Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. 380 pp.
Grade Range: 6-12
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Summary & Critique
Born into a dystopian future, Matteo Alacran learns that he is the clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord who rules the country of Opium. As a clone, Matt is considered an “animal” by El Patron’s greedy family, who throw him in a cell and leave a maid to abuse him. When El Patron realizes what his relatives have done, he rescues Matt and places him under the care of Celia, a surrogate mother, and Tam Lin, a Scottish bodyguard. Acknowledged now as the “protégé” of the evil El Patron, Matt grows up trapped in a society where enemies abound. Eventually, he flees the estate, only to be captured by “Keepers” who put him to work. Yet again, Matt must endure severe trials to escape and bring redemption to El Patron’s evil empire.
The novel explores the struggle between science and humanity, presenting a dystopian possibility for the future. Although The House of the Scorpion is somewhat long with a rather complicated plot, secondary-school students will enjoy reading Matt’s haunting story of survival. Be aware that there is some mild language and fairly graphic descriptions of abuse and violence.
Awards
2002 National Book Award
Newbery Honor Book
Michael L. Printz Honor Book for Young People’s Literature
Themes/Topics
Families
Friends and Enemies
Generations
Challenges and Triumphs
The Individual vs. Society
Nature/Science
Love, Sex, and Romance
Adventure
Author/Illustrator/Editor Information
Having taught chemistry and served as a lab technician for many years, Nancy Farmer decided at age 40 that she could write better books than those her children were reading. She began her career with Do You Know Me?, the story of two children in Zimbabwe, which was generally well received. Farmer went on to write seven other books: The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm, The Warm Place, Runnery Granary, A Girl Named Disaster, Casey Jones’s Fireman, The House of the Scorpion, and The Sea of Trolls, three of which were named Newbery Honor Books.
For more information on Nancy Farmer: http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm?page=author&authorID=818 Web site with information about Nancy Farmer (photograph, biography, interview) and about The House of the Scorpion and The Sea of Trolls (book jacket and review, excerpt, guides)
Media Connections
Movies/Documentaries
Bicentennial Man (1999) The story of a robot who, able to experience emotion, struggles to negotiate his humanity and escape the destructive people who created him. Depicts the struggle between science and humanity.
The Iron Giant (1999) A boy befriends a robot, hiding him from suspicious neighbors and protecting him from the government officials bent on destruction. A heartwarming story of the power of friendship and respect.
Nightjohn (1996) Nightjohn risks everything to teach young slave children to read. This tragic story highlights the importance of education and portrays strong characters with a will to survive.
Alladin (1993) This Disney movie tells the story of an orphaned homeless boy who, with the aid of a Genie, manages to outsmart an evil wizard. He overcomes his lowly class status through wit and intelligence.
Chocolat (2000) In a small village in France, a woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop only to discover they have upset the strict moral code of the community. This small family must struggle to uphold their identity in the midst of a narrow-minded town.
Ella Enchanted (2004) Ella was given a terrible curse by a fairy when she was born: she must do whatever anyone asks of her. On a quest to undo the curse, Ella discovers what it means to be at the mercy of others and eventually realizes the strength of her individuality.
Jurassic Park (1993) After scientists manage to clone dinosaurs and raise them in a massive Jurassic-themed amusement park on a private island, the security fails and the dinosaurs are released. Ultimately, the people in the park must work together to survive until they can escape. The movie raises questions about the ethics of cloning and science’s ability to predict results.
Television
Samurai Jack - any episode (survival in a foreign world)
My Life as a Teenage Robot - any episode (a non-human who strives to negotiate humanity)
Music/Audio Recordings
“Good News.”Lyrics by Something Corporate. Leaving Through the Window. 2002. (a boy, watching a friend fall apart, begs to be innocent again and hear some “good news”)
Online Resources
http://science.howstuffworks.com/cloning.htm A site that explains the science behind cloning, including cloning animal and plant life, Dolly, the sheep, and why people choose to clone.
http://www.dystopias.tk/ A Web site that explores dystopias, with articles about what it means to be a dystopia, and analyses of various literary dystopias.
http://www.ric.edu/astal/aboutastal/ Has several quality booklists for adolescents, including multicultural selections, “literature-involvement strategies,” and information about censorship.
