Erik’s. We start to see Paul change from being scared of his older brother to being traumatized for life because of him. Erik starts to go from an older brother figure to being a villain of the story. Throughout the story we know that Erik is a very rude and inconsiderate person for many reasons, from celebrating Mike Costello's death, to punching a kid because he was annoyed. Yet when it is revealed that Erik was the one who made Paul blind we really see how horrible he is. Not only did he cause his brother to be blind, but he caused Paul to think that he was "such a stupid idiot fool that[he] stared at a solar eclipse for an hour and blinded [himself]"(264) He made Paul blind and forced him to live like that for the rest of his life and it is that blindness that causes so many of Paul's problems. Paul even says "What if Erik was the body at the undertaker's now? How would I feel about that? I would feel relieved. I would feel safer"(55). Had Erik been a normal brother Paul would have never felt this way about his brother. Or he would have never had to go through all the hardships that built him into who he is today whether that is for better or for