CI 5442: Science Fiction Response #1

I was a bit apprehensive about diving into science fiction, especially a novel about clones, but I found Nancy Farmer’s The House of the Scorpion to be a disturbing yet completely engrossing text. I found myself caring about Matt and the decisions he made throughout the text. I cringed when he forced his Maria to kiss him at El Patron’s birthday party and I sympathized with his bought of severe acne after working at the shrimp harvesting company. Nevertheless, I still shudder at some of the topics within the novel and ideas that are in science fiction.

The most interesting piece of Farmer’s story was the stigma attached to being a clone. From the moment Matt’s foot is read by those in the Alacran house he is ostracized and viewed as nothing more than an animal. Rosa, the unfortunate housekeeper who is forced to care for Matt, literally treats him as an animal by providing him with newspapers as a lavatory. She eventually puts down chicken litter to make it easier for her to care for him. Willum, the doctor, remarks about Rosa’s decision saying, “You’re a strange woman, Rosa, but I have to admit the beast’s in good condition” (43). Even Maria, Matt’s only friend, continues to consider Matt to be an animal by comparing him to her dog, Furball. Eventually even Matt begins to believe that he is an animal. He tells Maria, “ ‘I am an animal,’ he replied. Once those words would have pained him, but he accepted his status now” (92). The only people who don’t treat him like an animal are Celia and Tam Lin. Both adults treat Matt like a human and expect more from him.

During El Patron’s 143rd birthday party, after Matt behaves like an animal in a figurative way. After the treatment of Tom, the embarrassing gift and kiss situation with Maria, the mysterious death of Furball, Matt’s anger turns to heartache as he realizes how his behavior can eventually poison his behavior and his future. Yet he remembers the words of Tam Lin, “Any rat in a sewer can lie….But a human doesn’t run and hide in dark places, because he’s something more” (134). At first this does nothing but drive Matt further into his own torment, but then he realizes that such a statement mirrors Tam Lin’s treatment of him as different from others. “He treated Matt as an equal” (138). In this Matt finds hope from, “Someone, out of all the people who thought he was no better than a dog, believed he could be something more” (139). It is from that moment on that Matt really decides to be a better person than Matteo Alacran, the original.

Matt and El Patron have a very strange relationship throughout the novel. I myself was very curious as to what the purpose for Matt’s creation and El Patron’s reason for not wanting to have a chip inserted into his brain. It was well into the novel that I began to doubt the sincerity and benevolence behind El Patron’s decisions. Every moment from then on in which there was any kind of foreshadow to perpetuate these thoughts, I physically cringed. It was heartbreaking for me and I tried to deny it as much as possible, just as Matt did, but when the awful truth came out I was terrified for Matt. It was only through my faith and trust in Celia, Tam Lin, and Maria to get him out safely that I was able to continue reading the book. When I get really involved in a novel it is hard for me to continue reading if I feel any apprehension for the well-being of the characters.

My favorite part in the book was when Tam Lin lets Matt know the secret about clones. He whispers into Matt’s ear, “No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That’s because there isn’t any difference. The idea of clones being inferior is a filthy lie” (245). This is something that helps Matt when he finally escapes Opium and enters Aztlan—escaping one dystopia for another. In Atzlan, Matt isn’t looked down upon for being a clone, instead he is singled out for being “the aristocrat” (280). With the Lost Boys and the Keepers Matt faces a new world filled with misplaced and hypocritical Socialists. The Keepers are unable to really practice what they preach and essentially imprison the boys while they spend the days eating and taking drugs. In this new land Matt gains his first male friends his own age who don’t treat him differently for being a clone—even after their initial misgivings. Matt is quick to point out to the Keepers that they are attempting to turn the boys into zombies or the eejits created in Opium.

I was relieved in the end when the all the boys finally see through their disillusionment and take things into their own hands. I love the fact that Farmer really gives us the glimpses into the different experiences and influences that shape Matt. Throughout the book he recalls advice given to him by others, moments of love, moments of anger, moments of joy, everything that make him into the person at the end of the book who is willing to return to Opium in order to take control of the entire enterprise and bring it down—going with full acknowledgment that he might not make it. In the end I admired Matt for his fortitude and strength of character; he could have let the experiences in his life lead him to become another El Patron but he rose above them.

I enjoyed reading the book, and yet, I have to admit that despite Farmer’s ability to present serious and feasible issues in her text I will not actively pursue a greater diet of science fiction text than necessary—although I might have to check out the other books in this series just to see what happens. The book gave me horrible nightmares and while I know that some of that could have been heightened by the fever I had the day and night I read the book, I don’t enjoy thinking about these topics in such personal ways. Good literature affects me personally and Farmer’s text did just that; I admit my personal investment in Matt’s story despite its genre.