Mythological Archetype In Edward Bloor's Tangerine

Everyone has someone in their lives that they can look up to. In a novel, the mythological archetype that has this characteristic is the Mentor. Applying the concept of mythological archetypes to the novel Tangerine, Edward Bloor makes it quite obvious that Luis Cruz fits the role as Mentor towards Paul. He is a positive figure in Paul’s life, he motivates, is relatable, and helps Paul stay strong and positive. First of all, Luis Cruz is the Mentor towards Paul because he is a positive figure who motivates Paul. For instance, when Paul goes back to the nursery after he goes in October to work on his science project, Luis stood up for Paul by saying, “It’s alright Tino. I invited him to come back and he’s come,”(Bloor 171). This occurred …show more content…
For instance, when Luis went to the football stadium to confront Erik, Bloor stated, “Luis stood in their path, like the brave sheriff of a town full of cowards,”(211). Luis stood up against Erik because of what he did to Tino. The words “like the brave sheriff of a town,” is a simile. This simile is important because Luis is the only brave one out of all the people up on the football field, the cowards. Edward Bloor wanted to explain to the reader that no one messes with Luis’s family. The purpose of this quote is to show how brave Luis is compared to everyone else. Paul can learn so much from Luis such as how to stand up to people you are afraid of. Likewise, teaching Paul how to stand up for himself is when Luis is trying to see if Erik is going to say who he is. Luis said, “I think you are. But I think you are not man enough to say so,”(211). Luis stands up to Erik because he wants to show Erik’s “friends” what type of person he actually is. Luis was doubting Erik’s capability of showing himself. Luis is also determined to figure out which football player is Erik. The effect the author wanted this quote to have was to show the other characters how Luis felt about Erik since he hit Tino in the face. Luis is a very protective person when it comes to his family and friends. Another example of teaching Paul how to not to be afraid is when Luis confronts Erik and antagonizes him. Luis said, “You would smack a little kid in the face, right? Why don’t you come over here and try to smack me,”(211). Luis wants to find out if Erik is man enough to do what he did to Tino to him. We can infer that Erik felt threatened by Luis’s statement and was scared of him. Bloor wants the reader to think that Luis is mentally stronger than Erik. The significance of this quote is that Luis is basically asking Erik to punch him in the face and is going to find out if Erik