In response to your journal entry regarding Tom, Rakev, It seems as though he truly is a highly mentally unstable person, if not a complete psychopath. He is prone to aggressive outbursts with very little provocation against Matt when no authority figures are present, and it is common for him to be downright mean to him even when he is not in this unstable state of mind. It surprises me that Tom has been a child in the Alacran house this long and no one has discovered his true nature.
Scott, after reading through your first journal entry, I have a few questions. First of all, how do you think that the American and Mexican government ever let Opium be created in the first place and how they let the leaders of Opium gain so much power? It must be a problem for both of the governments and it's weird that they would let Opium get so out of control.
I could read this book again and again. This novel has certain characteristics about it that makes it a page turner and I never want to put it down when I start reading it. Every time something tragic or something amazing happens, I feel as though I'm right there, feeling the same emotions that the character is feeling. Scott, Rakev, why do you think that this book is such a page turner and captures the attention of most people? How does the author make the reader emotionally attached to the characters?
Logan, I think this book is such a page turner and captures the attention of most people because since the book is written almost entirely written from Matt's point of view, it enables it to have an ongoing suspense to it as you read about the long journey of Matt's rise to power.
Logan, I think the author makes the reader emotionally attached to the character by consciously writing most of the book from Matt's prescriptive. This gives the reader something to relate to,and making the readers emotionally attached to the characters in the book.
In response to your comment on one of my journal entry's Scott, yes, it amazes me too how people still have a fear of someone that is different. Keep in mind that the book is set in the future and it seems like society still hasn't totally eradicated social profiling.
In response to your journal entry of chapter 14, Logan, I was interested in your mentioning of the farm patrol. What fascinates me most about them is how they manage to get away with the things they do and still be ignored by both Aztlan and the United States. You would think that turning citizens from their nations into mindless eejits would evoke outrage from these countries, but it seems as though they simply do not care enough to stop them.
I agree with your comment, Scott. But I think that the power and wealth of Opium's leaders has something to do with the Farm Patrol being able to do whatever they want. Neither the U.S or Mexico want to have rectify what is going on in Opium because they are either being paid off, don't know about what's going on(which is unlikely), or they are to afraid of what is going to happen to them if they anger Opium's leaders. People like the original Matteo Alacràn have a lot of influence with armies and people of power, and that means that no one, not even nations like the U.S, want to get on their bad sides.
In response to your second journal entry regarding Matt's true purpose for El Patron, Logan, I believe I have found a rather alarming plot hole in the novel. Matt was created so that he could provide vital organs for El Patron when he needed them. This makes no sense. It's 2014 now, and we developed organ creation technology several years ago. By the time of the novel, it should have been perfected years before. You shouldn't have to go through the process of birthing a child, raising it until needed, and then having it operated on when you can get the exact same organ you need made for you in several hours.
This is true, but the fact is that Matt is a perfect copy of El Patron. Perfect means that there is no chance of rejection if El Patron needs an organ. There are are also prosthetic organs for most natural organs, but not all of them. With a clone, El Patron would have a perfect copy of every single organ in his body, including the brain, if he needs it. There is also the fact that El Patron may not want a foreign organ in his body, and is more comfortable with the fact that the organ is basically coming from himself.
After reading through your last paragraph, Rakev, I have a question. You said that El Patron grew up with nothing and then became a ruthless dictator. Do you think that it was El Patron's inner evil that turned him into the man that he became, or do you think that if he had grown up in a different environment, one of happiness and joy, he would have turned out any differently?
Logan, That's a very difficult question to answer. We can only speculate but, if El Patron had grown up in a different environment,one of happiness and joy, I don't think he would've turned out to be a very different man. I believe people's past has a certain role to play in their overall character. But ultimately, it's up to them, regardless of the past, to do whatever they want in life.Yes, El Patron grew up with nothing and had a difficult childhood, but that doesn't mean that he had to do the very awful and controversial things he did, and no matter how difficult it was, his shouldn't be considered an excuse.
Logan, on your last journal entry, you stated that near the end of the book, Matt started showing signs of maturity. However, with him being young, not really knowing the outside world until the end, and perhaps most importantly being a clone, do you think he can be a good leader of Opium and right the wrongs of El Patrons dictatorship ?
