Sand In Tangerine Analysis

The definition of a lie is; "an intentionally false statement." Paul is lied to numerous times in Tangerine about very serious and important topics. Paul is a twelve year old boy who is legally blind, due to his brother,Erik, who sprayed him in the eyes with white spray-paint. Paul was blinded by Erik, and he doesn't remember it because he was really young, his mom and dad lied to him about what happened to him so that he wouldn't hate his brother. In the novel Tangerine, the author, Edward Bloor utilizes symbols like sand, muck fire, and lightning to exemplify the truth behind the lies. The literal meaning of sand in tangerine is; the sand is put on top of the peat and dirt. The symbolical meaning of sand in tangerine is; the sand is the

The muck fire symbolizes Paul’s suppressed memories of all the bad things that Erik did to him as a kid. For example, when Paul is having a fight/argument with Erik and Arthur, he realizes: “And I remember Erik’s fingers prying my eyelids open while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them.” (Bloor, 263-264) The quote connects to the story because this is when Paul first remembers what Erik did to him to make him blind. The symbolic meaning of the quote is that the muck fire is burning and it is so strong that is bleeds through the sand. “I remembered a black metal mailbox, on a black metal pole. “It was “Erik.” I was saying “Erik.”” (Bloor, 2-3) The quote shows the first time that Paul was having a flash back of the mailbox incident. The symbolical meaning of the quote is that Paul sometimes has memories (flashbacks) that are triggered when the lightning strikes the muck fire. Lastly, when Paul just got home from school, he was told: “That was Sarah from next door. She said somebody has smashed up all the mailboxes and spray-pathe wall.” (Bloor, 263) The quote shows that Sarah had just called to tell the Fisher family to tell that somebody was smashing the mailboxes and spray painting the walls. The symbolic meaning is that, for the second time the mailbox incident has come up again and that the muck fire, towards the end of the story burns strong. Paul has been

The symbolic meaning of lightning is; when Erik bullies Paul, and it ignites his memories. For example, when Paul and Erik are having an argument and he reveals “Shut up, Caster!” When Erick was bullying Paul after the senior night, they got into an argument, and Erik had yelled “Shut up, Caster,” to Arthur. Symbolically speaking, whenever Erik starts to bully Paul, he starts to get a glimpse of his memories; the lightning strikes on the muck, and it ignites. In addition, while Joey and Paul are on the patio, he hears. “Joey, they’re making fun of your brother. They’re making fun of mike when his hair got burned off by the lightning. And they’re making fun of you for trying to take his shoes off at the field.” The quote shows that Erik is making fun off Joey for taking of Mike’s shoes after he was struck by lightning. The symbolic meaning is that Erik is yet again bullying Paul, and if Paul knew what was hidden underneath the sand, he would be mad about more than Erik just making fun of Joey. Lastly, when Paul was testing his eye sight, he observes. “Suddenly I felt the hot breath of a predator on my neck. I screamed in terror. Erik laughed and ran over to Mom and Dad. He had snuck up on me from behind, from somewhere back around ten o’clock. Dad snapped at him, “Erik! Cut that out! Are you here to help us or not?”” The quote is showing that they were testing Paul’s