The Scorpion Themes

The House of the Scorpion is a fantasy novel about many different ideas that could concern parents such as cloning, abuse and questioning authority.. These topics may seem as though they are not meant for 11 year olds which in most cases is true however, in The House of the Scorpion there is a moral transformation in the main character, Matt. Matt moves through his journey which includes cloning, abuse and questioning authority but through this meaningful journey he learns that everyone has the power of free will and we are not victims of our biology or our environment. This lesson could help many children who are going through things like bullying or through a sickness. All children need to learn that no matter what you go through there …show more content…
Matteo Alacrán also known as Matt is the clone of El Patron also known as Matteo Alacrán. Matt was implanted in to the womb of a cow by the request of El Patron. El Patron wanted to live forever because of the loss of all 7 of his siblings. He believed that he deserved to live extra years because all of his siblings died at young ages. So creating Matt as a clone would allow him to do so by harvesting Matt’s organs to replace his own when need be. Matt grew up not knowing that he was a clone. It wasn’t until he escaped his home to play with the children that had showed up. He was taken to live in the big house on Alacrán Estates in the country of Opium. In the big house Matt was treated very poorly because he was a clone. Almost everyone wanted nothing to do with the “beast”. Matt was ambushed with the fact that he was a clone and finding out about this was the beginning of Matt’s traumatizing journey. Matt eventually realized that making a clone was morally wrong. “Now, for the hundredth time, Matt thought about why anyone would create a monster. It couldn’t be to replace a beloved child. Children were loved and clones were hated. It couldn’t be to have a pet. No pet resembled the horrible, terrified thing Matt had seen in the hospital.”(Farmer, 190). In this thought Matt makes the connection that clones mean nothing to anyone. He understands that clones were made only for …show more content…
Matt is constantly abused after he found out that he was a clone and started living at the Alacrán house. Matt was abused by children and adults. Children abused Matt because he is a clone and they think the clones are inferior to them even though Matt is just like them in reality. Tom is a child bully who torments Matt while he’s locked away. Tom thinks that all clones are stupid and senseless but Matt was differents from all other clones because he still had his brain. Tom comes to the window of Matts cell and throws insults “ I forgot. You're too dumb to talk.You’re a stupid clone who wets his pants and barfs all over his feet. Maybe if I spoke your language you’d understand.”(Farmer, 45). These insults resulted in Matt throwing a rotten worm filled orange at Tom, and hitting him in his face. Matt immediately regretted throwing the orange because it was wrong for him to react in a violent way and wish bad upon others. Shortly after getting hit in the face with a rotten orange Tom returned with a peashooter and shot Matt with the peas continuously. Matt refused to retaliate to the bullying. Matt continued to be bullied throughout his journey by adults as well. For example, Rosa a servant of El Patron who is put in charge of Matt while he stays at the Alacrán Estate. Rosa is ridiculed by her peers for being the one who had to take care of this “beast”. Rosa constantly lashed out