How Choices Affected Paul In Edward Bloor's Tangerine

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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. This changes throughout the book. Every choice has a consequence, and all of the characters made Big and small choices. Paul's brother Erik’s choices 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. …show more content…

“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