A Simon Pulse Guide for Reading Groups
The House of the Scorpion
By Nancy Farmer
ABOUT THE BOOK
Matt is a clone of El Patrón, a powerful drug lord of the land
of Opium, which is located between the United States and Mexico.
For six years, he has lived in a tiny cottage in the poppy fields
with Celia, a kind and deeply religious servant woman who is
charged with his care and safety. He knows little about his
existence until he is discovered by a group of children playing in
the fields and wonders why he isn''t like them. Though Matt has
been spared the fate of most clones, who have their intelligence
destroyed at birth, the evil inhabitants of El Patrón''s empire
consider him a "beast" and an "eejit." When El Patrón dies at the
age of 146, fourteen-year-old Matt escapes Opium with the help of
Celia and Tam Lin, his devoted bodyguard who wants to right his own
wrongs. After a near misadventure in his escape, Matt makes his way
back home and begins to rid the country of its evils.
Prereading activity
Ask students to write down their definition of science fiction.
Then have them discuss the meaning of cloning. Have them debate
whether a novel about cloning is by their definition considered
science fiction.
Discussion questions
- Matteo Alacrán is the clone of El Patrón, the lord of the
country called Opium, and lives in isolation until children playing
in the poppy fields discover him. Why is he so eager to talk to the
children, after he is warned against it? Why is Mariá especially
attracted to Matt?
- Describe Matt''s relationship with Celia. Why is she the
servant chosen to care for Matt? Celia snaps at Matt when he calls
her mama. Then she says to him, "I love you more than anything in
the world. Never forget that. But you were only loaned to me, mi
vida." Why doesn''t she explain the term loaned to Matt? Celia
really believes that she is protecting Matt by keeping him locked
in her cottage and ignorant about his identity. Debate whether this
type of protection is indeed dangerous for him. How does Celia
continue to protect Matt throughout his life on the Alacrán Estate?
- After the children discover Matt, he is taken from Celia and
imprisoned in a stall for six months with only straw for a bed. How
might prison be considered a metaphor for his entire life? Who is
the warden of his prison? Discuss the role of Mariá, Celia, and Tam
Lin in helping him escape his prison.
- Rosá describes El Patrón as a bandit. How has El Patrón stolen
the lives of all those living on his estate? Which characters are
his partners in evil? Debate whether they support him for the sake
of their own survival. Explain what Tam Lin is trying to tell Matt
when he says, "If you are kind and decent, you grow into a kind and
decent man. If you''re like El Patrón...just think about it."
Considering that Matt is the clone of El Patrón, debate whether
environment influences evil more than genetics.
- El Patrón celebrates his 143rd birthday with a large party.
Though Matt was "harvested," and doesn''t really have a birthday,
the celebration is for him as well, since he is El Patrón''s clone.
How does Matt imitate El Patrón''s power when he demands a birthday
kiss from Mariá? Discuss how El Patrón encourages Matt''s
uncharacteristic behavior. Why is Mariá so humiliated by Matt''s
demand? How does Matt feel the crowd''s disapproval?
- El Viejo, El Patrón''s grandson and the father of Mr. Alacrán,
is a senile old man because he refused the fetal brain implants
based on religious and moral grounds. Debate his position. Why does
El Patrón consider Mr. Alacrán rude when he mentions El Viejo''s
religious beliefs? Celia is also a deeply religious person. How is
this demonstrated throughout the novel?
- At what point does Matt realize that Tom is dangerous? He
remembers what Tam Lin had told him, "If you didn''t know Tom well,
you''d think he is an angel bringing you the keys to the pearly
gates." How does Tom mislead Mariá? Discuss why Tom takes Matt and
Mariá to see the screaming clones. How is this a turning point for
Matt and Mariá''s friendship? Why does Celia feel that Matt
deserves the truth once he has seen the clones?
- What gives Celia the courage to stand up to El Patrón and
refuse to let Matt be used for a heart transplant? What does El
Patrón mean when he says to Celia, "We make a fine pair of
scorpions, don''t we?" Explain why she is insulted by this comment.
- How does Tam Lin know that Matt''s future lies in finding the
Convent of Santa Clara? Describe Matt''s journey to the convent.
What does he discover along the way? Discuss Esperanza''s role in
helping Matt gain his ultimate freedom -- to live as a human.
Activities
- Discuss the structure of the novel. How does it resemble acts
and scenes in a play? Why does the author include the Cast of
Characters at the beginning of the novel? Divide the class into
five groups, and assign each group a section to write as a one-act
play. Take dialogue directly from the book, and use a narrator to
relate the story between speakers. Matt finds order in the music of
Mozart. Locate music by Mozart to use at the beginning and end of
each act.
- Have students design a family crest for El Patrón''s empire.
Discuss why this crest may repulse Matt. Create an alternative
crest for the Alacrán family after Matt transforms the empire.
- Read about Cinco de Mayo and draw a parallel between the
history of this Mexican holiday and Matt''s victory for rights and
justice at the end of the novel. Plan a Cinco de Mayo celebration
that Matt might have after he breaks down the empire of Opium.
Include appropriate food and music.
- Mariá refers to Saint Francis throughout the novel. As a class,
create a picture book about Saint Francis that Mariá might give to
Matt. Write an appropriate dedication to Matt. How might the story
of Saint Francis offer hope to Matt?
- Dolly, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult
cell, was born on July 5, 1996, at the Roslin Institute in
Edinburgh. She died by lethal injection in 2003 at age six. Have
students use books or the internet to locate more information about
Dolly and then write a brief paper about the significance of her
birth to science.
- Students may wish to read about how scientists are using
cloning for medical research today. Have them read opposing
viewpoints regarding the issues of human cloning at
www.humancloning.org and www.cloninginformation.org. Encourage them
to debate the issues in class. How is this becoming a political
issue?
- Ask students who have read The Giver by Lois Lowry to stage a
conversation between Matt and Jonas. Have them discuss the
community they left, their decision to leave and their method of
escape, the ethical and moral issues related to human cloning in
Matt''s community, and the releasing process in Jonas''s community.
Have Matt explain to Jonas why he returns to Opium, and what he
plans to do to transform the country.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Farmer is one of the most compelling voices in young adult
literature. She received Newbery Honor awards for her books The
Ear, the Eye, and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The
House of the Scorpion, which also won the National Book Award
and received a Printz Honor. Ms. Farmer grew up in Yuma, Arizona,
where her parents ran a hotel near an abandoned prison. She spent
her early adult life as a scientist, first with the Peace Corps
teaching chemistry and biology in southern India; then seventeen
more working in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, where she met her husband.
Ms. Farmer turned to writing after the birth of her son and has
drawn upon her rich background. While she does not call herself a
science fiction writer, Ms. Farmer explains, "Science fiction
allows you to approach a lot of social issues you can''t get to
directly. If you wrote a book about how cloning is horrible, it
would read like a sermon and no one would pay attention to it." Her
latest novel, The Sea of Trolls, was published in fall
2004 and has received an impressive five starred reviews.
The House of the Scorpion
By Nancy Farmer
0-689-85222-3
A Richard Jackson Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
0-689-85223-1
Simon Pulse
- National Book Award Winner
- Newbery Honor Book
- Michael L. Printz Honor Book
- ALA Notable Book
- BBYA Top Ten
This reading group guide has been provided by Simon &
Schuster Children''s Publishing for classroom, library, and reading
group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for
these purposes.
Prepared by Pat Scales, Director of Library Services,
SC Governor''s School for Arts and Humanities, Greenville.