Character Analysis of Erik Fisher from Tangerine
Erik Fisher, football celebrity, dating a cheerleader, and has two scholarship offers. He seems like the perfect high schoolar. His admirers show that, but nothing is that perfect, ever. So what is this football star hiding? What goes on behind the closed doors of the Fisher house? How about the new football superstar nearly blinding his brother Paul Fisher with spray paint? Or, punching a middle schoolar? Or how about stealing from families? He isn’t as perfect as he seems. Conclusively, Erik doesn’t make very good choices in the novel.
A choice made by Erik was to spray paint his brother’s eyes because Paul told their parents that Erik’s old criminal sidekick at the time, Vincent Castor, vandalized the neighborhood. “I turned around and saw Vincent Castor. He was holding a can of spray paint. Then, I felt Erik grab me from behind, easily pinning both of my arms with one of his. I could hear my voice crying ‘I didn’t tell! I didn’t tell!’ And I remembered Erik’s fingers prying open my eyes while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them. They left me screaming and rolling around in the garage.” (pg 263-264) In conclusion, Erik, when angered, isn’t fully in control of his emotions.
Another choice made by Erick was when he punched Tino Cruz his brother’s friend. He chose to do this because Tino was teasing Erik about when he was about to kick a field goal when his holder snapped back the ball and scored a touchdown. However that isn’t where Erik’s humiliation ends, the coach forgot to tell Erik that he was going to change the play so Erik was going to kick the ball for real. Instead if kicking the ball, he kicked the mud, slipped and fell, in front of everyone. “Immediately, faster than I thought he could, faster than Tino thought he could, Erik lashed out, smashing the back of his hand across Tino’s face, smashing him so hard that Tino spun halfway around in the air and landed on the grass.” (pg 205) Consequently, Erik never got caught for this however,
A choice made by Erik was to spray paint his brother’s eyes because Paul told their parents that Erik’s old criminal sidekick at the time, Vincent Castor, vandalized the neighborhood. “I turned around and saw Vincent Castor. He was holding a can of spray paint. Then, I felt Erik grab me from behind, easily pinning both of my arms with one of his. I could hear my voice crying ‘I didn’t tell! I didn’t tell!’ And I remembered Erik’s fingers prying open my eyes while Vincent Castor sprayed white paint into them. They left me screaming and rolling around in the garage.” (pg 263-264) In conclusion, Erik, when angered, isn’t fully in control of his emotions.
Another choice made by Erick was when he punched Tino Cruz his brother’s friend. He chose to do this because Tino was teasing Erik about when he was about to kick a field goal when his holder snapped back the ball and scored a touchdown. However that isn’t where Erik’s humiliation ends, the coach forgot to tell Erik that he was going to change the play so Erik was going to kick the ball for real. Instead if kicking the ball, he kicked the mud, slipped and fell, in front of everyone. “Immediately, faster than I thought he could, faster than Tino thought he could, Erik lashed out, smashing the back of his hand across Tino’s face, smashing him so hard that Tino spun halfway around in the air and landed on the grass.” (pg 205) Consequently, Erik never got caught for this however,