Good question Rakev. I do agree that Matt doesn't really know how to run a country, or even how to put a stop to the things that El Patron did. But I think that Matt would be a great leader. He is compassionate, smart, helpful, and knows what it's like to be at the bottom of the food chain. No, he wouldn't be able to run a country without help, but he would have help from Esperanza and from his loved ones such as Celia or María.
At every corner, Matt is faced with a new conflict or a new enemy. Every time, Matt finds a way to overcome these new challenges. I find that this shows what courageous, smart, and talented person Matt is and it shows that he is able handle himself well in the face of danger. I think that this is one of the reasons that the other orphans chose Matt as a leader to rally around.
interesting comment. Logan, you said that Matt showed courage when he overcame the many challenges he faced throughout the story, and that he was the leader of the orphans. My question for you is that do you think that courage and leadership are character traits Matt was born with? or did he gain it overtime?
Rakev, I read through your second journal entry and have a comment to make. In the novel, the author put Opium in between America and Mexico. Do you think that the sole purpose for Opium being there is to catch all of the immigrants going from America the Mexico, or vice versa? Also, why do you think the author chose to put Opium in between these two nations?
Interesting question. I think Opium was created for many reasons, one of which is to capture migrants crossing the borders form mexico and the United States of America. Also, it was a conscious decision by the author to put Opium in between the United States and Mexico so that it wouldn't just have an economical influence over the two nations, but also a political and geographical influence on Mexico and the USA.
Rakev, I agree with some of the points you made in the review response, but not all of them. When you stated that the author could have done a better job explaining what happened in the funeral, I disagree. I believe that the author did a good job explaining this because it allowed us to see a little bit into the mind of Tam Lin and see how guilty he felt for his past crimes.
If it weren't for Matt's loved ones, he would have failed in becoming free long before he even thought about it. Celia poisoning him with arsenic just showed how much Celia wanted to keep Matt whole and alive. At the beginning, El Patron did love Matt, much like he loved himself, and he showed it by taking Matt away from the terrible prison cell that Rosa put him in. Whenever he was going through a challenge or hardship, Matt always thought about loved ones and pushed on to defeat anyone, so that he could see them again.
Rakev, it was later discovered in the story that the reason El Patron saved Matt in the first place is so that he can later use Matt's organs when his failed to function properly.
Kailan, the author's vision of the future in the house of the scorpion is pretty dark. Do you think the future Nancy Farmer depicts is possible, even likely? Why or why not?
Interesting question. Rakev, I think the future Nancy Farmer depicts is possible but highly unlikely. We as a human global society have gone through many dark periods of time. If we're truly going to have a peaceful, yet technologically advanced society in the future, we better have learned from our past mistakes. And I think we have.
That's a difficult question to answer, Rakev. Everyone will have a different actor in mind but I'll for sure cast Morgan Freeman to play El Patron. I think it's a typical Morgan Freeman role to play a powerful, wealthy, dictator with many secrets.
Yes, Matt is definitely different than the other clones. El Patron didn't have his brain removed as an infant. This means Matt can talk, walk, think, and learn like a normal human being. Also, he's compassionate, excels in music, and has a basic understanding of Math and Science.
I personally thought the book the House of the Scorpion was a good read. The author, Nancy Farmer, did an excellent job in getting the readers emotionally attached to the characters in the book. I felt sympathetic towards Matt and I was rooting for him throughout the story. Also, the book was hard to put down!
If I had to say one thing about the book that I didn't like, it has to be the the constant appearance Spanish throughout the book. Yes, I know the setting of the story and it makes sense for the characters to speak Spanish, but as and individual that only speaks English, to be honest, I found the Spanish to be annoying after a while.
I really enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down. However, If I was the one writing the story, I would have changed the point of view in which the story was told. The story is written in third person limited point of view, which means we could only experience the feelings and thoughts of Matt. I think it would've been interesting if the author chose third person omniscient as the point of view for the story. That way, we can truly understand the feelings and thoughts of the other characters in the story like Tom or El Partron.
In response to your journal entry regarding Tom, Rakev, It seems as though he truly is a highly mentally unstable person, if not a complete psychopath. He is prone to aggressive outbursts with very little provocation against Matt when no authority figures are present, and it is common for him to be downright mean to him even when he is not in this unstable state of mind. It surprises me that Tom has been a child in the Alacran house this long and no one has discovered his true nature.
