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Carlos
Jorge is a Keeper at the plankton factory. He lectures the Lost Boys on the importance of collectivism and scolds Matt for his aristocratic manners. He is vindictive and abusive, beating both Matt and Ton-Ton for supposedly violating the rules. He also threatens to beat the young, weak Fidelito. His actions show the intense cruelty of the Keepers’ corrupt system, though he eventually receives justice when Chacho and Matt fight him.
Jorge Quotes in The House of the Scorpion
The The House of the Scorpion quotes below are all either spoken by Jorge or refer to Jorge. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 30 Quotes
“Some boys have to learn the hard way. They have to be broken and mended and broken again until they learn to do what they’re told. It may be simple, like sweeping a floor, but they do it eagerly to keep from being broken again. And they do it forever, for as long as they live.”
“In other words, you want to turn me into a zombie,” said Matt.
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Chapter 34 Quotes
What could he do? Where could he go? He couldn’t stay here until Jorge came back to check up on things. But he couldn’t leave Chacho behind, either. He limped back to the basin and sat on the edge. He talked and talked, sometimes exhorting Chacho to come toward his voice, sometimes only rambling on about his childhood.
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Jorge Character Timeline in The House of the Scorpion
The timeline below shows where the character Jorge appears in The House of the Scorpion. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 29: Washing a Dusty Mind
Another Keeper, Jorge, tells all the workers a bedtime story about how minds need to be cleaned just...
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Jorge says one must cleanse themselves through self-criticism and asks the other workers to show an...
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The rest of the boys stand up and confess their crimes, and Jorge tells each of them to repeat the principles. Jorge then tells Matt to confess to...
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...determination to survive. He remembers how María said she loved him. All the boys and Jorge leave, but Chacho and Fidelito remain by Matt’s side. Matt knows that as long as...
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Chapter 30: When the Whales Lost Their Legs
Every night, Jorge makes the boys confess their crimes and then attack Matt with insults. Matt finds that...
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Jorge accuses Ton-Ton of stealing a videogame from the Keepers. He asks the boys how one...
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Jorge asks Matt if he has any sins to confess to. Matt says no, because he...
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When Jorge leaves, the boys gather around Matt and tell him the Keeper went too far this...
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Chapter 31: Ton-Ton
...the Keepers’ rules. Luna says Ton-Ton must have done something to receive a beating from Jorge. Matt encourages Ton-Ton to describe in detail the fancy food and dessert the Keepers eat....
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The next day, Jorge makes Matt and Ton-Ton return to work, even though Ton-Ton is still injured. Matt is...
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Ton-Ton tells Matt about how Jorge saved him from the Farm Patrol, so therefore Ton-Ton owes him his life. He will...
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Chapter 32: Found Out
Jorge continues to antagonize Matt into confessing his supposed crimes. Matt imagines he is faraway in...
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...up as Carlos threatens to punish them tomorrow. Flaco defends Matt and Chacho by saying Jorge was planning on killing Fidelito. Jorge denies this, but Flaco says all two hundred Lost...
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...Ton-Ton insists upon the truth, saying that being an eejit does not make someone immoral. Jorge calls Ton-Ton stupid and the rest of the boys turn away from him and Matt....
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Chapter 33: The Boneyard
In the morning, the Keepers place the still tied-up Matt and Chacho in a cart. Jorge drives the cart out past the plankton factory to the fence. The Keepers plan to...
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Chapter 34: The Shrimp Harvester
...among the bones. Helpless, Matt cries. He knows he cannot stay by the pit because Jorge will come back for him, but he also cannot abandon his friend. He decides to...
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Matt worries Chacho will not survive until morning. Ton-Ton reminisces about how, after Jorge saved him from Farm Patrol, Ton-Ton let Jorge treat him like he was stupid. Matt...
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Chapter 36: The Castle on the Hill
...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...
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Jorge sees Matt and attempts to grab him but stumbles and runs into Ton-Ton. Ton-Ton headbutts...
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...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...
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Esperanza asks Jorge if the Keepers truly abuse laudanum, because the Aztlán authorities have recently discovered the Keepers’...
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