Haugaard, Erik. The Samurai’s Tale. Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Growing up in sixteenth-century Japan, Taro is orphaned by a warlord and then taken in by a general. He trains to be a samurai, bent on avenging his family’s death. Raises questions concerning what it means to be someone’s “property” in a society.
Trice, Dawn Turner. Only Twice I’ve Wished for Heaven. Anchor, 1998. Tempestt, a sheltered African-American girl, moves from her beloved southside Chicago home to Lakeland, an upscale Anglo community. Frustrated by the lack of diverse cultures in her neighborhood, the eleven year old seeks solace on 35th street, where she makes friends with the notorious Jonetta Good and finds herself unraveling the secrets of the neighborhood.
Funke, Cornelia. The Thief Lord. The Chicken House, 1993. Prosper and Bo, orphaned siblings who refuse to be separated by an aunt, escape to Venice, Italy. They form a quirky family with a group of orphans under the leadership of a mysterious boy known as the “Thief Lord.” The boys must evade the private detective their aunt has hired and perform a theft at the request of the Thief Lord’s wealthy customer.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Berkley Publishing Group, 1959. A group of English schoolboys are stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. The society they build for themselves slowly falls apart as animal instinct collides with human dignity.
Spinelli, Jerry. Stargirl. Knopf Books, 2002. Befriending a charmingly quirky girl, Leo is given fresh perspective on the world. Stargirl is unusual and interesting, but the pair’s friendship is challenged when the school objects to her “weird” ways and attempts to make her “normal.”
Hansen, Joyce. Which Way Freedom?Harper Trophy, 1992. Obi, a young slave boy who has always longed for freedom, finds an opportunity to escape during the Civil War. He and his friend Easter run off together, leaving another companion behind. Later, they must struggle to justify abandoning their friend. Explores the importance of freedom and loyalty.
Brewbaker, James and Dawnelle Hyland (Ed.). Poems by Adolescents and Adults: A Thematic Collection for Middle School and High School. National Council of Teachers of English, 2002. A collection of poems written by teenagers and adults that covers a wide range of adolescent issues, including peer pressure, love, school, the future, etc.
Dahl, Roald. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. New York: Puffin Books, 1977. This imaginative book contains a collection of six wonderful Roald Dahl stories. “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” is a nice complement to the novel’s sense of overcoming selfishness to choose good. “The Swan” is a chilling portrayal of the bullying that often befalls outcasts.
Teaching Ideas
(1) “Inkblot Perspectives” Explore the importance of perspective by looking at inkblots. Inkblots can be easily prepared by painting on one side of a folded paper, and then pushing the two sides together. Give each student a few minutes to study the inkblot and decide what they believe it depicts. Then share these answers with the class, asking students how they chose their image, how it might affect their choice to turn the page, what specific parts of the image led them to their choice, etc. This activity can be used as a springboard to talk about how differences in interpretation arise from different cultures and backgrounds. [Summarized from “Inkblot Perspectives” by Kathryn Chopra in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. January 2003, p. 9.]
(2) “Imagined Conversations” In most novels, conversations take place that we never get to read. As a class, brainstorm a list of several possible conversations that might have taken place in the novel. Then, the students can work in groups to write a script for these conversations, including stage directions, gestures, and voices that stay true to the characters they have chosen. The students may then perform their conversations for the class. [Summarized from “Imagined Conversations” by Jennifer Shorter-Lee in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. January 2002, p. 7-8.]
(3) “The Granddaughter Project” Students are challenged to predict what life will be like for their grandchildren. They can choose from categories such as clothing, housing, transportation, schools, and education, using various media to explain what these things will be like in the future. The students then write a letter to their imaginary grandchild, telling about their own life and whatever else they believe will be relevant to the grandchild. Students may then present two of their categories to the class. [Adapted from “The Granddaughter Project” by Kay Hinkebein in Classroom Notes Plus. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. October 2000, p. 2]
