History Literature / HouseOfTheScorpion

* [[{{WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids}} What Do You Mean, It's For Preteens?]] The book is very dark, touches on multiple controversial ethics issues, and is filled to the brim with NightmareFuel.

* AndIMustScream: The fate that is planned for Matt. [[spoiler: Having all his organs taken out one by one to keep El Patron alive]].
* AristocratsAreEvil: This is played straight with the Keepers, who hate "aristocrats" like Matt, as they feel that the goals of the collective are more important than the individual. It also applies to most of El Patron's family, and the [=MacGregors=] being portrayed as evil. El Patron's portrayal borders on this at times, but he is usually portrayed sympathetically.

* ChildProdigy: Matt is very talented, especially at music.

* DysfunctionJunction: ''Freaking everywhere''. Matt is a clone and despised by the whole family. Felicia is a drunk pianist prone to nervous breakdowns, her son Tom is a bullying monster, and Mr. Alacran, her husband, doesn't even ''like'' her. Benito is a JerkAss, and he and his wife despise each other, but they're forced to be together anyway because El Patron wants it. His wife ends up getting drunk during the wedding to cope with her husband. And that's just a few of the family's [[{{Understatement}} issues]]. The only well-meaning people in the whole mess are Matt, Celia and El Viejo.

* [[spoiler: GrandTheftMe:]] Matt's sole raison d'etre is to [[spoiler:provide El Patron with backup organs]].
* [[spoiler: HumanResources]]: Clones are created [[spoiler:simply for the purpose of extending their original's life span.]]

* [[spoiler: RedemptionEqualsDeath]]: [[spoiler: Tam Lin]], who feels that the only way to atone for his [[spoiler:accidental massacre]] is to [[spoiler:exit the world]].

* TeenGenius: Matt.

** If one goes by the statement Tam Lin makes about a TV show ending its run a century before the story, you can probably estimate the novel taking place at least after the 21st century.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: The top quote. Also a CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming.
* YouAreNotAlone: [[spoiler: At first, Matt is intimidated by the huge task of undoing everything that El Patron has imposed upon Opium once he takes control of the country, but then [[{{CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming}} he remembers that he has his friends and family to support him all the way]].]]

[[spoiler:* RedemptionEqualsDeath]]: [[spoiler: Tam Lin]], who feels that the only way to atone for his [[spoiler:accidental massacre]] is to [[spoiler:exit the world]].

[[spoiler:* GrandTheftMe:]] Matt's sole raison d'etre is to [[spoiler:provide El Patron with backup organs]].
[[spoiler:* HumanResources]]: Clones are created [[spoiler:simply for the purpose of extending their original's life span.]]

* GrandTheftMe: Matt's sole raison d'etre is to [[spoiler:provide El Patron with backup organs]].
* HumanResources: Clones are created simply for the purposes of extending their original's life span.

* ImmortalityImmorality: They may not have been planning on ''immortality'' as such, but [[spoiler: El Patron and [=MacGregor=] ]] use some thoroughly immoral technologies to extend their lifespans.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is one of the central themes in the novel. Clones are declared non-human by international law and must have their cognitive functions destroyed with drugs to justify harvesting them for organs. Matt escapes this treatment only because El Patron has enough [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney power]] to break this law without consequence. This way of thinking is commonplace within their society to the extentthat Maria is shocked when she is told that Matt is and always has been human.

* DysfunctionJunction: ''Freaking everywhere''. Matt is a clone and despised by the whole family, Felicia is a drunk pianist prone to nervous breakdowns; her son Tom is a bullying monster; Mr. Alacran, and her husband, doesn't even ''like'' her. Benito is a JerkAss, and he and his wife despise each other, but they're forced to be together anyway because El Patron wants it. His wife ends up getting drunk during the wedding to cope with her husband. And that's just a few of the family's [[{{Understatement}} issues]]. The only well-meaning people in the whole mess are Matt, Celia and El Viejo.

