Theme Of Family (Tangerine by Edward Bloor Book Review)

In the world today, a family that does not communicate well and has serious problems is called “dysfunctional.” In the book Tangerine by Edward Bloor, the Fisher family is dysfunctional, for many reasons show the family has serious problems. I will be arguing three main reasons as to why I think of the Fisher family as dysfunctional. The three main reasons are, how the family cannot communicate properly, how the family is practically split into two, and how the family has close to no common interests. I strongly believe that the communication between the family makes them dysfunctional.

Firstly, the Fisher family is not very open to one another because of fear and confusion. Paul the youngest kid in the Fisher family is scared of his older brother, Erik, after a traumatic event. This traumatic event puts Paul in such a shock that causes a huge tension within the family. The tension prevents Paul from communicating with his parents. Therefore, even though Paul knows the bad deeds that Erik does, like breaking into houses and bullying kids, it is useless because he cannot do anything about it. Furthermore, the parents have no idea of this because they work so hard, they cannot visit any of their kids at school. The parents work so hard that they only have enough time to find which child’s interests they like best, setting the family into two.

The Fisher family is split into half, with one parent looking after one of the children. One day, the Fisher family moves to a new state, splitting the family in half. The new state offers Paul’s parents each a job that they love. However, this job makes them busier than ever, forcing the parents to take sides. The father chooses Paul’s older brother, Erik, because the dad loves watching football. Therefore, the mother is forced to pick Paul’s side, who plays soccer. The father does not know what Paul does in soccer but expects Paul to know what Erik does in football. Whereas the mother does not care about any sports that her sons play, she just signs them up to what sport they want, then so goes back to working on the phone. The Fisher Family has close to no similar interests, being different from any other normal family.

Although heredity is supposed to be passed down through your parents, the Fisher family has close to no common interests. Paul loves soccer, loves the smell of tangerine, and has outstanding academics. Erik, Paul’s brother, loves football, wanting it to be his job, robbed families, and has horrible academics. The mother is a real estate designer and does not care about sports. The father is a civil engineer for his neighborhood and loves football. The only common interest in the family is football, Erik, and the father. The many differences in the Fisher family set the family apart from any normal family.

In this story, the Fisher family is dysfunctional, having lots of conflict, misbehavior, and has a child that is neglected. Ultimately, the Fisher family is outlandish compared to a normal functioning family. The father and the mother’s traits were not passed down to their children, and therefore, the communication in the family is whacked and the family cannot function well. In a family, like branches, we all grow in different directions.