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
Matt wanders around the party. He moves Tom’s place card from the main table to the children’s table and María’s card next to his own. He continues to wander, pausing to wonder whom the 200 bodyguards along the perimeter of the party are actually guarding against. María scolds him for moving Tom’s card. She doesn’t believe him when he says Tom tried to drown Furball. He physically blocks María from returning Tom’s place card.
In spite of the fact that Matt has been brutally controlled an oppressed by those around him, he also displays an immoral desire to dictate the lives of others, as shown by his rearranging the place cards. He demonstrates his temptation toward selfishness and vindictiveness when he refuses to respect his friend María’s wishes regarding Tom. The large number of bodyguards in this passage suggest a context of a larger conflict surrounding the party.
Themes
El Patrón sees Matt and María struggling, and asks if María is Matt’s girlfriend. Mr. Alacrán finds the suggestion disgusting, but El Patrón says it’s fine because Matt is his clone. Felicia wonders where Tom is. El Patrón says María will sit next to Matt and Tom will stay at the children’s table. Despite María’s protests and Tam Lin’s questioning looks, Matt forces her to stay by his side.
El Patrón embodies a patriarchal worldview in which men possess and control their female partners when he insists Matt’s “girlfriend” sit next to him, despite her objections. Tam Lin’s questioning looks suggests his disagreement with Matt’s choice to control María.
Themes
El Patrón and MacGregor discuss “fetal brain implants” while Felicia and María eat their dinner miserably. Matt notices that Felicia keeps looking at MacGregor. El Viejo, Mr. Alacrán’s father, makes a mess of his dinner. El Patrón marvels to Matt about how El Viejo is, in fact, El Patrón’s grandson. Mr. Alacrán explains that El Viejo is very religious and therefore doesn’t want the medical treatments which would prevent the effects of aging. Felicia openly worries about Tom, and El Patrón yells at her.
El Patrón’s bewilderment at his own grandson reveals how he believes weakness, especially due to old age, as shameful. Felicia and María’s misery, as well as El Patrón’s verbal abuse of Felicia, imply a family dynamic which is indifferent or even hostile to the personal feelings of the individual over the demands of the leader, especially when the individual is a woman.
Themes
El Patrón begins to open his gifts. He receives expensive presents like jewelry and moon rocks, but he only seems to like the gift that is a statue of winged baby. All the Farmers give El Patrón guns and bombs.
El Patrón’s affinity for the winged baby symbolizes his obsession with youth. The guns and bombs suggest a threat of violence surrounding El Patrón, further hinting at the power he possesses and untold conflicts in which he may be involved.
Themes
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Matt opens his own presents. Celia gives him a sweater and Tam Lin gives him a book on desert plants. El Patrón gives him a giant toy car, which Matt knows, from El Patrón’s own advice, means El Patrón loves him a lot because the gift is very expensive. María takes away her gift to Matt because he was mean to Tom. Matt angrily tells her to give it back. María refuses, but her father, Senator Mendoza, orders her to comply. She throws the gift on the ground. Matt demands she pick it up and give it to him. Tam Lin tells Matt to knock it off, but El Patrón encourages Matt.
Celia and Tam Lin’s gifts are thoughtful, showing their genuine care for Matt. El Patrón’s gift shows his materialism, which Matt is beginning to imitate. Senator Mendoza’s pressuring of his daughter to obey show how even those outside the family are desperate to please El Patrón. Matt chooses to act out of anger toward María, even though Tam Lin tries to encourage Matt to make a more moral choice.
Themes
María finally gives her gift to Matt. Matt is angry at her for embarrassing him in front of the party. He thinks about how he’s unjustly treated differently because he is a clone. He demands María give him a birthday kiss, because he can have anything he wants on his birthday. El Patrón agrees proudly. Senator Mendoza objects because Matt is a clone, but El Patrón, suddenly appearing angry and dangerous, demands that María comply. Matt begins to regret the scene he has started, but he cannot go back on his demands now.
Matt’s demand that María kiss him after becoming outraged at his status as a clone shows how he is responding to the cruelty of his society by becoming cruel himself. The demand of a kiss specifically suggests a patriarchal attitude which demands women be subservient to the wishes of powerful men. Yet Matt’s regret shows his emerging moral conflict with El Patrón’s use of power.
Themes
María has kissed Matt before, but Matt knows that this time is humiliating for her because the whole party will see her kiss what they believe to be an animal. Matt feels sorry for her, but El Patrón seems too happy for him to object now. María kisses him and then runs to her father. They leave the party.
El Patrón becomes exhausted and leaves the party. The rest of the guests now ignore Matt. He collects his gifts and leaves. He opens María’s gift, a box of handmade taffy, and thinks about how María is always hoarding useless items to cope with her mother’s desertion the family when María was five years old. Realizing the taffy is wrapped in María’s treasured old gift tissue, Matt feels awful for his treatment of her. He looks at the statue of the Virgin and feels ashamed.
Matt’s consideration of María’s gift and his regret for his actions at the party proves he is capable of reflecting on his mistakes and committing to make moral choices in the future. The reference to the Virgin also shows Matt’s increased concern for his conscience, as Celia gave Matt the statue as part of her religious and moral instruction of him.
Themes
