Theme In Tangerine

The theme I chose to discuss is do not let fear be a force in your life. In the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor, Paul Fisher was talking to Joey about his problems, bringing up the topic about the guys he works on a project with. ”You’re a gutless wonder, Fisher. You’re afraid of girls. You’re afraid of your own brother. Now you’re afraid of these low lifes.” -pg.154.
Joey Costello is Paul's first friend at Lake Windsor Middle School, and their friendship shots off to a good start. When lightning kills Joey’s brother Mike, Paul tries to help him through it, though Joey becomes distant. “Joey may or may not have been listening. I don’t know. Tears were pouring down his face tried to talk through them.” -pg But soon after, Erik decides to taunt him about his deceased brother, which puts a definite chill in the air between them. Paul then feels awkward around Joey. After Joey has a fight with Paul, they avoid each other until the memorial service held for Mike, where he starts speaking to Paul again. In the end, Joey helps Paul report Arthur and Erik to the police, and they become friends again. …show more content…
When they approached Paul and threatened him, Paul told them he knew about them beating up Luis and killing him in the process. ”I was under the bleachers on Tuesday afternoon...I saw you kill Luis Cruz.” -pg. 262. He had enough of his brother bullying him and pushing him around, so Paul turns his brother and Arthur into the police. Paul saw his own brother kill someone he looked up to, which angered him, and gave him the guts to confront him. Instead of of leaving the problem alone and letting Erik get away with murdering Luis Cruz, he chose to stick to his gut and do the right