Nancy Farmer never ceases to amaze me with her ability to create deep, complex stories. As the storyline progresses, various hints are dropped about Matt’s future. These subtle occurrences can be easily overlooked, but are integral to the storyline.
“A heavy odor filled the walled-in space from Celia’s new and somewhat creepy plants. She had ordered them from a curandera in Aztlán.” (Farmer 188)
At this point in the novel, the reader does not know the significance of this section. Like me, anyone who is reading the novel for the first time will ignore this passage, thinking that it is not important. This passage, however, gives Matt an epiphany shortly before the climax of the story.
“Tam Lin had t1alked about them in the garden, the night of Matt’s coming-of-age celebration. The air had been heavy with perfumes, some pleasant, some not, from the flowers Celia had become interested in. She’d pointed out the black-eyed Susans, larkspur, foxgloves and milkweed, and Tam Lin had stirred when she’d mentioned mildewed. It’s fed upon by monarch butterflies, he’d said. They’re clever little buggers. Fill themselves up with poison so nothing else will eat them.” (Farmer 235)
“Matt had paid no attention to this remark at the time.” (Farmer 236)
In the first quotation, Matt and the reader both realize how important Matt’s coming-of-age party actually was. Farmer introduces us to Celia’s foxglove and milkweed, which both gave her the inspiration to poison Matt. Hints like these allow the story to become deeper, and give the reader a feeling of satisfaction when they begin to connect the dots. In this way, The House of the Scorpion reminds me of a mystery novel. I have read several Sherlock Holmes books in the past and their stories have all been structured like this. The ability to create stories like this is a sign of an incredibly strong writer.
No comments:
Post a Comment