Background and Summary
The House of The Scorpion was written by Nancy Farmer and published in 2002. Farmer’s book won the National Book Award and the Newbery Honor. Many young readers were captivated by the world Nancy Farmer created. Many of these readers were also impacted by the themes in this nonconventional dystopian adventure.
The book is fairly large and complicated despite being written for adolescents. The story takes place in Mexico, in a dystopian future. A powerful drug lord named El Patron has established a country between Mexico and the United States. El Patron’s country is called Opium and he rules cleverly and cruelly. El Patron is a Spanish word meaning boss. His name is actually Matteo Alacran. He chose the name Alacran, because it means scorpion. Over the years the Alacran family has become extremely rich and powerful. El Patron fears dying and losing his precious power and possessions. As a result, he recruits the finest doctors and scientists to keep him alive. They begin cloning El Patron. Whenever El Patron needs to replace a vital organ, the doctors kill the active clone of El Patron and exchange the body parts. This process has made El Patron nearly immortal.
The book picks up with the creation of El Patron’s eighth clone. This version of Matteo Alacran, like his predecessors, is not surgically impaired like most clones, because El Patron allows his clones to actually grow up with cognitive ability so that they can enjoy the childhood he never had. El Patron enjoys this experience vicariously through his clones. The book is broken into sections based on Matt’s (the clone) age. Matt is the protagonist in this story and we see the world through his eyes. For the first six years of his existence, Matt is cared for by a kind woman named Celia. Unfortunately, he stays in a locked up hut all day. Matt has no idea that he is a clone. Celia works for the Alacrans in their big house. One day, a few children from the house discover Matt. They release him from the house, but he injures his foot on some glass. He is taken to the Alacran house where his mistreated for being a clone. Matt soon discovers that everyone despises him, because he is a clone. Matt experiences extreme frustration and identity confusion, because he identifies himself as a human. One of the children who found him is a girl named Maria. Maria and Celia are the only ones who are kind to Matt. Over the next several chapters Matt experiences a variety of abuse from the Alacrans in the house. They all hate him, especially a boy his age named Tom.
Matt’s life changes drastically when El Patron gives him a personal body guard named Tam Lin. He is the third kind and understanding character in this story. Tam actually treats Matt like a boy instead of an animal. Tam Lin teaches Matt how to think and survive. Matt’s mentor also consistently helps Matt choose to do good instead of follow his basic instincts and be cruel like El Patron. Matt discovers over time that El Patron is a truly evil and extremely materialistic man. Once El Patron has possession of something, he never gets rid of it. This rule applies to his possessions and to people. Matt begins to figure out the purpose of his existence which is to serve as El Patrons lifeline. Tam Lin eventually gives a book to Matt which reveals the history of El Patron and Opium. The book chronicles El Patron’s bloody rise to power. Matt discovers that El Patron uses technologically altered brain dead people as workers. The workers are called “eejits”, and they are the key to El Patron’s success. These zombies are brainless and machine operated. Matt realizes that El Patron is an evil man who must be stopped. One day El patron grows deathly ill. The doctors take Matt and prepare to transfer his organs. Celia steps up and reveals that she has lightly poisoned Matt. She concocts this plan to make him unusable in order to save Matt and destroy El Patron.
This plan works miraculously, El Patron finally dies at the age of 148 years old. Matt knows that his life is in danger without El Patron’s protection from the Alacrans, so he runs away. Matt flees from Opium to a land called Aztlan. This country stands where Mexico once stood. Matt desires to join Maria, whom he loves, in the city of Saint Luis. Matt barely survives escaping Opium, but he is immediately taken captive in Aztlan by men called Keepers. The keepers place Matt in a work environment where they teach anti individualistic ideals. The keepers sound suspiciously communistic as they teach many young boys to work hard and reap the equally distributed benefits. Matt vocalizes his disapproval early on and therefore places a target on his back. The Keepers refer to Matt as an aristocrat. They continually attempt to break him through humiliation and eventually torture. Matt develops two good friends in these factories named Chacho and Fidelito. The three of them manage to start an uprising and then escape the factories. They are nearly killed, but they do reach Saint Luis. In Saint Luis, Matt is reunited with Maria and he meets her mother. Maria’s mother is an active politician and critic of El Patron. She actually wrote the history book about Opium which Tam Lin gave to Matt. Maria’s mom tells Matt that because he is El Patron’s clone then legally the Alacran estate belongs to Matt. Matt travels back to Opium to see what happened when he fled. Celia is there to explain that the Alacran family obeyed El patron’s final request to drink his wine at his own funeral. The wine was poisoned, it destroyed the house of scorpions. Tam Lin was also killed at this time which devastated Matt. The book concludes with Matt deciding to take responsibility of El Patron’s estate. Matt plans on freeing the eejits, and then using his new wealth of resources to accomplish good.
Gender/Age
Interest Level for This Novel
This book will appeal primarily to males.
The primary reasons are the large cast of characters, the sprawling context and
the action sequences. Males will most likely relate best with the protagonist
Matt. Matt struggles with acceptance and other insecurities which can relate to
all teens. Girls would also enjoy viewing the progression of Matt’s maturation
into the teenage years. Girls would most likely enjoy the romance between Matt
and Maria more than boys would. I believe this book is best suited for upper adolescents. Upper level high school students would enjoy this book most. The book is relatively lengthy and wordy. The protagonist experiences extensive abuse and neglect. The story includes death and torture throughout. The House of the Scorpion is best suited for a high school upperclassmen male.
