The House Of The Scorpion Book Review

The House Of Scorpion Book Review

Matt has grown up just as any other child; only he has a secret, one that he doesn't even know about. He is a clone.

Although Matt doesn't know it yet, being a clone is nothing to be proud of. Clones are frowned upon and if there is one thing Matt doesn't like, it's being treated like anything other then a child. After all that's how Celia, his motherly nanny treated him. As Matt grows up he learns that being different is nothing to be proud of in his kind of world.

Matt learns that in order to live the life he wants he needs to stand out and be heard, he needs to let people know that he is just like them, that clones are not animals.

As Farmer allows us to travel through Matt's life with him, she teaches us how to love, not the love you have towards a dog, but the kind of love that’s unconditional, loving something or someone no matter what or who they are. She teaches us of heartbreak through Matt and Marias undying bond to each other and she teaches us that no matter what goes on, you will always have friends and family to support you.

Farmers heart felt novel brings us to enjoy the happiness of ones life along with the sorrow, heartbreak, and anger. 

Round Table #4 - Thoughts On The Novel

Blog Post #4 - Comparing Main Characters

When first thought of Matt and Vincent the first comparison that came to my mind was about the girls in there lives and what they were willing to do for them. Both individuals were willing to risk their lives to be able to be with the one they loved. Although that sounds very "General" I did have one specific incident in mind for both of the men that I found to be quite similar.

In The House Of the Scorpion Matt and Maria agree to meet in the secret passageway that Matt had found. For the first little while, in order for Matt to get here he had to sneak out and sneak past people who, if had seen him, would shave tried to hurt or kill him.

Although people were not trying to kill Vincent, the scene that I found most resembles thus of Matts was when Vincent was trying to cross the road without his contacts. Both gentlemen were aiming to be with the one they loved, or were falling in love with, and both risked their lives in a sense to be with that person.

Although these two characters lead very different lives being that in one, humans are the kings and queens of the world and the other, clones are taking over, these two people can relate very well. 

In Gattaca, Vincent is told that he can't do certain things like, go to space, because he is human. In HoS, Matt is told that he cannot do some things, like have a life outside of El Patrón, because he is a clone. In order to prove these people wrong, both individuals try to hide their genetic make-up in order to prove a point to the world and the people who disbelieve in them. 

The final aspect that I found most important between the two is that in the end of both stories, even though the two are very different, one being human the other being a clone, both takes over the originals identity. Matt being the clone of El Patrón, as soon as he dies Matt is the rightful owner of his identity now, and takes his place in the world, not at "Matt The Clone" but has the new and improved El Patrón. 

As for Vincent, his ending is the same but in a different way, if that makes sense. Vincent is not a clone, or rather, un natural baby. He is himself and no one else is like him. So because he has been pretending to be someone else, and that someone has now passed, Vincent is unable to get the supplies he needs to continue to portray the image of him being Jarome for very much longer. 

This being a problem is means that although for a little while, both individuals will be similar in the fact that they have the only copy of specific DNA on the planet at that moment, Vincent will only be able to keep up the faćad for so long before everyone will know his secret. 

Free Choice - What I like and dislike about the book

So far i have really enjoyed the book. Looking at the back i knew it was either going to be really amazing or terrible, just one of those books. As i started to get into the book and read deeper into the characters i really started to enjoy the aspect of it being placed in the future.

One very specific moment that i really enjoyed was when Maria kissed Matt. I loved how Farmer made it seem like such a mature scene in the book. I think that she wanted it to be mature mainly because Matt and Maria both seem to act much older then they really are, that is also something i love about this scene.

Another thing that i really enjoyed in this book was how she portrayed El Patrón as such a week, and frail old man when in reality he is as strong as anyone courtesy of his power and authority over everyone.

 Although i really enjoyed the book, there were parts that i didn't love so much, and some parts where i just wanted to ask Farmer what she was thinking!

An example of this would be near the end when matt narrowly escapes the Farm Patrol. In all honesty, i am happy that he is alive but i think that Matt has gotten away with so much in the book that it's sort of expected now, like when matt gets into trouble, you know he is going to get out cause he has every other time. I think that Farmer would have done this because Matt is the main character, or, one of the main characters in the story and he needs to stay alive to finish the book, at least, thats what i think she might have been thinking at the time.

Another part that really set me on edge with Farmer was when they found the clone. First of all, why did Tom know about the clone? Like if it was supposed to be a secret then why was Tom let in on it if he is one of the people with the biggest mouth ever. And why would Farmer allow Tom to drag Matt and Maria in there and then have Maria run to Tom when he was the one who scared her in the first place i mean, granted the clone is what scared her but Tom was the one who showed her the clone. How could she not know that Tom was TRYING to hurt her? I hate that Farmer makes Maria seem so naïve and like that stereotypical princess "help me" type. Like Farmer SHOULD have made her a strong individual like most women in our society. I mean after all, women have only gotten stronger in the passing years why make them weak in the future. 

