Edward's Novel Review

            The house of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a semi-interesting novel, specifically because it can be much deeper than what it seems in the text. The book starts off with our protagonist Matt, he is a cloned human cloned after the great drug lord El Patron. The novel takes place in future times around the year 2100 in an area between Aztlan (Mexico) and the United States of America on the opium farms. We begin with Matt being engineered in a lab and then born from a cow, Matt then starts to grow up and we venture through his life starting in a small shack in the fields to the massive mansion of the Alacran estate. Throughout growing up Matt learns about the history of his surroundings and his environment, he also makes many friends and enemies along the way. Matt soon finds himself in desperate trouble when he finds out his real purpose in life, can Matt and his friends pull through to save themselves and Opium or will Matt be doomed to done his life to the great El Patron...

            Rating: 6.5/10

            The house of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer to me is an "okay" read, despite a relatively original plot idea the book simply did not have the interest that I have found in other novels. Specifically, Farmer has made the plot develop extremely slowly in this book. This cannot always be a bad thing like in novels such as Crime and Punishment however in The house of the Scorpion it was a major detracting factor. When I had put the book down after reading the designated chapters I really did not feel inclined to pick it back up and read some more past what I was supposed to. Also during the time that I was reading the book there was few times where I simply wanted it to conclude because I felt as a reader almost bored. For example during parts like Matt’s education nothing very eventful happens and farmer takes quite explaining a while and puts great detail into an aspect of the novel that she really did not have too. As I had mentioned in our group's fourth round table Farmer focuses too much on the smaller plot aspects of the book and then in my opinion really does not describe the larger ones as well. Despite her relatively solid description, the end that made me wonder if the book was complete coupled with an extremely slow plot made this novel simply an “Ok” read for me.

I would recommend this novel for anyone age of nine and up, despite its slow pace it still is a relatively good novel with good description and an original plot. I commend Farmer to make a sequel because the end simply was not there in this book and with a sequel my rating would significantly increase!

Cameron's Novel Review

The novel is centered around a of the ruthless drug lord El Patron. The clone is  Matteo Alacran, a boy formed in a laboratory in the future . El Patron is the head of a drug producing country known as Opium which is located between the United States and Mexico which is now Aztlan not only that, but he is also the head of the Alacran estate which is located in Opium. Matt lives in a small home located in the poppy fields of the Alacran estate with his caretaker Celia, who works for the wealthy Alacrán family. One day, Matt was discovered by some of the estate children and freed from his home with rather surprising force. He was taken to live in the Big House on the Alacran estate where he faces a firestorm of confinement, violence, sickness and especially prejudice.

Matt is able to form friendships within the Alacran estate. His caretaker Celia, his bodyguard Tam Lin who serves as a father to him and his close friend María who later develops into his lover. After years of typical Alacran drama, With the help of his friends Matt manages to escape Opium and his true purpose in the estate. Matt escapes to Aztlan where he faces more violence and forms more friendships but not before a taste of hard labor.
Matt locates Maria who had left Opium months before to meet her mother Esperanza, who is an influential force in politics and protests directed at Opium. Finally, Matt returns to Opium and due to El Patron’s death, is able to serve as the new leader of the country. The novel ends with Matt beginning the difficult task of fixing all of the damage El Patron’s regime had created.

After reading this novel, I felt empty. I felt as though the novel hadn’t been finished. Nonetheless, I did find this novel an entertaining read. The characters were well developed but weren’t truly relatable, it may be due to the fact that they were in set in the future. The characters didn’t seem like someone I would befriend or become, I found it hard to connect with characters. However, out of all of the characters I suppose I could most relate to Matt’s confusion in the sense that he is having difficulty with his identity and who exactly he is. Having an American and Canadian citizenship at some point or another, I wonder where I should really say I’m from, like Matt in his debate of whether he his human or clone and what he should consider himself to be.

I enjoyed the overarching story of the novel, I found it to be somewhat innovative. I don’t tend to read or pay too much attention to teen novels but this novel concept seemed like something new, something that isn’t regularly found in the teen section of the library. I found it an easy yet fun read but some parts seemed too long. El Patron's birthday and Matt's time in the "prison" seemed much too long and I wondered when I could move on to another part of the novel. However, I also found it easy to become truly engaged in the novel, the parts when Matt was in his oasis with Tam Lin for the first time and when he made his escape from Opium kept me drawn to the novel closer than any other parts had. I enjoyed the novel's story but was let down by the end. In interests of not spoiling the storyline, I will not mention details of the end. In conclusion, I feel that this was an easy, yet entertaining read as well as an engaging and innovative piece of literature.

4 out of 5 Stars

If you have read the novel and are looking for something similar, try The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or 1984 by George Orwell

Matt VS Vincent - NIck

FOCUS QUESTION- The main difference between how they treat Matt and Vincent.

 Hiding because you’re a clone and hiding because you’re not, completely different situations but still similar in some ways. Matteo Alacran is the clone of the great drug lord and leader of Opium, El Patron. Matt is an outcast in Opium, and is hated by everybody around him. He is viewed as a beast and an animal that nobody wants to even look at. Matt is an outcast. On the other side of the spectrum we have, Vincent Freeman, a natural-born human living in the municipality of Gattaca. Vincent is not perfect and modified so he cannot be part of the space program, this is Vincent's dream. He must find a way to get in. Let's examine their situations.

Starting off with Matt. Matt grew up in a loving household with Celia; she cared for him but was always very secretive. Matt always thought that he was just a normal kid that was scared of the outside world because of the chupacabras.  Matt thought that every other kid was like him, yet he was so wrong. Other kids played with each other and went to school. Matt was isolated and had never met another human being other than Celia and the doctor that came and checked on him once a month. When matt finally met some kids he was so happy, he thought that he was norma they thought he was normal, they laughed they played. Then they found out he was a clone, everything changed. He was dumped on the street and forgotten, viewed as a beast ad a savage animal, nobody wanted anything to do with him.

