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 and Fidelito hurry toward San Luis, even though Matt’s injuries from the boneyard still hurt greatly. Matt tells Fidelito about the convent and how each morning the girls raise a flag with a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Virgin of Guadalupe represents the safety Matt feels around his loved ones, such as Celia, and also the morality he associates with his friends, such as María. The virtues of El Virgin, embodied by his loved ones, inspire him to make moral choices in spite of the difficult circumstances with which he has been faced.
Themes
Matt and Fidelito approach the Colorado River, which smells horrible from the pollution. A monstrous tentacle rises out of the water. Matt and Fidelito hurry along before they pass out from the smell. They sniff lemons to remain conscious. Matt fears he will have an asthma attack. Matt collapses and Fidelito runs to find help. When Matt regains consciousness, there is an old man and woman standing beside him and giving him an inhaler. They tell him Fidelito found them, and they have sent an ambulance for Chacho.
The description of the high amount of pollution in the river further suggests the environmental devastation brought on by careless technological advancement. The arrival of the old man and woman suggests there are still decent, kind people in the country even though Matt has only encountered the cruelty of the Keepers thus far.
Themes
The man and the woman, named Guapo and Consuela, help Matt along the road. They arrive at a big wall that Consuela opens. Inside, Matt is surrounded by flowers, statues, and lots of candles. He sees many graves with food placed around them. Consuela tells him they are in a cemetery. Matt has only ever seen the dead by buried in a mausoleum back in Opium, or the eejits be buried in mass graves in the desert.
The differences in how the countries of Aztlán and Opium bury the dead suggests that Aztlán is a more equal society, without such great divides like that between the Alacráns and the eejits, and also how the people of Aztlán do not fear death as El Patrón does, as shown by their decoration of the graves. Although both societies are oppressive, there are clear cultural differences, which is likely why Tam Lin believed Matt would be safer here.
Themes
Fidelito appears and tells Matt that today is El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Matt has never heard of this holiday before. He sees statues of skeletons all around the cemetery. Consuela tells Matt that this is a joyful celebration where people welcome back the dead with their favorite foods. Matt thinks sadly about how no one will be putting out any food for El Patrón. He asks Consuela why they would celebrate death. Consuela says they celebrate because death is a part of everyone.
Matt’s sadness over no one mourning for El Patrón stems from the enduring connection he feels to the man, but also suggests Matt’s pity of a life lived so cruelly that no one remembers El Patrón fondly. Consuela’s comments about celebrating death show that death is a natural part of life, and therefore El Patrón was particularly unnatural and heinous for killing so many clones in order to delay his own death.
Themes
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Guapo offers to drop Matt and Fidelito off at the convent hospital where Chacho is staying. Consuela says the Keepers should be avoiding the festival, but just in case she gives the boys skeleton masks. Matt is horrified by the skeletons, but Consuela encourages him to wear the costume for his own safety, calling Matt “mi vida.” Matt agrees to wear the mask and thanks Consuela before they leave.
Matt hesitation to wear the skeleton mask shows he has internalized El Patrón’s fear of death. However, he overcomes his connection to this man once again in order to survive. Consuela’s use of the term “mi vida” compares her to Celia, therefore portraying her as a kind, protective person.
Themes