Blog Post #3 - Illegal Immigration

http://www.myimmigrationstory.com/

For this post we were told to find something in the news, or on the internet, anything really, that we felt connected to Celia's story. After looking on numerous news sites and finding nothing but people criticizing immigration and the government and news' side of things, i found the site shown above. This site allowed you to read into the lives of people who have immigrated illegally and to hear there stories on there struggles and why they felt the need to do it.

Illegal immigration has become quite the problem all over the world. I understand both sides of the story and how both side feel about illegal immigration, and i do have my own opinion on it.

More to the point of this post, these stories aloud me to get a better feeling of how Celia felt when illegally immigrating, as well as how she felt on trusting a coyote. I am still, and will always be confused as to why she chose to trust a coyote, a complete stranger, with something so dangerous. I do believe that Celia felt as though she didn't have a choice when she went with the coyote but i also think that she could have chosen a safer, less deadly way to travel.

In the end i believe that Celia was in the middle of such a terrible life she was willing to do anything to get out of the situation. Sadly that involved her using a Coyote. As well, she new people who had used coyotes and didn't seem to see a problem with it in the moment.

Round Table Conversation #3

Blog Post #2 - Setting

The setting in this book has not changed much. Almost the entire book except for during flash backs is placed in the Alacrans home. The Alacrans home is a large estate in which quite a few people have taken residents. 

Setting is a large part of books, t can determine how you feel about something, what you think about certain characters, or even if you like a book. Farmer has chosen the setting she has for a specific reason. A possibility for Farmer's reasoning behind the setting is that it is rather distant, vacant and different. In this book it talks a lot of acceptance and being different. The House Of the Scorpion is a different type of book and by adding in that sort of outcast setting you are allowing for the book to flourish further more. 

Another possible reason behind why Farmer would have chose this setting is because of the story line. The story line talks about an extraordinarily rich, powerful man whom wishes to keep this clone, Matt, in safety. For myself, it would only make sense to bring something you want to keep safe to a guarded, large and again safe environment. by placing the majority of this book in a remote place, with a large house and the only people around either know about the clone or are "eejits", makes complete sense.

Although the setting is place, for majority of the time, in one specific place, I do believe that the flashbacks on places like Celia and El Patrón’s home town are going to have some impact or effect in the future. Farmer may have done this as another example of foreshadowing, but I think that for sure they will have some part in the future of the book.

Blog Post #1 - Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing Within The House Of The Scorpion

Foreshadowing is a huge part of this book. There are quite a few different parts in the book SO FAR that I believe are going to lead up to major events.

The first part that I noticed that had foreshadowing in it was when Rosa and Willium (the doctor) are having a conversation about Rosa going with Willium to El Patrõn's home. She says she loves him and I think that seeing as how their relationship has stayed rather secret, Matt might say something about Rosa and Willium and get them both in trouble and jeopardize there relationship.

Another part that I noticed in the book was that in the table of contents it only shows up to the age 14. This might lead to a rather large and somewhat mysterious ending. Possibly Matt is going to escape from the grasps of Rosa and everyone else in the Big House.

Another possibility is the Matt could die. This could be a major possibility because a lot of the beginning of the book talks about how the clones are not necessarily stable and there is always a possibility for them to die. The resigning behind the possibility of them dying is that in the very beginning of the book when El Patrõn is creating his clones and they are just cells, gradually over the course of a few months all but 5 died, then when they were place in the cows, another four died. As well El Patrõn and the people in the Big House stated that clones are "unstable". 

Foreshadowing might play a very large role in this book. So far a lot of the things that were mentioned in the very beginning of the book have been brought up within the last two chapter, being chapters 4 and 5. Foreshadowing is used as a warning or indication of something that is going to happen in the future. For me, in the very beginning, meaning the table of contents, it only goes up to 14 so this might be foreshadowing upon a larger event that will happen when he is that age.  

The final moment of foreshadowing that I have noticed within the first part of the book is when Celia and Maria came to Matt's window and promised to help him to escape, and even though Celia is all Matt could think about earlier he seemed rather uneasy at seeing her there at his window. All he wanted for the two of them to do at that moment was to leave. I think that this is going to cause for some drama later in the book when Celia finally does break out or get the Big House to release Matt and I don’t think Matt is going to want to leave. He said he has a found a form of peace, serenity living in his “kingdom” as he likes to call it.

So far I think that the book has a really good message being portrayed and I can’t wait to read on!

What We Will Bring To The Group

What We Will Bring To The Group

Jessica:

I think that in this project specifically I will contribute my work skills. I love to read and I love to write so being able to read the book and write detailed blog posts will really help out our group. I also think that I will be able to be a positive group member. I can help with keeping everyone on task and up to date. I also think that I can help because when it comes to projects that I really enjoy I tend to work hard on them. Seeing as how I love reading and writing this project will allow me to show off my abilities to not only do work but to do it well and up to standards.

Corey:

I will bring to the group an aspect of inquiring deeper. I will go father than inquiry. I like to know more about the person who’s life I am reading about. As well as developing skills to help me accomplish that. I like to read a lot once I find a book that interests me enough. It’s a hard task to accomplish but I really like this book, so I will probably finish the book within a week. I like to remember things specifically about characters, which will help me with analysis. 

Round Table Conversation #2

Round Table #1