Theme Of Nature In Tangerine

“Man masters nature but not by force but by understanding. This is why science has succeeded where magic has failed: because it has looked for no spell to cast over nature”(Jacob Bronowski). This quote says that we understand nature but we don’t control it we just know how to live with it. In the novel Tangerine, Edward Bloor uses the motif of nature to show that no matter how much manpower you have, you can not beat nature at it’s own game.
Even with the amount of setbacks that nature gives them, the characters still find ways to solve and get around these problems. One problem is when Paul’s new school Lake Windrow Middle School gets eaten up by a sinkhole. Paul scared and confused yells to joey “ what is it...an earthquake”(pg.81). Another example would be when lightning struck the field goal post and killed Mike Costello. Erik when Mrs.Fish and Paul pick him up from practice explained to his mom that Mike was dead by saying, “ Mike is dead, Mom. He got killed at practice today...Dead before he hit the ground”(pg.50). Also when the whole town of Tangerine gets struck by cold weather and it affects …show more content…
This can be proven when Paul witnesses the osprey eating the koi from the lake in his neighborhood. Paul after seeing this thinks to himself, “Think again, Mr.Costello. Your koi are a gourmet meal for the osprey”(pg.157). Also when the Fisher family found out that the residents of Tangerine had to deal with the muck fire smoke all the time. Paul and his mom are shocked to find that out in the beginning of the book when paul calls the fire department. The fireman told Mrs.Fisher “It’s just fire from the muck fire...They’ve been burning ever since i can remember”(pg.15). The last thing the characters face with nature in this book are just common mosquitoes and termites, they find this when they attempt to cut down trees for new