In Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor, the protagonist who is named Paul Fisher undergoes conflict throughout the story. He is emotionally tested throughout the book. He has to constantly compete for attention from his parents, mostly his dad, with his older brother Erik. Throughout, Paul often wonders if he is good enough and if he can ever match up to the expectations set by his revered brother, Erik. His father is so caught up in praising Erik that he leaves reasonable doubt in Paul’s mind that he will never measure up to his esteem. Paul is experiencing internal conflict throughout his emotional journey and he must discover that it isn’t necessary for him to receive approval from others Paul is often discouraged by his dad and never …show more content…
On one side of the conflict, Paul is put down by pretty much everyone in his family, which is the root of all his insecurities. His brother bullies him and takes every opportunity to belittle him and put him down. His father, on the other hand, seems as though he doesn’t know that he is adding to his son’s lack of confidence. The only one that advocates on his behalf is his mother, but his goal is to get more attention from his father. On the other side of the conflict, Paul knows that he is good at one thing, Soccer. Throughout the story, the one thing he knows about himself to be true is taken away from him and replaced with doubt. He already knows that “Erik's arrival is going to change the football season at Lake Windsor High School.... [but he wonders to himself] So what about me? Will I make the difference between winning and losing for the middle school's soccer team” (Bloor,22)? Throughout the book, he must disinter whether his presence helps or hurts those around him. He must find it in himself to accumulate enough strength to realize his true potential without requiring approval from his father. This internal conflict is not only caused by the mistreatment of Paul by his father and brother but also because of Paul's tendency to crave approval from