The House of the Scorpion by author Nancy Farmer, is a novel that follows the life of Matteo Matt Alacran, a genetic clone of the infamous and wealthy opium dealer El Patron. When the story begins, its time in the future is unknown, but Matteo is living in the stretch of land between the United States and Aztlan, past day Mexico. Their country is named Opium and is reigned over by 143-year-old El Patron, who took the land and made it for drug dealers that mass-produce opium. That's about it – white poppies and shadowy hills that grow opium.
Growing up in the country of Opium, Matt knew that ever since he was a cell in a lab, he understood what color his hair was to be, and how tall he would become. Matt is described throughout the novel, between the ages 7 and 20, as a skinny child, with eyes, “the color of the dark pond with the fish lurking in its depths” (Farmer 62). As it all unravels, El Patrón has always intended to use his clone, Matt, for his organs. That's Matt's purpose. His friends, Maria Mendoza, a girl living in the Big House, Celia, one of El Patron’s cooks, and Tam Lin, his bodyguard, teach Matt things to help him fill in the shoes for who he becomes. Matt learns things such as manners, respect, dignity, compassion, and how to be self-sufficient and strong. These things put Matt on the path to sorting out who he is and who he wants to be. Of course in the start when Matt grows a strong liking for El Patron, them being the same person, we as the readers expect El Patron to have a large influence on Matt, but thankfully he doesn’t. Slowly throughout the story, Matt grows to learn secrets kept from El Patron, and how to break away from this set purpose and become his self.
In the country of Opium, for years, El Patron used cloning to make replacement body parts for himself, extending his lifespan. The clones grow until they are "harvested," and their brains are then handicapped so that they cannot reach full human potential, to run a life of their own. El Patron, however, keeps one clone safe from being handicapped, granting him a somewhat “normal” life, and that’s where Matteo Alacran’s life began.
For the first six years of his life, he is taken care of by Celia, one of El Patron’s caring cooks. The three children living on the Alacran Estate, Steven, Emilia, and María discover Matt locked in a small hut or cottage. Returning the next day, Matt attempts to escape but is badly cut in the process. He is recognized by some of the nurses, and while helping to patch up his cut, he befriends Maria as she disobeys restrictions to sneak him food and tells him stories. In result of her actions, she is taken away. Not long afterward, Matt is taken to El Patron. He learns to like El Patron, who feeds him rich foods and tells him stories, similar to what Maria had done.
Matt is 14 when he learns the purpose of the clones and how they are used for transplants. As the wedding between Steven and Emilia is starting, El Patron collapses and is rushed to the hospital. Matt realizes that El Patron wants Matt for his heart. As Matt is getting prepped for the transplant, Celia announces that Matt's heart can't be transplanted because she has been poisoning him. It is uncertain of why Matt does not die from this, but El Patron dies soon after the announcement and Matt makes his way to escape after an order has been sent to kill him. The way to Aztlan is difficult one. Matt is met by men called Keepers, guardians of orphans, who plan to send him to work in a factory. There he is kept with three other orphan boys: Fidelito, Chacho, and Ton-Ton. Together the four of them attempt and succeed in escaping. Maria’s mother informs Matt that Opium is under lockdown and he has to go back because El Patron's DNA overrides the lockdown. Upon his return to Opium, he learns that El Patron killed nearly everyone with poisoned wine, including the friends he left behind. Maria tells Matt that according to law, he isn't a clone if the original Matteo Alacran has died, making him El Patron, claiming the title. A grieving and heartbroken Matt decides with the help of his friends that he has to fix the problems in Opium.
I thought that The House of the Scorpion was a frustrating yet great novel that always had me asking questions and wanting to know more. Matt was a surprisingly relatable character which along with other things let me fall into the story and enjoy it in its whole self, with the big picture of Matt, just wanting to be different from the expectations.
The House of the Scorpion
by: Nicole Stetsyuk
“the color of the dark pond with the fish lurking in its depths”