Tanggerine By Edward Bloor: Character Analysis

Fear is Blindness

The novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor starts when an unheard, lonely teenage boy who is legally blind moves to Tangerine County, Florida. He wants to know why he is blind? How did this happen? This kid, Paul, eats, sleeps, and breathes soccer. When he isn’t playing soccer or hanging out with his friends he is definitely not with his brother. He is scared out of his mind that his brother will try to hurt or even kill him. Until he finally stands up to his brother at the end of the book when he tells the police everything he knew and all of his other fears like when he went to Tangerine Middle even after being scared at the carnival, Paul can’t overcome his fearful blindness.

Paul’s fear keeps him from enjoying life and finding his best friends. If he could let go and stand up to his fears he would be able to love his life. When Paul and Joey go to the carnival Paul’s fear blinds him from his true friends. Joey warns Paul, “They have gangs in Tangerine middle school. They have kids with guns, man. Real ganstas” (74). When Paul went to tangerine and actually met these guys he learned who his actual friends are, and he probably wished he had not been afraid of them in the first place. If Paul hadn’t

Paul’s fear blinds him at first, and he cannot see how broken his family is. When Paul tells the police about Erik He admits that he cannot stand up to his brother: “‘Do we have your statement, son?’ ‘No, sir.’ Then I felt compelled to add, ‘I wasn’t brave enough to give my statement’” (285). Paul doesn’t think his words matter, but when he finally is brave enough he tells what he knows, even though no one might believe him. He overcomes his blindness and tells his story anyways. Paul could finally see the tear in his family that his parents had tried to stitch up. Physically Paul is still blind, but he knows he can see in a way that is almost better then before. Once he could see, he enjoyed the