Good And Bad Choices In Tangerine

Choices greatly influence the everyday lives of people. The choice, small or big, can greatly affect someone’s life negatively or positively. The most significant choice made by any character in Tangerine was made by Mom and Dad to turn a blind eye towards Erik’s bad actions. A result of this choice was making Erik think it’s okay to continue making bad choices. When the problem began with Erik spray painting Paul in the eyes, his parents ignored the situation. They took Paul to the hospital and found out that it would be likely that he wouldn’t remember the event. Upon finding that out, his parents chose not to tell Paul about the event and let Erik go, hands free of any consequence. Since Erik was left unaffected by the situation, it led into worse choices, like vandalism and murder. He was still not met with any consequences from his parents and ultimately had to face it with losing his future opportunities. Mom and Dad’s choice to not let Erik face the punishment for his poor choices resulted in him making worse choices and affecting several
If Mom and Dad had Erik take responsibility, he would know it was not okay to do that to Paul and would not treat Paul harshly again. If they had punished him for the things he had done wrong instead of ignoring them, Paul would tell the truth, as well. Their decision significantly affected Paul’s life negatively in Tangerine and essentially ruined his childhood. The choice of not punishing Erik for his wrongdoings are the reason why Paul never told the truth, as he knew that telling the truth would result in excuses from his parents.
The choice that Mom and Dad made to not discipline Erik is the most significant choice in all of Tangerine. The results of this choice prove that Mom and Dad’s poor decision significantly affected the lives and events that are in Tangerine. This choice was necessary for the events in Tangerine to