"Here's the dirty little secret." Tam Lin bent down and whispered, as though he had to hide the information from the swallows, the duck, and the dragonflies." No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That's because there isn't any difference. The idea of clones being inferior is a filthy lie." In the dystopian world of The House of the Scorpion, one of the key debates is in regard to the humanity of clones, centering around Matteo Alacran, clone of the drug lord El Patron. Many people treat Matteo as something less than a human and are disgusted by him, whereas some people like Tam Lin treat him like a normal person. Even though people of the Alacran estate treat clones as things that aren't human, I believe that Matt, and
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This is because Matteo is the clone of a human. The definition of the word clone is “an organism or cell, or group of organisms or cells, produced asexually from one ancestor or stock, to which they are genetically identical”, while the definition of human being is “a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.” Assuming El Patron was also human, this means that Matteo was genetically identical to El Patron, giving him the genetics of a human. In addition, Matteo could identify with all the characteristics that a human being requires: superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. In the book, he clearly shows he is capable of all three, with an above average intelligence, even for humans, the ability to speak in an articulate fashion, and the ability to stand …show more content…
One of them had to be declared an unperson, but when the original died, the clone no longer existed.” This means that although officialy, while El Patron was still alive, Matteo was an “unperson”, when El Patron died, the clone Matteo no longer existed, meaning that Matteo was the new El Patron. As Esperanza explains, “It means you are reclassified as human. You are El Patron. You have his body and his identity, his DNA.” This proves that under international law, Matteo was a clone up until the moment El Patron died, in which he became a human, showing that clones can also be
This is because Matteo is the clone of a human. The definition of the word clone is “an organism or cell, or group of organisms or cells, produced asexually from one ancestor or stock, to which they are genetically identical”, while the definition of human being is “a man, woman, or child of the species Homo sapiens, distinguished from other animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance.” Assuming El Patron was also human, this means that Matteo was genetically identical to El Patron, giving him the genetics of a human. In addition, Matteo could identify with all the characteristics that a human being requires: superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright stance. In the book, he clearly shows he is capable of all three, with an above average intelligence, even for humans, the ability to speak in an articulate fashion, and the ability to stand …show more content…
One of them had to be declared an unperson, but when the original died, the clone no longer existed.” This means that although officialy, while El Patron was still alive, Matteo was an “unperson”, when El Patron died, the clone Matteo no longer existed, meaning that Matteo was the new El Patron. As Esperanza explains, “It means you are reclassified as human. You are El Patron. You have his body and his identity, his DNA.” This proves that under international law, Matteo was a clone up until the moment El Patron died, in which he became a human, showing that clones can also be