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Nancy was born in 1941 in Phoenix. She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, earning her BA in 1963. Instead of taking a regular job, she joined the Peace Corps and was sent to India. She spent more than a year, living virtually alone, on Lake Cabora Bassa in Mozambique, monitoring water weeds. Next, she was hired to help control tsetse fly in the dense bush on the banks of the Zambezi in Zimbabwe. Part of the time she spent in the capital, Harare, and there met her future husband. They married a few weeks later in 1976 and now live in Menlo Park, California. They also have a son, Daniel, who is in the U.S. navy.
El Patrón is the patriarch of the Alacrán family and the leader of the country of Opium. At the beginning of the novel, he is over 140 years old, and has created a clone, Matt, with the intention of extending his own life by harvesting Matt’s organs for himself.
Matt is the clone of El Patrón, created for the purpose of harvesting his organs in order to extend El Patrón’s life. In the novel Matt truly struggles to fit in with the other members of the Alacran house, because he isnt treated equal, and is viewed as an animal. At the end of the novel, he became better that El patron ever was, which led to him earning everyone's respect.
Celia is Matt’s caretaker and a cook in El Patrón’s house. Celia is very much religious and loves Matt unconditionally and selflessly. She leads Matt with guidance throughout his life to teach him to be kind and respect others, as well as to keep himself safe. Matt later speaks about Celia as his mother to others.
In The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, the author uses the dialogue throughout the story to tell how the characters feel about who they're with, their surroundings, and how they respect the other characters. Celia and María’s continued concern for Matt shows that their love withstands the separation forced upon him by Rosa and the Alacrán family. Their kind treatment serves as a positive example for Matt that starkly contrasts the inhumane abuse to which he has been subjected.
The House of the Scorpion is about a young boy named, Matteo, who was designed to be a clone of a powerful man named, El patron, who happens to be a 140-year-old man. Matteo was born with no rights and is viewed as nothing less but an animal. Later in the novel, Matt’s perspective over El patron changes drastically when Matteo finds out El Patron had used Matt for his organs that he can later use to extend his life Matt's early years were spent peacefully and somewhat happy. He lives away with his caretaker Celia, who works for the wealthy Alacrán family. But when Matt is taken to live in the Big House on the Alacrán estate, Matt's life takes a dark turn. He is then locked away in a room and treated like an animal at such a young age which later ones help him turn into a true man.
In the beginning of the book, Matt knows nothing outside his home nor anything about who he is or where he came from or the fact that he's a clone of El patron. One day a group of kids come across the field from his house, Matt knows nothing about the outside world to the point where curiosity gets the best of him.
In the story, we are lead to believe that El Patron loves Matt, however, there are many hints throughout the story that lead to the conclusion that there is more than just that. In the book, Maria says El Patron loves Matt only because Matt can help extend his life. This refers to when Matt over hears the argument between El Patron and Celia where Celia states that El Patron has had several clones before Matt who have gotten the same treatment and been in Matt's position.
. The solution; running away.
Setting: Opium, Atzlan, Alacran Home.
Matt's world comes crashing down when he realizes what his fate is revealed, and he comes close to being killed. His friends stand up to El Patrón on his behalf, but he must leave Celia and Tam Lin behind even though they were the only ones there for him. He later on realizes that he was being used and lied to the entire time, just for his organs, so El patron can create more clones to extend his life. When el patron was in his death bed, after having a heart attack, he was ready to use Matteo's heart to replace his.
Matt then runs away to the orphanage but when he realizes, he wants out. So he plan's to run away to Maria.
When Matt returns to opium to become a better leader El Patron. Matt changes peoples perspective towards him, and opens up the eyes of the people who saw him as an animal when he actually wasn't. By his side Tam Lin treated Matteo as father figure. Tam Lin helps build Matt as a better person, so that Matt can become a better leader.
To make good decisions, you need to understand the difference between fate and free will and there is a balance between the two. Fate brings you opportunities, and free will determines whether or not you take them. Fate is the destiny that is already planned for you, but it's up to you to do something with it.
The house of the Scorpion is almost from Matt's perspective, and he's a boy who is under a lot of pressure. Which makes the book have a lot of tension in it. Matt is often anxious and worried, and his worry comes out in the novel's overall tone which it leads the tone to be tense, worried, mysterious.
https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/house-of-scorpion/
https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-house-of-the-scorpion/
https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/house-of-scorpion/