* GrandTheftMe: Matt's sole raison d'etre is to provide El Patron with backup organs.

* PeopleFarms: Shown in the beginning of the novel, where clones are born [[WalkingTransplant for organs]].

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Tam Lin]], who feels that the only way to atone for his botched bombing is to exit the world.

* TheMessiah: Maria, a devout follower of the techings of St. Francis, aspires to be this trope.
* ParentalSubstitute: Celia and Tam Lin towards Matt

According to Farmer's [[http://www.nancyfarmerwebsite.com/4/post/2008/08/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit1.html page]] a sequel is in progress.

%% The scanner, from my understanding, was a DNA reader, not a fingerprint scanner. DidNotDoTheResearch wouldn't work here for this. %%

* DidNotDoTheResearch: The driving force behind Matt's ascension to power is that as a clone, he has the same fingerprints as El Patron. However, this is not the case, as minute factors in the womb shape finger prints; a quick glance at monozygous twins reveals that despite sharing the same DNA, they'll have slightly different fingerprints.

* WalkingTransplant: Par for the course for clones.

* GrandTheftMe: Matt's sole raison d'etre is to provide El Patron with backup organs.

''The House of the Scorpion'' is a 2002 novel by Nancy Farmer. It takes place [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in the near future]], where a thin strip of land between the now-impoverished United States and Aztlán (formerly Mexico) forms the country of Opium. The story's focus is on boy named Matt, who is a clone of drug lord and ruler of Opium, Matteo Alacrán, the latter of which is more commonly known as El Patron. As a young boy, he lives with Celia, his caregiver, in a little cottage in the middle of the poppy fields. Later, he moves in with El Patron, but is treated poorly by the residents (save a few of the characters and El Patron) for the simple reason that he is a clone; most of clones have their self-awareness and intelligence blunted by mandated drug use.

However [[spoiler: after El Patron suffers a near-fatal heart attack, [[TheReveal Matt is told]] that he was never meant to be a replacement: his only worth to El Patron was to grant him the satisfaction of having someone like him having the childhood he never had, and for spare parts.]] Celia [[spoiler: was able to see through his plan, and poisons Matt with a small amount of arsenic to prevent his organs from being of any worth to El Patron. El Patron soon dies from his failing heart.]] With the help of his bodyguard Tam Lin, he escapes Opium, but discovers that the world outside is just as harsh as the one he had left behind.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Matt and Maria, though [[YourMileageMayVary opinions may differ]]: Maria is basically the only girl around Matt's age in the entire book.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is one of the central themes in the novel. Clones are declared non-human by international law and must have their cognitive functions destroyed with drugs to justify harvesting them for organs. Matt escapes this treatment only because El Patron has enough [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney power]] to break this law without consequence. This way of thinking is so prevalent that Maria is shocked when she is told that Matt is and always has been human.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Many of the themes in the story seem to be making a message about American immigration politics, stem cell research, and drug policies.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is one of the central themes in the novel. Clones are declared non-human by international law and must be have their cognative functions destroyed with drugs to justify harvesting them for organs. Matt escapes this treatment only because El Patron has enough [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney power]] to break this law without consequence. This way of thinking is so prevalent that Maria is shocked when she is told that Matt is and always has been human.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Many of the themes in the story seem to be making a message about American immigration politics, and stem cell research, and drug policies.

However [[spoiler: after El Patron suffers a near-fatal heart attack, [[TheReveal Matt is told]] that he was never meant to be a replacement: his only worth to El Patron was to grant him the satisfaction of having someone like him having the childhood he never had, and for spare parts.]] Celia [[spoiler: was able to see through his plan, and poisons Matt with a small amount of arsenic to prevent his organs from being of any worth to El Patron. El Patron soon dies from his failing heart.]] With the help of his bodyguard Tam Lin, he escapes Opium, but discovers that the world outside is equally as harsh as the one he had left behind..

