Choices In Edward Bloor's Tangerine Essay Example

It only takes only one person to change the way you think about yourself. The novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor is about a boy (Paul) who can't stand up to his fears and makes choices throughout the book that affect him. Every choice has a consequence, and all of the characters made Big and small choices. The most important choices made in Tangerine were Paul's brother Erik’s choices that affected Paul in a positive way, but the consequences of his choices were not. 

The first big choice that Erik made that affected Paul was when he hit Tino in the face. (205) “Immediately, faster than I thought he could, faster than Tino thought he could, Erik lashed out, smashing the back of his hand across Tino’s face, smashing him so hard that Tino spun halfway around in the air and landed on the grass.¨ Erik did this because Tino made fun of him and he got angry. This affected Paul because he didn't do anything, it made him feel small. Paul says, “ I just stared back at her, paralyzed with fear, while the scene rolled on.”(204) This shows that Paul knew Erik was going to do something bad, he did nothing. This makes him feel small and weak.

Another choice made by Erik was when Erik told Arthur Bauer to hit Luis on the head. “Luis had been killed by Arthur Bauer on Tuesday, but it had taken six days for him to die.” (247) Erik made this choice because Luis made fun of him. “You would smack a little kid in the face, right? Why don't you come over here and smack me?” (211) “I remained frozen in my spot as he got back in the Ford and drove off.” (212) Paul, again, didn't do anything about his brother’s decisions. Luis had a positive effect on Paul because he encouraged Paul to not be afraid of Erik. This choice affected him greatly because of this. It made Paul think what Luis said might be true.

The choice that affected Paul the most was when he remembered what Erik did to make Paul lose his eyesight. “And I remembered Erik’s fingers prying my eyelids open while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them.” (263) Erik did this because he thought Paul had told on Castor. This choice affected Paul because he felt better afterward. “I am all right. More than all right. (265) This decision is the biggest because it finally makes Paul stand up for himself.

Overall, these choices affect Paul in a positive way. They caused him to stop being a wimp. They caused him to stand up for himself. If Erik didn't hit Tino, it wouldn't have made Luis make fun of Erik, which wouldn't have made arthur hit him. Then Paul would've ultimately remained unchanged. He wouldn't remember Castor, which wouldn't have put Paul in a situation where he had to stand up for himself. Erik didn't mean well because fought kids, killed a person, abused his brother and stole from his neighbors. Overall, the choices erik made were bad, but they had a good affect on Paul.