Paul's Choices In Tangerine By Edward Bloor

Choices always have a consequence no matter what. In the novel Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, every critical decision that Paul makes, guides him to understanding success. Paul’s choices have a huge effect on his family when he tells them that he wants to go to Tangerine Middle School, when he jumps on Coach Warner and gets expelled, and when he tells the police about what Erik and Arthur did. Paul’s choices affect his life with every word he says, and every action too.
Paul decides to attend Tangerine Middle School so he can play soccer. The reason Paul decides to go to Tangerine Middle School is because at Lake Winsdor Middle School he has in IEP forms, but at Tangerine, he won’t have to bring the forms. “No forms. No mothers.” (pg. 97). This shows Paul doesn’t want his mom to come in and have her talk about the forms. In addition,

The reason Paul makes this choice is because he has witnessed so many horrific things Erik has done and he couldn’t let him get away with this one, so that’s why he told the police. For example, when Paul tells this to the policeman in front of the Bauer Family and his family, both of the families are devastated at what Erik and Arthur have done. This shows that both of the families had such high expectations for the both of them and when they found this out, it just basically killed them inside. In addition, after Paul told the police, he felt like he was set free of holding in the truth to tell people about Erik. For instance, this helped Paul learn a lesson about standing up for himself and telling the truth. This shows that Paul will be more brave about standing up for himself and for others. Paul realizes that when he made this choice he did a lot of justice for Luis Cruz and other people that Erik hurt. Accordingly, Paul’s choices have shaped Paul’s life and have made him what he