''The House of the Scorpion'' is a 2002 novel by Nancy Farmer. It takes place [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in the near future]], where a thin strip of land between the now-impoverished United States and Aztlán (formerly Mexico) forms the country of Opium. The story's focus is on boy named Matt, who is a clone of drug lord and ruler of Opium, Matteo Alacrán, the latter of which is more commonly known as El Patron. As a young boy, he lives with Celia, his caregiver, in a little cottage in the middle of the poppy fields. Later, he moves in with El Patron, but is treated like poorly by the residents, save a few of the characters and El Patron for the simple reason that he is a clone; most of clones have their self-awareness and intelligence blunted by mandated drug use.

* EvilOldFolks: El Patron.

* PeopleFarms: Shown in the beginning of the novel, where Matt and other clones are born [[spoiler: [[WalkingTransplant for organs]].]]

* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?~=]: Many of the themes in the story seem to be making a message about American immigration politics, and stem cell research, and drug policies.

* CompleteMonster: Much of the family Matt lives with in the first half of the book and the Keepers at the second half fall under this trope. El Patron is described as "evil" several times, and his ruthlessness shows at times, but manages to avoid this trope since at first, he is the only person besides Celia, Tam Lin, and Maria who is nice to Matt when he came to the big house, and treats like a son, until the point where he needs his organs. El Patron is said to had to live by his wits when he was little, which is likely a contributing factor towards his nature.

* HarsherInHindsight: The concept of Opium, a Latin American country ran by drug cartels, is becoming more and more possible with the Mexican Drug War at time of writing.

* NightmareFuel: There's actually a surprising quantity of this for a pre-teen novel
** Poor Matt being captured and trapped in a room full of sawdust for six months at the tender age of six.
** The entire concept of eejits. [[{{AndIMustScream}} Your brain and free will is destroyed. And if you're ordered to do something, you will continue to do so until ordered to stop.]] So it is entirely possible to work yourself to death.
*** Early on in the story Matt and Tam Lin come across a dead man in the opium fields, and Tam Lin states that he must have been too far to hear the call to come in. Matt then has a ''very'' graphic ImagineSpot of the man working and working until he passed out and died of dehydration.
** [[{{StepfordSmiler}} That teacher...]]
** [=MacGregor=]'s clone.
** The bone pit.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Matt and Maria, though [[YourMileageMayVary opinions may differ]]: Maria is basically the only girl around Matt's age in the entire book.

Click the edit button to start this new page.

->"Here's the dirty little secret. No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That's because there isn't any difference. The idea of clones being inferior is a filthy lie."
-->-- '''Tam Lin'''

''The House of the Scorpion'' is a 2002 novel by Nancy Farmer. It takes place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in the fictional country of Opium, a strip of land between Mexico, which is now known as Aztlán, and a impoverished United States. ''House of the Scorpion'' is a story about a boy named Matt who is a clone for drug lord and ruler of Opium, Matteo Alacrán, more commonly referred to as El Patron. Initially, he lives with a caregiver named Celia in a little cottage in the middle of a poppy field. Later, he moves in with El Patron, but is treated like crap by everyone there except a few of the characters and El Patron only because he is a clone, most of whom are rendered idiotic by mandated drug use.

While living in El Patron's mansion, he learns about the history of Opium, and about the people he lives with. Observing the people in Opium, including one scene where he finds a dead worker's body in the field, he tells himself when he rules after El Patron's death, he will free all the workers and make Opium a better place.
However [[spoiler: after El Patron suffers a near-fatal heart attack, it is [[TheReveal revealed to Matt]] (although hinted at to the readers) that he was never meant to be a replacement, at least not all of him. His only worth to El Patron is to give him the satisfaction of someone like him having the childhood he never had, and for spare parts.]] Celia [[spoiler: poisons Matt with a small amount of arsenic; not enough to kill him, but in order to make him worthless to El Patron. El Patron soon dies from his failing heart.]] With the help of his bodyguard Tam Lin, he escapes, from one harsh world, right into another.

