Tangerine Character Analysis Essay

Have you ever wondered how an older brother feels about the younger one? For example, in Tangerine, a novel by Edward Bloor, the main character Paul, had feared his older brother, Erik, for his entire life. In the book, Erik is described as a selfish character that didn’t care for Paul in the very least. Just the opposite, Erik often likes to make choices that would make Paul feel bad. Erik’s choices have caused Paul to be blind, made him think himself as a coward, and weakened the friendships between Paul and Joey.
When Paul was young, Erik and a friend of his put spray paint in Paul’s eyes, which left Paul a visually impaired person for the rest of his life. “And I remembered Erik’s fingers prying my eyelids open while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them.”(Bloor 263) Erik accused Paul of telling on the teachers and getting Castor in trouble. Erik did not stop Castor, but rather helped him. If Erik had been a good brother, this wouldn’t have happened.
Erik also made Paul view himself as a coward.Throughout the book,

When Joey came to Paul’s house for homework, Erik and Arthur came home and humiliated him by making fun of his dead brother, Mike. “Arthur stopped and stared at Joey. He answered on their cruel wavelength. ‘I didn’t know Mohawk Man had a brother.’” (Bloor 113) The Mohawk Man mentioned in Arthur’s speech is Mike, because when he got hit by the lightning, half of his hair was burned off. Joey later understood what they were talking about. And now he was scared to step in Paul’s house. “But of course I do know. Joey hasn’t set foot in our house since the day he met up with Erik and Arthur. He will probably never set foot again. But mom would never understand that. For Joey, our house may as well be covered with canvas and bound by ropes, because it’s filled with poison.” (Bloor 145) Erik’s choice has obviously made some impact on Paul’s friendship with