Relationship Between Erik And Paul In Edward Bloor's Tangerine

Unhealthy. Horrible. Lost. These three words describe the relationship between Erik and Paul. In the story Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, Erik does many awful things to Paul and Paul’s peers. All of these awful things that Erik has done affect the development of Paul in many ways. This is shown through the choices of Erik getting his friends to call Paul eclipse boy, spray painting Paul’s eyes, and ordering Arthur to hit Luis with a blackjack.
One example of the effect Erik has had on Paul’s development is when Erik decided to get his friends to call Paul eclipse boy. Paul has a flashback and he goes back to when Erik and his friends were bullying him. They gave him the nickname “eclipse boy” and were being very rude to him. In the story, Paul

Erik had another flashback after he confronted Erik and Arthur. In his flashback, he remembered what really happened to his eyes. Erik and his friend, Vincent Castor had a can of spray paint. They found out that Paul ratted Vincent out and Erik was not happy about that. Erik kept Paul’s eyes open while Vincent sprayed the paint in Paul’s eyes, and that's how Paul really lost his vision. In the story, Paul says, “I turned around and saw Vincent Castor. He was holding a can of spray paint. Then I felt Erik grab me from behind, easily pinning both of my arms with just one of his. I could hear my voice crying, ‘I didn’t tell! I didn’t tell!’ And I remembered Erik’s fingers prying my eyelids open while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them.” (Bloor 263-264). If Erik never did this, Paul would not have had to wear glasses to see, and maybe Paul wouldn’t be as afraid of Erik as he is. This choice Erik made affected Paul because it caused his blindness and ruined their relationship even more than it already was ruined, Erik was never held responsible for this action either. Erik’s choice to spray paint Paul’s eyes affected Paul’s

Luis came to Erik and Arthur confronting them for hurting Tino. After smack-talking for a little bit, Erik ordered Arthur to hit Luis with the blackjack. In the story, the author expresses, “Arthur Bauer was still walking forward, with his head down, but Luis was paying no attention to him. He called out again, ‘Come on! Why don’t you try to smack me!’ Arthur reached Luis, turned, and whipped the blackjack around with a whack against the side of Luis’s head. Luis’s arms shot up to cover his head as he staggered to the right and fell on one knee.” (Bloor 211-212). This later caused Luis’s death, and Paul saw the whole thing. This choice affected Paul because he now knows another secret about Erik that his parents don’t know and he knows his parents will not believe him if he tells them. He also has to live with the guilt of not coming out of his hiding spot and helping Luis when he could. This final choice of Erik ordering Arthur to hit Luis with the blackjack has affected Paul’s