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 follow Guapo past the golden flowers left to guide the dead home. Guapo flies them in his hovercraft and Matt can see many beautiful houses beneath them. Matt hears music and fireworks and suddenly the hovercraft is caught up in a parade. Matt has never seen so many people and everyone is dressed up in costumes. He sees one person dressed up as “the Vampire of Dreamland” and Matt realizes the costume is supposed to be El Patrón.
Matt’s observation of the beautiful houses and the festive parade suggest that Aztlán is a vibrant, happy country in contrast to the sterile, controlling Opium. The comparison of El Patrón to a vampire further highlights how his separation from death and exploitation of others turned him into a monstrous being.
Themes
Fidelito sees Keepers in the crowd, but Guapo drops him and Matt safely at the base of the hill where the convent is. Matt is sorry to say goodbye to a kind stranger like Guapo. As Matt and Fidelito walk up the hill, Matt worries María will not care for him anymore because he is covered in acne and wounds.
Matt’s worry about María no longer carrying for him because of his ugly appearance reflects the internalized oppression he feels, and as well as the natural insecurities of being a teenager.
Themes
The convent is large and looks like a shimmering medieval castle. Matt cannot find a door inside, so he attempts to enter through a window. Suddenly, the wall appears to open to a courtyard. Matt realizes the wall is a hologram. Now inside, he and Fidelito pass by a statue of Saint Francis and enter a hospital corridor. They tell a nearby nurse they are looking for Chacho and María.
The convent’s use of futuristic technology signals that this is a very different place from the oppressive Opium, with its use of primitive technology. The mention of Saint Francis reminds the reader that, despite Matt’s doubts, María will still love and value him for who he is, as the Saint would.
Themes
The nurse tells them to be careful, because there are Keepers in the hospital. She leads them to Chacho’s room, telling them she was once an orphan who lived under the oppression of the Keepers. She leaves them outside the hospital room. Inside, two nuns are shouting with Carlos and Jorge in front of a hospital bed. Ton-Ton is cowering on the floor. The nuns, one of whom is named Sister Inéz, forbid the Keepers from taking Chacho because he might die if moved.
The kindness of the nurse and the nuns in their help of the Lost Boys suggests that religion can motivate one towards compassion and morality, as it does for María and Celia. Their opposition to the Keepers shows how compassion can stand up to oppression to protect the vulnerable.
Themes
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Jorge sees Matt and attempts to grab him but stumbles and runs into Ton-Ton. Ton-Ton headbutts Jorge. Matt tries to kick Carlos, but he is still weak from the boneyard. A voice yells for them to stop fighting. Everyone in the room freezes. A woman, who is physically little but appears very fierce, enters the room. Sister Inéz addresses her as Esperanza.
Matt and Ton-Ton demonstrate their loyalty and friendship by putting themselves in harms way in order to defend Chacho. Esperanza shows her characteristic authority and fierceness by the power she immediately holds over the room, suggesting that she a powerful figure within the convent and may be able to help them, as Tam Lin suggested to Matt before he left Opium.
Themes
Esperanza demands an explanation for the fighting. Everyone begins talking at once, but she calls on Ton-Ton to explain. Ton-Ton, for the first time not stuttering, tells her the entire story about how Matt and Chacho were thrown in the boneyard after saving Fidelito, before the Lost Boys revolted and Ton-Ton drove the harvester toward San Luis. Jorge says that Ton-Ton is stupid, and that Esperanza should not believe anything he says. Esperanza asks Jorge if the canings and boneyard actually exist and Jorge denies it.
Ton-Ton proves that, despite the Keepers’ attempts to dehumanize and oppress him, he maintains the independence needed to speak out against their injustices. Ton-Ton’s characteristic attention to detail is vital for bringing down the Keepers’ regime. Jorge shows his corruption as an authority figure by insulting Ton-Ton and lying about what the boy says, showing that straightforward acts of resistance are not always enough when one is up against a corrupt, dishonest system.
Themes
Esperanza asks Jorge if the Keepers truly abuse laudanum, because the Aztlán authorities have recently discovered the Keepers’ drug supply. Carlos objects, saying the Keepers are honorable men who only want to turn orphans into good citizens. Police enter the room and arrest Jorge and Carlos. Esperanza tells the boys she has been trying to take down the corrupt Keepers for a long time and Ton-Ton gave her the evidence she needed. María bursts into the room and hugs Matt.
Esperanza shows how, unlike the corrupt regimes of the Keepers and El Patrón, an authority figure can use their power to foster justice, as she does by having the Keepers arrested. Her actions also show that authority figures can be fair and just when they listen to and defend the lowest members of society, such as the Lost Boys.
Themes
