Unrelated Brothers Friends are the people you turn to when there is no one else around. In the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor and published in 1997, the main character, Paul, moves to Tangerine County, Florida. His brother, Erik, constantly torments him, and his parents simply ignore Erik's wrongdoings. Joey introduces himself to Paul, and they embark on a wonderful friendship... for a while. Joey becomes Paul's friend, which makes him able to cope with his family. Joey stays with Paul, which builds up his confidence. Then, when Paul is extremely comfortable with others, Joey leaves Paul. Joey makes many choices that affect Paul mentally, and this subtly drives the plot of the book. First of all, Joey and Paul bond over their brothers'…show more content… On page 115, Paul invites Joey to Tangerine Middle School after their old school, Lake Windsor Downs Middle School, collapsed into sinkhole. Joey seems reluctant at first, and Paul sees this and quickly states, "'Sorry. Bad idea. I'll shut up. But I could sure use some company at Tangerine.'" Joey relaxes a little bit, and agrees. A few days later, Joey is at Tangerine Middle School with Paul. This is an excellent demonstration of loyalty. This does not affect him at all later in the book, but it can be inferred that after learning the truth about Erik, it can help him build bonds with others. Also, the fact that Joey even continues to be Paul's friend after learning about Erik's insults toward Mike on page 114 is a really good example of loyalty. Mike was one of the most important people in Joey's eyes. The point that Paul's brother insulted Joey's brother and Joey continued to be Paul's friend, that is…show more content… On page 150, Joey throws a tantrum in Paul's face. He gets angry at Paul, all of Paul's new friends, and Tangerine Middle School. He says, "'This place is like darkest Africa. Like the Amazon jungle. Like we're learning to live among natives here.'" Paul is shocked by his new revelation after this particular event. He realizes that he does not truly understand Joey, and if he does not understand his best friend, then what does he understand? Before this he questioned why he wore glasses, but afterwards, he asked the more important questions to the people essential to his partial blindness. If Joey kept his thoughts to himself, none of this could have happened. He would not understand people in his ignorance. In addition, Joey does not come back to Tangerine Middle School on Thursday, October 5th (page 160). Paul considers this fact and is not surprised. He concludes that Joey is reenrolling in Lake Windsor Downs Middle School. Paul is not surprised by the betrayal of his best friend, the one who stood by him all the time beforehand. This really brings up a quote, "Making a million friends is not a miracle. The miracle is making a friend who will stand by you when millions are against you."-Anonymous. Paul was building up his confidence on Joey's friendship, but made many other friends on his journey for the truth. When Joey left him, yes, it damaged him, but he recovered, thanks to his other true
