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 feels sick when he wakes up the next morning. He knows he can’t ask Celia, because she’ll be too scared to answer, or Tam Lin, because he might confirm Matt’s theories. For now, Matt will just have to be content with the knowledge El Patrón won’t hurt him.
Matt’s inability to speak about his theories on clones shows both he intensity of his internal suffering and the isolation he feels in knowing what the rest of the characters avoid talking about.
Themes
Feeling adventurous now that he is a man, Matt rides a horse to the oasis and goes swimming in the water. He enjoys the beauty of the nature around him. He looks out over the mountains and wonders why he doesn’t climb over the mountains to escape to Aztlán. He knows he cannot leave Celia, Tam Lin, or María, but he feels better knowing he has the option.
Matt exercises his free will by independently enjoying nature and by considering his escape. However, his inability to leave due to consideration for his loved ones shows how personal relationships can hinder one’s freedom and influence one’s choices.
Themes
Matt continues to read from Esperanza’s book. He reads about how El Patrón needed workers for his opium fields, so he created the Farm Patrol to trap Mexicans trying to cross the border. However, he struggled to control the workers, so he came up with the idea to turn them into eejits. The author of the book rants against El Patrón’s wickedness. Matt looks at the author’s photograph and realizes she looks like María. The author biography says she is the ex-wife of Senator Mendoza, meaning she is in fact María’s long-lost mother. Matt decides he must tell María.
The invention of the process which turns people into eejits shows how El Patrón values profit and control over the free will of others. Esperanza’s condemnation of El Patrón characterizes her as righteous and passionate, like her daughter, María. Esperanza’s escape from Senator Mendoza, who is a member of El Patrón’s inner circle, offers hope that others can escape from El Patrón, despite his extreme possessiveness.
Themes
Matt becomes sick from, as he believes, swimming in the oasis. He vomits violently. Later, Tam Lin says Matt’s breath smells like garlic. Celia says she’ll be more careful with the dosage next time. Tam Lin says she is ruining their plan. Matt continues to be sick, but Celia does not take him to the hospital.
Celia’s comment about dosage and her refusal to take Matt to the hospital suggests she is somehow responsible for Matt’s sickness. Tam Lin’s reference to a plan shows he and Celia are scheming together for some greater purpose.
Themes
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Once Matt recovers, he spends more time with El Patrón. El Patrón calls Matt the name Felipe and speaks confused nonsense about building an arbor on a desert pool. Matt realizes he is talking about the now-decayed arbor at the oasis. Then El Patrón returns to reminiscing about his siblings. Celia tells Matt that Felipe is El Patrón’s dead son. Matt worries that if El Patrón’s mind is deteriorating, he will need more fetal implants from a clone. Matt fantasizes about escaping this evil empire El Patrón has built. But he cannot go without seeing María at Steven and Emilia’s upcoming wedding.
El Patrón’s mental presence within the past not only shows his declining mental facilities but also emphasizes his preoccupation with the past and his youth. El Patrón’s connection to the oasis shows how even in the place where Matt feels the freest, he cannot escape El Patrón’s influence. Matt’s fantasies of escape show his increased desire to leave the restrictions of his circumstances, however his freedom is still hindered by his personal relationships, mainly his connection to María.
Themes
