Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The House of the Scorpion, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Free Will vs. Predetermination
Scientific Ethics and Abuse
Language, Law, and Dehumanization
Abuse of Power and Corruption
Summary
Analysis
Eduardo, a scientist, examines 36 embryos underneath a microscope. Eduardo is in awe of all the genetic information held in such tiny human cells, how each little drop of life holds the data not only for the person’s future appearance, but maybe their personal preferences as well. Eduardo watches as the cells begin to divide into two. He can relax now, knowing the cells will grow.
Eduardo’s awe at the potential of the cells shows the wonder made possible by scientific advancements. His thoughts about how the cells’ information will determine personal preferences represents the view that a person’s personality is predetermined by their DNA, as opposed to being gradually shaped by the decisions they make in life.
Themes
For reasons unclear to Eduardo, half the embryos suddenly die. He panics, wondering what will happen to his family if he fails at this task and is sent to work in the Farms. His colleague, Lisa, approaches and assures him that everything will be alright. According to her, the cells are over a hundred years old, so it’s normal for only a few to survive.
The advanced age of the cells and their fragility suggests a delicate, almost miraculous scientific process is occurring. Eduardo’s anxieties over such a precarious process hint at the sinister nature of the organization he works for.
Themes
Eduardo implants the remaining embryos in cows to grow. The cows live in a lab where tubes feed them, and machines exercise their muscles for them. Eduardo wonders if the cows, who all have implants in their brains, dream of being outside. All of the embryos die inside the cows except one.
Eduardo’s concern for the cows reflects the conflict he feels over the questionable scientific ethics of his society. This conflict suggests a divide between Eduardo’s scientific work and his moral values.
Themes
Eduardo struggles to sleep at night and cries out in his sleep. His wife, Anna, asks him what is wrong, but he feels he cannot tell her that if the last embryo dies, he will be sent to the Farms, leaving his family to be turned out into the desert to die.
Eduardo’s inability to sleep shows that he is tormented both by the fear of punishment for his failure, and by the ethical conflicts of his work and his personal beliefs. This torment is so intense it alienates him from his personal relationships.
Themes
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The one remaining embryo grows into an infant inside the cow. Eduardo watches as the infant grows legs, arms, and a face. He cannot help but feel some affection for the infant, on whom his life depends. When the baby is born, Eduardo tears up as he prepares to scramble the baby’s brain. Lisa stops him, saying that the baby is “a Matteo Alacrán,” meaning his brain is to be left as it is. Eduardo hands the baby over to a nurse, wondering if he has done the child any good.
Eduardo’s immediate connection to the baby and his resulting tears shows the intense ethical conflict he feels over his job. He questions whether or not he is justified in shepherding the baby into a life of suffering. Eduardo’s tormented mindset is heightened by his knowledge that the child, since its brain is not scrambled, will be aware of this future suffering.
Themes
