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 remains in the passage, conflicted between his love for El Patrón and his fear and hatred of El Patrón’s creation of clones for organ transplants. Matt remembers how Celia told him if there was ever any trouble, he should come find her. He also realizes Tam Lin gave him all the camping supplies at the oasis in case he ever needed to escape. Matt realizes this means they always knew El Patrón intended to use Matt for his organs.
Once again, Matt comes to a dramatic revelation about his fate as a clone not because he is presented with new information but because he chooses to reexamine the evidence, in this case Celia and Tam Lin’s plotting, that has been in front of him all along. This shows his struggle to finally accept the horror of El Patrón’s plans for him.
Themes
Matt worries that if El Patrón really does love him, then Matt will be abandoning him in his time of need. He also remembers how the ancient kings El Patrón admired used to kill their servants to fill their tombs. Matt still does not know what to do.
Matt’s comparison of El Patrón to ancient kings who killed their servants shows how he finally accepts that El Patrón would rather murder someone than let them leave him. This realization reflects Matt’s maturation, as he is now willing to look past his emotional biases to see the truth of his circumstances.
Themes
María finds Matt in the passage. She says all the bodyguards are looking for him. Matt realizes this mean El Patrón truly does want Matt for his organs. María reports that Tam Lin wants Matt to hide for now. Matt asks how El Patrón is doing, because despite everything, he cannot help but love the old man. María tells Matt to wait until dark, so she can sneak him in her family’s hovercraft and take him to the convent disguised as an eejit.
Matt finally accepting that El Patrón has always meant to kill him for his organs represents an important perspective shift in his character. Though he still loves El Patrón, Matt now recognizes how the old man plans to violate Matt’s free will by forcing him to donate organs because he is a clone. In this sense, Matt’s fate has been predetermined for him since he was created, and it is now entirely up to him to reject this destiny.
Themes
Matt sleeps in the passage and then wanders around, growing dehydrated and bored. Finally, María arrives with a bottle of water. She tells him El Patrón is doing better, but she wishes he wasn’t. Matt says that El Patrón loves him. María tells him El Patrón only cares about how he can use Matt. María gives Matt an eejit uniform to change into and leads him through the passage. She takes out a special red flashlight and shines it on the wall, illuminating a drawing of a scorpion. She explains that the scorpion marks El Patrón’s bedroom, where there are no cameras.
Matt continued defense of El Patrón shows how predetermined connections like that between clone and creator are very difficult to overcome, even in the face of extreme cruelty. Both Matt and María prove their ability to exercise their free will in their attempt to escape, as they are rebelling against the rules of society which demand Matt donate organs to El Patrón.
Themes
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Tam Lin told María that El Patrón built the passage not only to spy on people but also to escape onto the hovercraft landing field. However, that part of the passage only opens when El Patrón touches the drawing of the scorpion on the wall. Because Matt has the same DNA and fingerprints as El Patrón, he may be able to open the passage. However, if Matt’s DNA does not work, the whole passage will fill with poisonous gas. María promises him she will stay with him no matter what. Matt says he loves her, and María says she loves him too. Matt touches the scorpion and the passage opens up.
El Patrón’s creation of an escape route suggests his paranoia and suspicion of his enemies. Matt’s use of his DNA and fingerprints, two predetermined qualities, shows how he can use the circumstances of his birth, namely his genetic similarity to El Patrón, in order to exercise his free will by escaping. Matt and María show the strength of their bond by facing death together.
Themes
Matt and María move through the deserted tunnel. Matt finds another scorpion drawing and touches it. The door opens to the hovercraft landing field. María walks him into her family’s hovercraft while Matt pretends to be an eejit. The pilot of the hovercraft asks María if she has a permit for her eejit, because he might be euthanized in Aztlán otherwise.
Scorpions represent Matt’s predetermined connection to El Patrón, as shown by how the symbol of the scorpion here reacts with Matt’s DNA. The threat of Matt being “euthanized” further emphasizes how eejits are treated as animals rather than humans.
Themes
Emilia comes to the hovercraft to say goodbye to María. She brings Steven and a pair of bodyguards. She warns María not to bring to the eejit to Aztlán. She mocks her sister for always having charity projects, like rescuing a clone. Steven rips Matt’s hat off as Emilia accuses Matt of exploiting María her whole life. She says María is just like their mother. It turns out, Emilia has known all this time that their mother is alive. Steven interrupts, saying they need to get Matt to the hospital. Matt realizes Steven and Emilia are his enemies after all.
Steven and Emilia’s betrayal of Matt, when they previously seemed indifferent to him, suggests that growing up in an oppressive society has turned them into oppressors themselves. Emilia’s cruelty is further highlighted by the fact that she mocks her own sister for having compassion for others. All of this makes Matt’s situation more dire, as it seems like the entire world is against him.
Themes
Steven orders the bodyguards to grab Matt. María begs them to stop. But Steven says that under the law, Matt is classified as livestock, since he was harvested from a cow. The pilot grabs María and drags her away. The bodyguards lead Matt outside. He sees the garden and the desert. He wants to remember everything he sees, because he knows he is going to die that night. He wonders if he will ever see Celia, Tam Lin, or María again.
Steven’s comment about livestock shows how the law can be manipulated to deny an individual their inherent humanity. While walking to the hospital, Matt continues to take comfort in nature, as he has all his life, showing his humanity in his appreciation of beauty despite the limitations placed upon him. He also takes comfort in the love he has felt in contrast to his cruel, unfair society.
Themes
