Saturday, March 5, 2011

The House of the Scorpion

The very first chapter of this book is what caught my attention the most. Matt seemed like such a scared child having to be locked in Celia's house all day long and not knowing anything about the outside world. Finally one day all these children showed up outside his window and he was so excited that he broke the window to get out. Once the children knew who Matt was they all treated him like he was an animal. Why do you think Maria didn't treat Matt like that and why do you think she continued to be his friend and take care of him?
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4 comments:

  1. NickMarch 5, 2011 at 5:27 PM

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  2. NickMarch 5, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    As Tam Lin said, there is no noticeable difference between a clone and a human. People can not tell the difference as long as the clone is allowed to naturally develop as in Matt's case. Maria realized this and saw that Matt not only looked human, but acted human by caring about people, such as Celia. This made it easier for her to relate to Matt. She also noticed that he had many enemies and almost no friends; so she felt pity for him and befriended him. Later on in the book, she even admitted that animals may have souls and need to be treated with respect. Even if Matt was not human, his life was still worth something. Finally, she saw that he was different than El Patron in that he was not completely self-adsorbed and malicious, but caring and concerned for others.

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  3. Susan SteffenMarch 6, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    Maria did think of Matt as an animal and often likened him to her dog. But it didn't matter. Her character represents the real child. One where innocence is still pure, uncorrupted by adult rules. This is what leads her to Matt in the first place: Her curiosity and openness. The older children were more afraid than she was. She also didn't hold on to anger. She was forgiving. Even in her relationship with Tom, who was often mean to her. She didn't want to retaliate and this often made Matt angry.

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  4. Kathy KepulisMarch 9, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    Could it be that she inherited some of her mother's perspective, compassion, spunk, and aversion to injustice?

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