Celia And The House Of The Scorpion

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Another way the theme is shown throughout both books, is through contrast in characters. In The House of the Scorpion, two contrasting characters are Celia and El Patrón. Celia is a kind chef, who raises the protagonist of the story, Matt. Celia is not rich, but cares for and loves Matt like he is her own son. Together Celia and Matt are happy, but not wealthy. Due to this, Celia must sneak food and other supplies from the Alacráns to give to Matt. “...feel happy...they wouldn’t notice if I took the whole darn box…” (Farmer 11). This evidence shows Matt and Celia are happy, even though they must steal. However, El Patrón has everything he could ever want, but is still unhappy “... if some foolish lad creeps up… and takes only one coin, the …show more content…
One example of dialogue used to show the theme, is when Rosa is abusing her power over Matt. She tells him “‘Bleating won’t save you, you good for nothing animal… I could kill you…’” (Farmer, 43). Rosa is considered to be a human, while Matt is not. Rosa’s status gives her power over Matt. This power clearly brings her nothing but cruelty and hysterics as she is constantly screaming at Matt. This shows that power will not always bring happiness. Later, El Patrón is complaining he no longer sees the beauty in jewels he owns. When Matt suggests giving them away, El Patrón is shocked. “‘Give...things...away?’ he cried...” This is important to point out because this shows that though El Patrón owns many things, he still cannot imagine giving anything away. He gets upset at the very idea. This proves that owning material things does not bring happiness, it only makes you want more. Lastly, this theme can be seen when Felicia is telling Tom about how she killed Furball, though it was Matt she was hoping to kill. “I was… so angry… I wanted to kill that abomination… ”(Farmer 163). This shows though Felica has money, she is still an angry and violent person. This is significant because this shows Farmer using dialogue to portray the …show more content…
First, Charles Dickens describes the estate of the wealthy spinstress Miss Havisham. “...which was of old brick, and dismal, and had a great many iron bars to it. Some windows had been walled up; of those that remained, all the lower were rustily barred.”(Dickens 42). As shown here, the Satis House, is not a luxurious manor, like most would expect it to be. The wealthy have no reason to be living in a house with bars on it, a type of prison. Only an unhappy person would live in such a place. This is significant because this shows that though Miss Havisham may be wealthy, she is certainly closed off and saddened. Another example of Dickens using description to show the theme is the inside of the Satis House and Miss Havisham. “...the passages were all dark...still it was all dark...faded...the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone…” Here Dickens describes Pip walking through Satis House and seeing the withered Miss Havisham. This description is significant because is shows that though Miss Havisham is rich, she is withered, and her house is dark. This is important to notice because this shows that though Miss Havisham has money, she is much like her house. Dark and dismal, proving that money does not bring happiness. Lastly, Dickens describing London proves the theme. “London...melancholy little square...the vengeance...mourning of soot and ashes…”

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