Using This Book
as a Tool for Developing Mature Readers
The book deals with many aspects of
students’ developing maturity. Matt greatly struggles with the first task of
coming to terms with his physical body. Matt is mistreated, because he is a
clone. Matt’s frustration is rooted in the fact that he did not do anything to
make himself a clone. Everyone can relate to being mistreated for circumstances
outside of their control. Matt eventually learns to accept who he is, and to
use the abilities he does have for others benefit. Matt also learns to develop
relationships based on mutual interest. Matt becomes friends with his
bodyguard/mentor Tam Lin. Tam Lin teaches Matt a variety of skills. Matt learns
that his relationship with Tam Lin is built upon trust. This trust is proven at
a critical point in the story when Tam Lin saves Matts life. Matt develops
relationships with the opposite sex as well. Matt likes Maria right away, but
he does not know how to interact with her. Matt struggles with Maria’s
friendship with Tom. Matt makes a critical mistake in taking Maria’s dog
hostage in order to get her attention. Eventually Matt learns how to care for
Maria and they fall in love. Matt also learns to grow independent from his guardians. When Matt is six he is taken away from Celia. Celia had done everything for Matt, without her influence Matt is forced to develop independence. Matt’s next mentor is Tam Lin, Matt has to leave Tam Lin when he is 14. At this age, Matt uses what he has learned from his guardians to be a good leader. Over the course of the book, Matt becomes aware of his beliefs and values. Matt struggles between following Tam Lin’s good example and becoming the next El Patron. Matt does choose to be a good man and then he has to live consistently with those values. Matt comes to terms with these convictions as he is abused by the Keepers in the Plankton factory. Finally, Matt experiences a sense of achievement. Matt sees the positive results of taking care of Fidelito. Matt feels accomplishment after tolerating the abuse of his many captors while retaining his dignity. In the end, Matt experiences accomplishment as he takes final control over El patron’s resources.
Potential Issues
with This Book
The book has a few potential issues which
need to be addressed. The book has scattered profanity. One character named
Chacho makes a few immature remarks. There are a couple mildly crude moments
among the boys in the factory. Overall, it is a clean book. The book deals with
bullying which is clearly important when teaching to high school students. I
think these sequences are handled well by the author. Early in the book, Matt
responds violently to abuse. He matures through the book, and eventually
discovers the right way to handle people trying to hurt him. I imagine some
readers may find Matts relationship with Maria to be a potential issue. They
are in love and occasionally interact in a romantic way. In my opinion, these
portions of the book were appropriate and effective.
Recommendation
I recommend this book for older adolescent
readers. The story was extremely creative. Nancy Farmer succeeded in creating
an imaginative world with some unique factors I had not seen before. I found
myself relating heavily with the protagonist. Despite the dystopian setting, I
still related to his general insecurities and frustrations. I found solace in
his protector Tam Lin, and I grew to hate Matt’s enemies. The book would serve
as a good transition from shorter, less intense options to slightly heavier
content. I give this book my recommendation; however, I do have a few
reservations. I think the author did not communicate the passing of time well
in the story. The book is broken into sections of Matt’s life. Within the section,
the author doesn’t specify how much time is passing. Farmer also has very young
characters doing actions which would more realistically be done by someone
older. I felt this way as Matt endured torture as a six year old. She stayed
consistent though and he does progress and mature from there. By the time he is
14, Matt is in love and ready to lead a powerful nation. Despite these small
concerns, I give the book my recommendation.
Resources for
Teaching or Research on the Novel
A variety of websites would be helpful to
provide resources for teaching The House of The Scorpion. Bookrags is a useful site to find information, lesson plans, and
other resources for teaching literature. Its pages on The House of The Scorpion are rich with valuable information and
literary help. If you desire a basic overview of the story, Schmoop is a helpful site as well. It
summarizes the chapter and includes interesting commentary as well. Simon and Schuster also gives useful
comments on various themes and lessons which can be drawn from the story.
Strategies for
Teaching Reading with This Novel
Bookrags
provided a variety of essay topics which students could write. These essays
would engage the students mind and teach them to read thoughtfully. The
students could write about leadership. Leadership is an important theme in this
book as it is exemplified by both positive and negative characters. Students
could write and identify the differences among these leaders. A second strategy is for teacher to have the students identify new vocabulary. The book has is influenced by Hispanic culture, and therefore includes a little Spanish. It also contains a few larger works which might be new to some readers. Students could write down new words as they discover them. This practice would teach the readers to think about the words as they read. It would also allow the student to expand their own personal vocabulary.
A final method to teach reading with The House of The Scorpion is to have the students write about their favorite or least favorite characters. This story is full of distinct people and over the top personalities. A good reader will be able to distinguish between the many characters, and identify their positive and negative characteristics.
Bookrags. “The
House of the Scorpion.” Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Farmer, Nancy. “The
House of the Scorpion.” Atheneum Books, 2002. Print.
Schmoop. “The
House of the Scorpion.” Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Simon and Schuster “The House of the Scorpion.” Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
