The first major adversity which the author introduces that Matt overcomes occurs when he is forced to escape Opium due to the death of El Patron. The first part of the adversity takes place because Matt’s purpose in life is to be spare body parts for El Patron but his mother figure, Celia, slowly poisoned him with Arsenic from her garden so that his heart could not be used to save El Patron. Therefore once El Patron dies because of his failing heart, his great grandson, Mr. Alacrán, who is now the new leader of Opium, sentences Matt to death as he sees no more use in Matt. Matt overcomes this adversity because Tam Lin, the person in charge of executing Matt as well as the father figure of Matt, takes Matt out to the forest to supposingly kill
