GCA: The Relationship Between Paul and Erik
A Geometric Character Analysis is a form of understanding a story’s characters where individuals in the narrative are given a shape, which may also have a colour and size. These shapes are based upon a generalization of the character’s personality, natures, and actions. Characters are important to a narrative because they drive the plot; a character and their unique personalities are what give a story life and make it realistic. Paul and Erik are two characters in the story Tangerine, a novel authored by Edward Bloor, who both have a distinct personality. These personalities can be expressed through a Geometric Character Analysis. Paul can be represented as a yellow sun, and Eric a large grey rain …show more content…
Erik takes this shape because of how he covers up Paul’s confidence, represented in the diagram as sunlight, from shining through, and Paul from seeing his own possibilities in the world, almost literally when he spray paints Paul’s eyes with white paint. Paul has confidence and strength inside of him, but because of the mysteries surrounding his life concerning Erik it begins to diminish, to the point where he asks his parents, “So you figured it would be better if I just hated myself?” (265) when he discovers that they lied about his eye problems. Erik is Paul’s older brother, who makes Paul feel small and weak, such as when Erik hit Paul’s friend and he “just stared back at him, paralyzed with fear, while the scene rolled on." (204). Another example of how he makes Paul feel small and weak is when Luis gets hit on the head by Erik’s friend Arthur, and he feels as though he cannot do anything. He remains “frozen in my spot as he got back in the Ford and drove off.” Paul is actually much bigger than Erik, not physically but mentally, who dominates over his life, but we cannot see that because of how Erik covers him up from our view. Being the antagonist of the plot, this is Erik’s role, but at the end of the story, like all rain clouds do, his storm passes along and lets the sun shine
A Geometric Character Analysis is a form of understanding a story’s characters where individuals in the narrative are given a shape, which may also have a colour and size. These shapes are based upon a generalization of the character’s personality, natures, and actions. Characters are important to a narrative because they drive the plot; a character and their unique personalities are what give a story life and make it realistic. Paul and Erik are two characters in the story Tangerine, a novel authored by Edward Bloor, who both have a distinct personality. These personalities can be expressed through a Geometric Character Analysis. Paul can be represented as a yellow sun, and Eric a large grey rain …show more content…
Erik takes this shape because of how he covers up Paul’s confidence, represented in the diagram as sunlight, from shining through, and Paul from seeing his own possibilities in the world, almost literally when he spray paints Paul’s eyes with white paint. Paul has confidence and strength inside of him, but because of the mysteries surrounding his life concerning Erik it begins to diminish, to the point where he asks his parents, “So you figured it would be better if I just hated myself?” (265) when he discovers that they lied about his eye problems. Erik is Paul’s older brother, who makes Paul feel small and weak, such as when Erik hit Paul’s friend and he “just stared back at him, paralyzed with fear, while the scene rolled on." (204). Another example of how he makes Paul feel small and weak is when Luis gets hit on the head by Erik’s friend Arthur, and he feels as though he cannot do anything. He remains “frozen in my spot as he got back in the Ford and drove off.” Paul is actually much bigger than Erik, not physically but mentally, who dominates over his life, but we cannot see that because of how Erik covers him up from our view. Being the antagonist of the plot, this is Erik’s role, but at the end of the story, like all rain clouds do, his storm passes along and lets the sun shine