Then we have Vincent Freeman, or should I say Jerome Morrow. Vincent is the complete opposite as Matt, he is a natural-born or “Love Baby”. Vincent’s situation is that he is not perfect, all of the other people in Gattaca have been genetically altered so that they are completely perfect. Vincent however has not had this done to him and he has a heart condition that is hindering him from going to space. To pursue his dream of going to space, Vincent acquires the help of Jerome Morrow who is modified to be perfect. Vincent takes the identity of Jerome through such techniques as urine bags and small fingertip overlays with blood in them. This makes him essentially faultless to any detection systems. Vincent’s dream comes true and he goes to space but Jerome kills himself.

In both Gattaca and Opium people who are different are somehow outcasts and are not part of normal life. This can also be looked at in our own lives, where people such as gays are viewed as wrong and therefore we hate them. It really shows that no matter where it is people who are different will be viewed as wrong.

Matt and Vincent Comparison- Edward

FOCUS QUESTION: The main difference between the different genetic makeups specifically the contrast of challenges that each character faces because of each.

            One is fully human, one is a clone conceived in a petri dish and then implanted in a cow. Both face significant challenges based on their genetic makeup, their names are Matteo Alacran and Vincent Freeman. Straight from birth both Matt and Vincent were set apart from the rest of the “Pack”; in terms of Vincent not being genetically modified and having a 99% chance of having heart failure at age of 30 (Gattaca 1). Matt on the other hand is an exact genetic copy of another human by the name of El Patron (Farmer 1); Matt gets stamped on his foot from birth with a barcode and lettering saying "Property of the Alacran estate. Both characters have traits that contrast each other in worlds that are completely opposite from each other, however there still are multiple similarities that both Matt and Vincent share.

            Now specifically, a highly obvious similarity between the two is the fact that they are left out for their genetic make-up.  For Vincent it seems less a dire situation than Matt however, he is not allowed to go up in space because he hasn't been genetically modified and almost surely has a chance of heart failure.  Actual humans on the other hand treat Matt horribly because he is a clone; Matt also needs to die because he is a clone used for growing organs (Farmer 20).  Matt's situation is life and death whereas Vincent's is not quite as dire. A key point to this specific argument is how different the two worlds that both characters live in. It is such a contrast almost comparing the two to be ironic in that Matt would be accepted in Vincent's world and Vincent would be accepted in Matt's world.

             Vincent and Matt both try their very hardest to make people forget about their genetic makeup and just accept them for who they are as individuals. Vincent tries to beat his brother in swimming (3) and he also tries to gain access to the space program by not faking and trying to climb the ladder starting from a janitor and studying all of the textbooks without taking the actual courses (3-6).  Matt on the other hand tries time and time again to prove his significance. Matt tries to get very good grades, he learns new musical instruments and he also tries to help out around the estate in order for people to like him and appreciate him. (15-20). Both characters try their hardest and show true determination and will to succeed and thrive in their own environments. They carry a great similarity with each other to this aspect; I feel that this similarity is one that is most prominent in comparisons between these two characters because it is one that never stops throughout the whole duration of both The House of the Scorpion and Gattaca.

Please note references are in chapters of the novel, for Gattaca they are merely in order of events.

Vincent and Matt Contrast and Comparison

It’s the future; both of these two characters are living in an advanced world where their genetics set them apart as an outcast from the rest. Matteo Alacran and Vincent Freeman were both considered subordinate due to their genetic makeup; Matt was a “Dirty Clone” and Vincent a “Love Child”, a child that was all natural. Matt was set in the same category as Maria’s dog, he was considered to be nothing but an animal. Once he arrived at the Big House, he was placed in a room in the cellar filled with sawdust; newspapers in the corner served as his restroom. The entire staff in the Big House moved to a separate wing to avoid Matt. He didn’t appreciate this, he knew he could do better and wanted to show that he could be just as educated as his human counterparts. Additionally, Vincent was forced to do janitorial duties; he cleaned the facilities of the genetically superior that worked on sending man to space. Vince knew he was no less smart the “genetically superior” and that he could reach space. He employed Jerome Morrow who gave his identity to him to support his cause. Vincent used urine bags and fingertip overlays filled with Jerome’s blood so any trace of his original, genetically inferior identity could be masked in a world that was scrounged and analyzed every day. Matt excelled in every subject he learned and soon outgrew his teacher. Vincent was used to being the inferior being. He fell short compared to his brother in the swimming game of “Chicken” but one day, the status quo changed. Vincent’s brother Antonio nearly drowned and it was Vince who came to his rescue, pulling him into shore. Matt had a similar situation; every one else in the estate knew him as El Patron’s organ harvesting clone and Matt was gradually realizing that truth as well. Matt played piano with reprisal; it was his way of showing people that they were mistaking Matt as simply another clone. Matt played exceptionally well and drew an audience, which included El Patron. Matt and Vincent both wanted to prove that they could break the status quo or the change the thinking of the people who surrounded them. Vincent’s government only allowed those who had been perfectly tailored genetically to go into space, Vince had a high chance of heart failure therefore he wasn’t permitted to enter the space program. Not only that, but there were others who were better fit for the program. As stated before, the others in the Estate, Aztlan and most of the world considered Matt a disgusting creature, as Maria’s Mother told us in the chapter titled “Esperanza”. Both Matt and Vince faced difficulties in society due to their genetics, Vince made it to space but was promptly removed from the program and Matt never was able to change the global communities’ view on clones.