The book was the winner of thirteen different awards, including the Newberry Honor and the National Book Award.

A film adaptation was hinted at IMDB several years ago, but nothing came of it due to the producers wanting to make their own sequel and merchandise. Farmer thought this would only cheapen the story so the deal fell through. The offer for a film is still open however.

According to Farmer's [[http://www.nancyfarmerwebsite.com/4/post/2008/08/post-title-click-and-type-to-edit1.html page]] a sequel is in the works.
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!!House of the Scorpion contains examples of:

* AristocratsAreEvil: Literally with the Keepers, who hate "aristocrats" like Matt. Played straight within the work with the Keepers, most of El Patron's family, and the [=MacGregors=] being portrayed as evil. El Patron's portrayal borders on this at times, but he is usually portrayed sympathetically.
* AWorldHalfFull: Matt [[spoiler: gains control of Opium in the end, and plans on working on shutting it down and freeing the enslaved illegals within its borders.]]
* AutomatonHorses: [[JustifiedTrope Justified and played straight]] the horses, known as "safe horses" are embedded with a computer chip, that makes them follow any order given and do it until ordered to stop. They can be ridden to exhaustion and will keep going until ordered otherwise. They will die without food and water like a normal horse.
* AuthorTract: The book can be read as a insight on human cloning, immigration, drugs, slavery, pollution, and stem cell research. Farmer, however, says that she is not against human cloning, but is very wary about it.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Alacráns.
* CloningBlues: Matt as he struggles with coping in a world hostile to clones.
* CompleteMonster: Much of the family Matt lives with in the first half of the book, and the Keepers at the second half can fall under this trope. El Patron is described as "evil" several times, and his ruthlessness shows at times, but manages to avoid this trope since at first, he is the only person besides Celia, Tam Lin, and Maria who is nice to Matt when he came to the big house, and treats like a son, right up [[spoiler: until he needs his organs. "You owe me Matt!"]] Also, El Patron is said to had to live by his wits when he was little, also probably contributing to his nature.
* CrapSackWorld: The U.S.'s economy is so bad, in fact, In one scene, El Patron mentions that he catches illegals crossing not only into the United States, but ''into Aztlan'' as well. Meanwhile, Aztlan, seems to be under a quasi-communist society with people known as keepers who use orphaned children for labor. Not much is said about the rest of the world, but a country running opium everywhere on the planet except the U.S. and Aztlan, that is protected by said countries and is unchecked by their (or anybodies) drug authorities probably isn't doing it much good.
* DidNotDoTheResearch: The entire key to Matt's redemption/ascension is that as a clone, he [[spoiler: has the same fingerprints as El Patron]]. Any middle school biology class teaches that this is not an entirely genetic biometric, and therefore the entire denouement is a lie.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Tam Lin drinks poisoned wine in order to atone for accidentally killing twenty schoolkids in a botched terrorist attack.]]
* DrugsAreBad: Looked at. The nation of Opium is said to be formed when powerful drug dealers made a deal with U.S. and Mexican leaders, offering to secure their borders and not traffic drugs into their country. In return, they demand to be left alone to ship drugs to the rest of the world. What this system does to the rest of the world is hinted at, but never really described. Later in the novel, [[spoiler: Matt gets the Keepers arrested by accusing them of illegally taking opium products. When they object to this, Maria's mother simply says, "Fine, then I guess you won't object to a drug test," as they are led away by the cops.]]
* EvilOldFolks: El Patron.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Becoming an eejit is treated as such.
* FreudianExcuse: El Patron's childhood. He was the only surviving child of a ''large'' family, had to beg his landlord for food, and pretty much only had money when it was given to him via charity.
* HarsherInHindsight: The concept of Opium, a Latin American country ran by drug cartels is becoming more and more possible (and true) with the Mexican Drug War at time of writing.
* GaiasLament: Not a major theme in the book, but implied. The Rio Grande is so polluted, that Tam Lin describes it as a "witches brew of chemicals," and the Gulf of California is drained.
