Chloe Coose October 8, 2013 Geometric Character Analysis FD Erik Fisher, Paul Fisher, and their Dad do not

have the typical, warm family relationship. The quest for football glory has sucked Dad and Erik into it, and they have reached the point of no return. Paul is left struggling to keep his head above the water in a crazy family whose life revolves around a juvenile delinquent high school football star. In the novel, Tangerine, Edward Bloor incorporates characters whose traits, conflicts, and relationships with each other can be displayed with geometric shapes. The first character is Erik Fisher. His shape looks like a round circle on the outside, but on the inside it is spiky and prickly. Also, the shading of his shape goes from a dark black near the middle and gets lighter as it goes out. The shape and shading of Eriks geometric figure represents how to authorities, Erik appears to be a well-rounded, bright, young man. However, on the inside he is really evil, dark, and self-centered. The true Erik is first revealed in the conversation between Erik and Arthur while they celebrate Mike Costellos death. Paul overhears Erik saying through laughs, Did you see his hair? Did you see the side of his head? He got Mohawked, man! (52). Eriks shape is the largest and it is in the center of the paper because he is the star of the Erik Fisher Football Dream. The Fishers lives revolve around the Dream, and it is in the center of everything they do. This is proven when Paul says, OK, here we are. How long did it take Dad to get to his favorite topic, the Erik Fisher Football Dream? (11). Lastly, Eriks shape is overlapping everything that is in its way on the page, it is the most powerful force in the design. This is because the Erik Fisher Football Dream is the most powerful force in Tangerine County; nothing stands in the way of the Dream. Paul verifies this when he says, [Mike is dead because he] didnt fit into the Erik Fisher Football Dream Mike

Chloe Coose October 8, 2013 Geometric Character Analysis FD would never, could never, have been sitting out there with Erik laughing at such a thing. Now Mike is dead. But the Dream lives on (53). The second character is Paul Fisher, Eriks brother. He is represented by a loose, round, free-form shape. Paul is socially awkward, but considerably laid-back, and just tries to cope with what life gives him, whether he likes it or not. An example of this is when Paul gets kicked off of the soccer team, and says, Im not going to dwell on this. Im just going to say it and get on with my life (61). Pauls shape is shaded blue because Erik has worn Paul down, chased away all of his friends, and bullied him, which has resulted in Paul having a lack of self-confidence, being shy and solitary, and feeling sorry for himself. After Paul is unable to play soccer because of his eyesight that Erik destroyed, he says, Joey was the only person who was feeling worse. He was someone that even I could feel sorry for (65). Compared to Eriks shape, Pauls shape is small. This is because Paul lives in Eriks shadows, and is overlooked by his parents. Dads obsession with the Erik Fisher Football Dream is pointed out when Paul quizzes Dad about his soccer season, and Dad admits to know[ing] everything about Eriks season but nothing about [Pauls] (234). Pauls shape is placed on the page to where he can see into the center of Erik, and he knows his true identity is not a football star, but a villain. It is clear that Paul knows this when he says, Was [Mom] thinking what I was thinking? Did she know that Erik had no good character? Or was she still as clueless as Dad? Did she still believe blindly in the Dream? (234). Lastly, there is Dad. His shape is a triangle pointing away from Erik. This represents that he is blind to all of the bad things that Erik is doing, and refuses to see any faults that Erik has. Paul proves this after he remembers how Erik tried to kill him, when he says, I can see. I can see everything. I can see things that Mom and Dad cant. Or wont (4). Dads shape is smaller

Chloe Coose October 8, 2013 Geometric Character Analysis FD than Eriks but bigger than Pauls, because he is a bigger part of the Erik Fisher Football Dream. He built the Dream, which is why Dads color is brick red. He is the structure, the support, and the foundation of the Erik Fisher Football Dream. As Paul tells the story of why Dad loves football, and explains the birth of the Erik Fisher Football Dream he says, [Dad] became obsessed with football, especially placekicking. He learned how to hold the ball for Erik, spinning the laces away (30). He is very committed to the Erik Fisher Football Dream, and is not willing to let anything get in its way, especially Eriks bad character, so he simply ignores it. The relationship between Dad, Erik, and Paul is represented in the geometric design. Eriks shape is on top of Dads because it shows that the Erik Fisher Football Dream has power, but also that it is dependent on Dad. In Dads eyes, Erik has good character, gets good grades, and can consistently kick a fifty-yard field goal, and thats all that matters, so he is more than willing to push the Erik Fisher Football Dream to college and beyond. That is why Erik appears well-rounded on the outside, the side facing Dad, but Dad is blind to who Erik really is on the inside. Paul is the only one who can really see through Eriks smooth outer coating and look into the prickly, black jungle that lives inside of him. He knows that Erik is evil and violent, he is just too afraid to speak up. This is represented by Pauls shape being placed so that he can see into the center of Erik, because he knows his true identity. Dad blatantly ignores Paul. He might as well not have a second son, because the center of his world is the Erik Fisher Football Dream, and youre either at the center of [Dads] world, or youre nowhere. There is no in-between (89). That is why Dads triangle is not only facing away from Erik; it is also facing away from Paul.

Chloe Coose October 8, 2013 Geometric Character Analysis FD In conclusion, these three characters have really come to life through geometric character analysis. Geometric character analysis helps in understanding the relationship between characters and how their interactions affect the characters identity. Erik, Paul, and Dads geometric design demonstrates the areas of conflict and areas of cooperation between them, and their geometric shapes demonstrate their character traits and their role in the novel Tangerine.