#Symbolism in tangerine by edward bloor full

They’re burning all the time…Sometimes the rain’ll damp them down, but they’re still smoldering.” What is Paul’s muck fire that is always burning? What are the muck fires for Paul’s parents, for Erik, for Antoine Thomas? At the end of the book, the wind has shifted and the odor and smoke from the muck fire is blowing away from Paul. In what ways is the setting of the town of Tangerine a metaphor for Paul’s life? What is it that eats away at Paul’s foundation? What fire burns constantly in Paul’s life? What is it in Paul’s life that collapses just as the ground collapses into a sinkhole?Ĩ Symbolism: The volunteer firefighter on page 15 says, “Muck fires don’t go out. Is this true? Is Erik the main conflict that Paul faces? If Erik is what caused and continues to cause Paul’s problems, what caused, and perhaps continues to cause, Erik’s problems?ħ Setting: Paul’s subdivision was built on a foundation of termite-infested ground, next to a field that constantly burns muck fires, near a school that is built on land that becomes a sinkhole. Erik, therefore, appears to be the root of Paul’s problems. Is Paul a hero? Explain.Ĭonflict: Paul fears his brother Erik’s physical retaliations, is angry at his father’s apparent favoritism toward his brother, and resents his mother’s apparent inability to see Erik for what he really is. Do you feel hopeful for Paul at the end of the book? Explain why or why not. How does the author use the symbolic image of muck fires in the characters’ lives? Paul, Erik, Parents?Ħ. How is Joey’s experience at Tangerine Middle School different from Paul’s? Why do you think that is?Ĥ Muck Fires What are the literal muck fires in the novel? How was Paul able to do this? What did he see? 5. Think about the idea of seeing things- seeing past stereotypes and into people’s hearts.

What are your impressions of Paul’s mother? How did she change by the end of the book?Ĥ. What do you think about that idea? Where do you see it in the book? 2. Some might say that Tangerine is about appearances- that if that if things look good from the outside, then everything will be okay. With that said, books contain morals and it’s your job to figure out what it is.Presentation on theme: 'Tangerine Edward Bloor.'- Presentation transcript:ġ. Themes are things you could refer to in life to make you a better person. Along with symbolism, theme is a very important element to have. Symbolism is important because it makes the book have a deeper meaning and not even thinking. As he walks through the halls people slam into him. The school building is old and rundown and he’s never seen anything like it in Tangerine. On his way in, he passes boys karate-kicking each other. Because his parents told the truth, Paul could live knowing that he could trust his parents more.Īll of this points to the conclusion that, the theme that you should the truth is symbolized by the infestation which is connected to the all the lies told. 18 It’s Paul’s first day at Tangerine Middle School. And we figured that that was the best way to handle the situation” (257). But, when Paul interrogated his parents, they told him the truth, ‘“The doctors told us that you might never remember. By that happening, it shows that Paul didn’t want to tell who the people were which didn’t make the situation any better.

#Symbolism in tangerine by edward bloor full

I hit that red bar at full speed and never looked back” (252). In the novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor, the main character, Paul Fisher, has a difficult time keeping a good. In addition, an example of Paul not telling the truth was when Coach Warner asked who the people who crashed the Senior Awards Night ceremony were, “I didn’t hesitate. Thus, this shows that there is a reason for the infestation which means there is a reason people lie, but if you just tell the truth, there won’t be a problem. You see how that whole blue-tent street seems to be on a hill?’”(161). When they cleared this land for houses, they just set fire to all the trees and plowed them under. Also, on the same trip, Wayne said, “‘it was all groves around here. Take for example, when Wayne, a volunteer firefighter took Paul to deal with the infestation, he said, “‘it looks like that whole street has them, all along the west side’” (161).This is saying that all those termites are the lies told since there were a ton of termites. Edward Bloor uses the infestation of the mosquitoes and termites to symbolize all the lies told, which connects to the theme that you shouldn’t spend your life hiding from the truth. Overtime, Paul finds out the secrets of those around him. To summarize the novel, Paul and his family adjust to life in Tangerine. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” Tangerine by Edward Bloor uses symbolism to show that you shouldn’t hide from the truth. Spencer Johnson stated, “Integrity is telling myself the truth.