Character Analysis Of Paul In Tangerine

In the beginning of Edward Bloor's Tangerine the main character, Paul faces a lot of difficulties. He starts off by being a scared, whiny kid but by the end of the book is a strong, confident kid. Paul has changed but he didn't do that on his own. It was the choices that people around him made that caused Paul to develop into a bold, confident kid just like how the choices of Victor Guzman helped shape him.

When Paul first meets Victor he's just getting back from a suspension. And when Victor find out Paul's planning on joining the soccer team he is angry. “The leader eyeballed me and snorted. “You? You think you can play on my team? What do you think this is, Lake Windsor Middle School? You think we gotta take every chump who shows up? You think because your mommy buys you a jockstrap you're automatically on my team?” I looked at him calmly. I really didn't know if he was putting me on or if he meant what he was saying.” (Page 106) Victor chooses to not like Paul because he's from Lake Windsor Middle School without even seeing if he could play. This choice causes Paul to want to prove himself and show Victor that he really is a great goalie. It …show more content…
He was goalie at Lake Windsor Downs Middle School and now wants to be for Tangerine Middle School. “Victor started in on me right away. “Paul Fisher? Hey, Fisher man, you think this is trout season or something? You think you’re in some kind of tuna-catching’ tournament here?” Some of the others started laughing. “you're gonna be wearing those glasses on the other side of your head if you think that. This ain't no Lake Windsor Middle School, sucka. You're facing the War Eagles now!” ( Pages 109-110) This is how Victor drives Paul to want to catch every ball that comes to him, makes him want to show Victor that he knows exactly who he's facing. He wants to show Victor that he knows that who he's facing are the War Eagles who are going to see that he is a fantastic