Tangerine Character Analysis Essay

Geometric Character Analysis

Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, is a novel with many complicated relationships and characters that are able to be represented and explained by using the Geometric Character Analysis. The Geometric Character Analysis is a language arts strategy that helps readers and students express the characters from a story by using shapes, size, color, shading, and placement. In this display of the Geometric Character Analysis, the Tangerine characters Paul, Erik, and Dad will be used.

The first shape to discuss is a flat, green square - this shape represents Dad. The first shape that came to mind when thinking of Dad was a square due to his strict and pushing personality. The color green reminded me of a green light, which means go. Paul’s father was always rushing and pushing Erik to be the star player on the football team, so I thought green was a good way to

represent him. The flat shape represents his non-dynamic character because his traits and motive don’t change at all throughout the story. Dad’s square is connected to Erik’s bright yellow star with a thick, black line that displays their strong bond. Even though Dad is joined to Erik powerful attachment, Paul isn’t so lucky, as he and Dad are bonded with a thin, dotted line that projects their broken relationship.

The next shape of discussion is a yellow, star-like structure that displays the character of Erik.

Erik is a star player of the Lake Windsor High football team, so I chose a bright yellow hue for him so show his ‘star personality’. His traits aren’t very likeable - he is very self-absorbed - so I chose a star-looking form for him, the pointed sides displaying his bullying habits. Erik is bonded to his father by a thick, black line to show their stable relationship, while a red, mountain-like line connects him and Paul in a unsteady and cautious bond.

The final shape to explain is a purple, shaded blob representing Paul, Tangerine’s main character. Paul’s shape is a purple hue to portray his nervous personality. His blobish form displays him as an outcast - which he had been most of his life. His darker sides are there to present him as a round/dynamic character, as he shows different fractions of his character throughout the plot of the book. Paul’s relationships with his father and brother are arranged to show the unsteadiness and weak bonds through thin, dotted or jagged

lines.

The Geometric Character Analysis is a beneficial way to express novel characters to readers and helps them understand the characters’ relationships and connections with one another. Tangerine, by Edward Bloor, portrays many complex relationships and characters - Paul, Erik and Dad are great examples - that are able to be explained using the Geometric Character Analysis without difficulty.