ReplyDeleteScott, after reading through your first journal entry, I have a few questions. First of all, how do you think that the American and Mexican government ever let Opium be created in the first place and how they let the leaders of Opium gain so much power? It must be a problem for both of the governments and it's weird that they would let Opium get so out of control.
ReplyDeleteI could read this book again and again. This novel has certain characteristics about it that makes it a page turner and I never want to put it down when I start reading it. Every time something tragic or something amazing happens, I feel as though I'm right there, feeling the same emotions that the character is feeling. Scott, Rakev, why do you think that this book is such a page turner and captures the attention of most people? How does the author make the reader emotionally attached to the characters?
ReplyDeleteLogan, I think this book is such a page turner and captures the attention of most people because since the book is written almost entirely written from Matt's point of view, it enables it to have an ongoing suspense to it as you read about the long journey of Matt's rise to power.
DeleteLogan, I think the author makes the reader emotionally attached to the character by consciously writing most of the book from Matt's prescriptive. This gives the reader something to relate to,and making the readers emotionally attached to the characters in the book.
DeleteIn response to your comment on one of my journal entry's Scott, yes, it amazes me too how people still have a fear of someone that is different. Keep in mind that the book is set in the future and it seems like society still hasn't totally eradicated social profiling.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your journal entry of chapter 14, Logan, I was interested in your mentioning of the farm patrol. What fascinates me most about them is how they manage to get away with the things they do and still be ignored by both Aztlan and the United States. You would think that turning citizens from their nations into mindless eejits would evoke outrage from these countries, but it seems as though they simply do not care enough to stop them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment, Scott. But I think that the power and wealth of Opium's leaders has something to do with the Farm Patrol being able to do whatever they want. Neither the U.S or Mexico want to have rectify what is going on in Opium because they are either being paid off, don't know about what's going on(which is unlikely), or they are to afraid of what is going to happen to them if they anger Opium's leaders. People like the original Matteo Alacràn have a lot of influence with armies and people of power, and that means that no one, not even nations like the U.S, want to get on their bad sides.
DeleteIn response to your second journal entry regarding Matt's true purpose for El Patron, Logan, I believe I have found a rather alarming plot hole in the novel. Matt was created so that he could provide vital organs for El Patron when he needed them. This makes no sense. It's 2014 now, and we developed organ creation technology several years ago. By the time of the novel, it should have been perfected years before. You shouldn't have to go through the process of birthing a child, raising it until needed, and then having it operated on when you can get the exact same organ you need made for you in several hours.
ReplyDeleteThis is true, but the fact is that Matt is a perfect copy of El Patron. Perfect means that there is no chance of rejection if El Patron needs an organ. There are are also prosthetic organs for most natural organs, but not all of them. With a clone, El Patron would have a perfect copy of every single organ in his body, including the brain, if he needs it. There is also the fact that El Patron may not want a foreign organ in his body, and is more comfortable with the fact that the organ is basically coming from himself.
DeleteAfter reading through your last paragraph, Rakev, I have a question. You said that El Patron grew up with nothing and then became a ruthless dictator. Do you think that it was El Patron's inner evil that turned him into the man that he became, or do you think that if he had grown up in a different environment, one of happiness and joy, he would have turned out any differently?
ReplyDeleteLogan, That's a very difficult question to answer. We can only speculate but, if El Patron had grown up in a different environment,one of happiness and joy, I don't think he would've turned out to be a very different man. I believe people's past has a certain role to play in their overall character. But ultimately, it's up to them, regardless of the past, to do whatever they want in life.Yes, El Patron grew up with nothing and had a difficult childhood, but that doesn't mean that he had to do the very awful and controversial things he did, and no matter how difficult it was, his shouldn't be considered an excuse.
DeleteLogan, on your last journal entry, you stated that near the end of the book, Matt started showing signs of maturity. However, with him being young, not really knowing the outside world until the end, and perhaps most importantly being a clone, do you think he can be a good leader of Opium and right the wrongs of El Patrons dictatorship ?
ReplyDeleteGood question Rakev. I do agree that Matt doesn't really know how to run a country, or even how to put a stop to the things that El Patron did. But I think that Matt would be a great leader. He is compassionate, smart, helpful, and knows what it's like to be at the bottom of the food chain. No, he wouldn't be able to run a country without help, but he would have help from Esperanza and from his loved ones such as Celia or María.
