Paul Fisher's Life

Imagine having to live in a county where natural disasters such as, lightning strikes, muck fires, and sinkholes proliferating more and more each day. This is the daily life of Paul Fisher, the protagonist in the novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor. Paul Fisher moved to Tangerine county, Florida, where his life began to change. The Fisher family moved to Tangerine due to the “Erik Fisher Football Dream.” Paul’s father believes that Erik is an eminent football player, this is a reason why the Fisher family’s life revolves around Erik. Paul’s vision may be impaired, but that does not stop him from seeing that he is stuck in the shadow of his older brother Erik. Throughout the novel, readers can see that Paul is more selfless than Erik.

Case in point, daily lightning strikes happen while the athletes are practicing on the soccer field, which caused Mike Costello’s death. The text states “ ‘Mike Costello is dead, Mom. He got killed at practice today.’ Mom and I stopped still, the supermarket bags weighing down our arms. Neither of us moved, or knew what to do next. We stared at him, speechless, until he continued in the same voice. ‘He was just standing there in the end zone. He had one hand on the goalpost, leaning on it, and kaboom! There was a crack, and a flash, and he went flying through the air. He landed right on his back, right there on the goal line.’ By now Mom was staring hard at him, trying to understand the point of this speech. ‘Erik? The boy...the boy who was here?-Mike? Is dead?’ ‘Dead before he hit the ground. Arthur and I went over and looked at him, right?’ “ (50). Additionally, Paul Fisher’s school grounds experienced a sinkhole where many portable classrooms were swallowed into the ground. According to the text, “ ‘What is it?’ I yelled at Joey. ‘An earthquake?’ ‘No! Sinkhole man! It’s a sinkhole! It’s opening up under the field. Look at 19!’ I looked and saw the entire portable being swallowed up by the mud, its roof where its porch should be.” (81) This evidence quoted evidence points to the dangerous conditions in Tangerine County

This setting is significant because Paul is able to join the Tangerine Middle soccer team because Tangerine Middle did not have his IEP form. The text states “ I looked at her angrily. ‘ I’m officially what?” ‘A student at Tangerine Middle School.’ ‘A visually impaired student? An IEP student?’ ‘No. Nothing of the kind.’ I closed my eyes in despair. ‘So what happens when the head of guidance here opens my file and sees my IEP?’ ‘Nothing happens, Paul. There is no IEP in your file.’ “ (105). The text also states “ She said, ‘This is the one I told you about. The one who wants to play on your soccer team.’ The leader eyeballed me and snorted. ‘You? You think you can play on my team? What do you think this is, Lake Windsor Middle School You think we gotta take very chump who shows up? You think ‘cause your mommy buys you a jockstrap you’re automatically on my team?’ I looked at him calmly. I really didn’t know if he was putting me on or if he meant what he was saying. He looked like he was about to dump his lunch tray on my head.” (106). This quoted evidence shows that Paul is able to play on the team because his mom threw the IEP form out. The evidence also shows that because Paul switched schools, he was able to join the soccer team. Paul’s mom has learned to stop making decisions for him without his