Bloor's Tangerine: Parental Pressure

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Parents around the world push their kids to be the best they can be and achieve academic and athletic perfection. This does not help the kid achieve it just puts a lot of stress and pressure on them to succeed. In Edward Bloor's Tangerine the main character’s brother Erik suffers from high expectations and pressure to succeed. ¨More than ever before, competitive youth sports are built around elite athletes -- the kids who play one sport all year round, have been playing since a very young age and are on multiple club teams. They are typically considered the best players. ¨(http://www.gladiatorguards.com/_blog/our-blog/post/youth-sports-how-parental-pressures-affect-young-athletes/) In the book Erik had only ever played football and is very …show more content…

This stress can lead to many different things including obesity, heart disease, asthma, etc. Stress can also lead to aggression. First you have to understand what stress, stress is not just in your head. Stress is a response to a situation. When you get stressed your body responds by an increase in blood pressure, pulse rises, breath faster, and your bloodstream is then filled with hormones including cortisol and adrenaline. Researchers did an experiment on rats to test how they would react in a stressful situation. According to http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=158266 “the level of corticosterone soared upward in their bloodstreams. That's the major hormone produced by bodies -- both rats and humans -- to help us get through stressful …show more content…

Arthur was Erik’s sidekick in the book. Arthur would follow Erik everywhere and do his dirty work or just copy everything he says. I believe Arthur was just in it for the glory to make his parents proud. Erik was the star kicker on the football team so if he held the ball for Erik then he would appear in the newspaper with his name. “ Arthur has never even gotten into a game. Now he’ll be out there when the crowd is roaring,and the cameras flashing, and the game is on the line.” (Bloor 41) This shows that Arthur and Paul really do not care much for each other, but they both gain something from their “friendship.” Erik gets a servant to do his dirty work and Arthur gets fame in the papers. Erik and Arthur go on to doing several crimes including murder, breaking in, stealing, and throwing punches. Erik starts to get away with more and more he starts to believe that he can get away with anything. Arthur goes along with anything that Erik says or does no matter how bad it is. This leads Erik to believe that his actions are justified and will continue doing these crimes. “ Arthur reached Luis, turned, and whipped the blackjack around with a loud whack against the side of Luis’s head.” (Bloor 210) Erik had instructed Arthur to hit Luis with the blackjack and Arthur followed through. This shows the control that Erik has over Arthur and proves that he will do things for Erik even if it might land him in jail. Also

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