DeleteAt every corner, Matt is faced with a new conflict or a new enemy. Every time, Matt finds a way to overcome these new challenges. I find that this shows what courageous, smart, and talented person Matt is and it shows that he is able handle himself well in the face of danger. I think that this is one of the reasons that the other orphans chose Matt as a leader to rally around.
ReplyDeleteinteresting comment. Logan, you said that Matt showed courage when he overcame the many challenges he faced throughout the story, and that he was the leader of the orphans. My question for you is that do you think that courage and leadership are character traits Matt was born with? or did he gain it overtime?
DeleteRakev, I read through your second journal entry and have a comment to make. In the novel, the author put Opium in between America and Mexico. Do you think that the sole purpose for Opium being there is to catch all of the immigrants going from America the Mexico, or vice versa? Also, why do you think the author chose to put Opium in between these two nations?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. I think Opium was created for many reasons, one of which is to capture migrants crossing the borders form mexico and the United States of America. Also, it was a conscious decision by the author to put Opium in between the United States and Mexico so that it wouldn't just have an economical influence over the two nations, but also a political and geographical influence on Mexico and the USA.
DeleteRakev, I agree with some of the points you made in the review response, but not all of them. When you stated that the author could have done a better job explaining what happened in the funeral, I disagree. I believe that the author did a good job explaining this because it allowed us to see a little bit into the mind of Tam Lin and see how guilty he felt for his past crimes.
ReplyDeleteIf it weren't for Matt's loved ones, he would have failed in becoming free long before he even thought about it. Celia poisoning him with arsenic just showed how much Celia wanted to keep Matt whole and alive. At the beginning, El Patron did love Matt, much like he loved himself, and he showed it by taking Matt away from the terrible prison cell that Rosa put him in. Whenever he was going through a challenge or hardship, Matt always thought about loved ones and pushed on to defeat anyone, so that he could see them again.
ReplyDeleteKailan,why do you think El patron saved matt in the first place?
ReplyDeleteRakev, it was later discovered in the story that the reason El Patron saved Matt in the first place is so that he can later use Matt's organs when his failed to function properly.
DeleteKailan, the author's vision of the future in the house of the scorpion is pretty dark. Do you think the future Nancy Farmer depicts is possible, even likely? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question. Rakev, I think the future Nancy Farmer depicts is possible but highly unlikely. We as a human global society have gone through many dark periods of time. If we're truly going to have a peaceful, yet technologically advanced society in the future, we better have learned from our past mistakes. And I think we have.
DeleteKailan, I was wondering, if you were casting a movie version of House of the Scorpion, who would you cast in what role? and why?
ReplyDeleteThat's a difficult question to answer, Rakev. Everyone will have a different actor in mind but I'll for sure cast Morgan Freeman to play El Patron. I think it's a typical Morgan Freeman role to play a powerful, wealthy, dictator with many secrets.
DeleteKailan, what do you personally think makes Matt different than other clones? is he even different?
ReplyDeleteYes, Matt is definitely different than the other clones. El Patron didn't have his brain removed as an infant. This means Matt can talk, walk, think, and learn like a normal human being. Also, he's compassionate, excels in music, and has a basic understanding of Math and Science.
DeleteI personally thought the book the House of the Scorpion was a good read. The author, Nancy Farmer, did an excellent job in getting the readers emotionally attached to the characters in the book. I felt sympathetic towards Matt and I was rooting for him throughout the story. Also, the book was hard to put down!
ReplyDeleteIf I had to say one thing about the book that I didn't like, it has to be the the constant appearance Spanish throughout the book. Yes, I know the setting of the story and it makes sense for the characters to speak Spanish, but as and individual that only speaks English, to be honest, I found the Spanish to be annoying after a while.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down. However, If I was the one writing the story, I would have changed the point of view in which the story was told. The story is written in third person limited point of view, which means we could only experience the feelings and thoughts of Matt. I think it would've been interesting if the author chose third person omniscient as the point of view for the story. That way, we can truly understand the feelings and thoughts of the other characters in the story like Tom or El Partron.
ReplyDeleteScott, can you see this book being made into a successful film that will make it to the cinemas? And if so, will you go watch it?
ReplyDelete