* GrandTheftMe: Sums up Matt's purpose in life to El Patron.
* GovernmentDrugEnforcement : By law, clones must be given drugs at birth to stunt their intelligence, making them just a step above vegetables. Matt avoided this simply because of El Patron's influence.
* HumanResources: Clones are created simply for the purposes of extending their original's life span.
* IdiotSavant: Ton Ton of the Lost Boys. The kid stutters and is regarded as stupid by his peers, but has a way with machines.
* ImmortalityImmorality: They may not have been planning on ''immortality'' as such, but [[spoiler: El Patron and [=MacGregor=] ]] use some thoroughly immoral technology to extend their lifespans.
* LoveRedeems: Hinted at with [[spoiler: Tam Lin and Celia]].
* TheMessiah: Maria, a devout follower of the techings of St. Francis, aspires to be this trope.
* NightmareFuel: Much more than you'd think.
** Poor Matt being captured and trapped in a room full of sawdust for six months. At the tender age of six.
** The entire concept of eejits. [[{{AndIMustScream}} Your brain and free will is destoryed. And if you're ordered to do something, you will continue to do so until ordered to stop.]] So yes, its is entirely possible to work yourself to death.
*** Early on in the story Matt and Tam Lin come across a dead man in the opium fields, and Tam Lin states that he must have been too far to hear the call to come in. Matt then has a ''very'' graphic ImagineSpot of the man working and working untill he passed out and died of dehydration.
** [[{{StepfordSmiler}} That teacher...]]
** [=MacGregor=]'s clone.
** The bone pit.
* OhCrap: The Keepers [[spoiler: as they are led away to be drug tested.]]
* ParentalSubstitute: Celia and Tam Lin
* PeopleFarms: Shown in the beginning of the novel, where Matt and other clones are born [[spoiler: [[WalkingTransplant for organs]].]]
* ThePromisedLand: The United States, or more specifically, California, for some of the boys under the Keepers control. For many of the immigrants mentioned in the novel, the United States serves as this as well. Subverted in the fact the [=US=]'s economy is so bad to the point that Americans now view Aztlán (A future Mexico) as this as well, that Opium authorities catch people coming in from both directions.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Tam Lin]]
* SoylentSoy: Subverted. The Lost Boys live off of plankton, but later once Matt escapes from the Keepers, one character mentions that it is used only for animal feed.
* StrangledByTheRedString: Matt and Maria, though YourMileageMayVary. You'll notice that Maria is basically the only girl around Matt's age in the entire book.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The time of the novel. The exact date is never revealed, the closest we get to it is when Matt reads a book on the history of Opium, and looks at the author's bio. We learn that the author won the Nobel Peace Prize, but Matt stops reading the book before the year is read.
** If one goes by the statement Tam Lin makes about a TV show ending its run a century before the story, you can probably estimate the novel taking place at least after the 21st century.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Tam Lin]] used to be one, [[spoiler:being a Scottish terrorist who accidentally blew up a school bus in a bombing aimed at a politician.]] He came to Opium seeking asylum.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: One of the central themes of the book. Clones are declared nonhuman by international law and must be dumbed down with drugs to justify harvesting them for organs. Matt escapes this treatment only because El Patron has enough [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney power]] to break this law without consequence. This way of thinking is so prevalent that Maria is shocked when she is told that Matt is and always has been human.
** Not to mention that clone embryos are transplanted into the wombs of cows so they "technically" count as livestock.
*** True, but genetically they are human through and through.
* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?~=]: Many of the themes in the story seem to be making a message about American immigration politics, and stem cell research, and drug policies.
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* StrangledByTheRedString: Matt and Maria, though [[YourMileageMayVary]]. You'll notice that Maria is basically the only girl around Matt's age in the entire book.

* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?~=]: Many of the themes in the story seem to be making a message about American immigration politics, and stem cell research.