The House of the Scorpion

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The House of the Scorpion
First edition cover - late printing with Newbery Honor shields
Author	Nancy Farmer
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young adult, Science fiction novel
Publisher	Atheneum Books
Publication date	2002
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	380 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-689-852223 (first edition, hardback)

The House of the Scorpion is a science fiction novel by Nancy Farmer published in 2002. The main character is Matt, a young boy who lives in the fictional country of Opium (named after the Opium poppies within it) , which is located between the United States and Mexico, now called Aztlán.

[edit] Plot summary

The story takes place in California and Mexico territories, in the fictional country of Opium which lies between Mexico (called "Aztlán" in the story) and the United States. Opium, a large opium farm and den, was established by a powerful drug lord named Matteo Alacrán (entitled "El Patrón" which means the boss in spanish) as a means to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the border going both ways.

The main character, Matt, a clone of El Patrón, lives with a cook named Celia, his caretaker, who works at the "Big House". El Patrón paid scientists to clone Matt to use Matt's organs to prolong his age. Matt is forbidden to form contact with any other people. The general population find clones repulsive, mostly because clones are rendered severely mentally retarded at birth (from a quick procedure preformed by the doctor/s who cloned the person), though Matt avoided this because El Patrón is powerful enough to break the law without consequences.

When Matt sees other children for the first time, he tries to break out of the house and meet them, and with a picture frame, he breaks the window. However, when he jumps through the window he injures his right foot, and must be taken to the Big House for help. While being treated, Mr. Alacrán, the great-grandson of El Patrón, reveals that Matt is El Patrón's clone. The children who rescued him, Steven and Emilia, are horrified, though Emilia's sister María is more sympathetic to Matt, as they are the same age.

After being yelled at and thrown out of the house by Mr. Alacrán, and being put in a dark cell for six months (by a housekeeper named Rosa) where he was treated like an animal, El Patrón comes to the mansion and, after seeing the conditions Matt lived in, orders him to be put in an apartment like everyone else. Matt is then taken to live with the rest of El Patron's families: the Alacráns. The entire Alacrán family is selfish, greedy and despise each other greatly. But in spite of this, they all are united in their hatred of Matt. While taking a tour of the Opium farms with Tam Lin, Matt's Scottish bodyguard, Matt discovers a dead man on the ground. Tam Lin explains that the person is an eejit, a human with a computer chip implanted into his or her brain. Eejits are similar to mindless zombies and only obey voice commanded orders. If an eejit were told to stay it would stay at the same spot until it was told otherwise, even in the face of potentially deadly situations. Eejits are considered beasts of burden, and consist of illegal immigrants that tried to get across Opium to either Aztlán or the United States, as well as any of El Patrón's servants that had displeased him in any way. As Matt continues to grow up, it becomes very clear that despite El Patrón's favoritism, he is barely tolerated. Considered a beloved pet by some and a beastly intruder by others, he is kept ignorant of the nature of clones until a cruel joke reveals why he is different.

As the story progresses, Matt develops more acute perceptions of the people around him, especially that of the Alacrán family. After a near-fatal heart attack, El Patrón requires a heart transplant from Matt to himself, but is foiled when Matt's guardian, Celia, reveals that she has poisoned Matt with foxglove and arsenic, just enough that it would not kill the boy, but would kill El Patrón if he were to acquire Matt's heart. El Patrón dies, and Matt escapes the mansion in the ensuing chaos with the help of María. At this point in the book Maria and Matt confess that they love each other, though it is unclear whether Maria loves Matt romantically or simply as a pet. With the preparations of his bodyguard, Tam Lin, Matt manages to escape Opium to Aztlán, which was once the nation of Mexico. There, he comes across many events and places, such as a cruel environment for orphans. These orphans are called the Lost Boys, and Matt is sent to live with them. The "Keepers" operate the plankton farms on the principles of communism, treating the orphans unfairly (though claiming to be fair); they have them laboring every day and feeding them "healthy and nutritious" plankton. The Keepers are allowed lavish quarters and delectable food, claiming that this is fair because they "earned" the right to do so by working hard during their childhood

Matt is at first an outcast, and deemed an unwanted aristocrat. However, as his peers see that he is not a spoiled child, Matt becomes a hero in his society, and leads a rebellion against the Keepers. After liberating the Lost children, Matt finds María. After living in a convent with María and her mother, Matt learns from Esperanza, María's mother, that Opium is in a lockdown state. This means that nothing can enter or leave the country. The only way in is with El Patrón's signature (his fingerprints and DNA). After getting inside and finding Celia, Mr. Ortega and Daft Donald, he tells Matt that El Patron has had a funeral, and his family had gathered to celebrate his death, because they lived their lives in perpetual fear of him. They drink a special wine harvested in the year El Patrón was born, which turned out to be poisoned, killing everyone present except for Daft Donald, who had been guarding the place with Tam Lin. Tam Lin later drank the wine, with knowledge of its poison, because he wanted to end his life, regretting all of the evil things he has done in the past, which included killing 20 children by accident with a poorly placed bomb that was actually meant for the English prime minister.

It is revealed that El Patrón viewed his family as his possessions, and when he died he would be taking all of his possessions with him to his afterlife. María's estranged mother, Esperanza, who is in the United States, tells Matt that because he is a clone of El Patrón, upon the death of the original he now takes the original's place as El Patron, the ruler of Opium. Esperanza offers Matt her support as well as the aid of both the United States and Aztlán, but only if he promises to destroy Opium from within. He agrees, and then returns to Opium to take control. On the last page before the book ends Matt thinks to himself that he will be able to shut down Opium and he will be able to revert the eejits back into regular humans.