Everyone has problems that they try to hide deep down, but if one does not face their troubles, they will just keep coming back. In the novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor, the residents of Tangerine County, Florida spend much time and effort hiding their troubles, while simultaneously being oblivious to them. At the beginning of the novel, Paul imagines his past troubles in Texas as a giant zombie, following him to Florida. Fumigated houses also show the nature of how people respond to issues. The nice outside of a fumigated house is simply a cover-up for the dark, dangerous poison gas inside, or the Fishers dark past of unresolved issues. Finally, the ospreys, constantly stealing koi from Lake Windsor, are a problem that goes unnoticed by the residents of Tangerine. The
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This means that his parents do somewhat acknowledge the difficulties in their family with Erik’s violence and Paul’s blindness, and they are trying in vain to forget about them, even if they have to pick up and move. However, moving does not solve their issues, and the “zombie” catches up to them, with Erik causing as many problems as ever and getting involved in Mike Castello’s death. After Erik and Arthur taunt Joey about his dead brother Mike, Joey no longer goes to Paul’s house because “for Joey [Paul’s] house may as well be covered in canvas and bound in ropes, because it’s filled with poison”(145). The author uses the metaphor of a tented house because it is a perfect representation of Paul’s family. Viewed from an outside angle, a fumigated house looks pleasant and welcoming, like the Fishers. With their two athletic kids and active parents, they look like any other family in Lake Windsor. However, on the inside of a fumigated house is dark, dangerous poison gas that the bright colorful tent on the outside was meant to keep in and hide. The poison gas of the Fisher family is Erik and the problems he creates. With his violence that the Fisher parents are trying desperately to hide
This means that his parents do somewhat acknowledge the difficulties in their family with Erik’s violence and Paul’s blindness, and they are trying in vain to forget about them, even if they have to pick up and move. However, moving does not solve their issues, and the “zombie” catches up to them, with Erik causing as many problems as ever and getting involved in Mike Castello’s death. After Erik and Arthur taunt Joey about his dead brother Mike, Joey no longer goes to Paul’s house because “for Joey [Paul’s] house may as well be covered in canvas and bound in ropes, because it’s filled with poison”(145). The author uses the metaphor of a tented house because it is a perfect representation of Paul’s family. Viewed from an outside angle, a fumigated house looks pleasant and welcoming, like the Fishers. With their two athletic kids and active parents, they look like any other family in Lake Windsor. However, on the inside of a fumigated house is dark, dangerous poison gas that the bright colorful tent on the outside was meant to keep in and hide. The poison gas of the Fisher family is Erik and the problems he creates. With his violence that the Fisher parents are trying desperately to hide