Jennifer's Individual Post #4

So far in house of the Scorpion there has been a lot of character development. When Tam Lin first appeared in the book there wasn’t much background for him. As the story went on though you slowly got bits and pieces of his history. The same thing happened with Maria, though her story came all at once. I really liked how the author did this so you stay interested. Also, if she had given all the information to you right away it might have set a negative tone for the book, and you may not have like the characters. For instance if you heard right away that Tam Lin was a terrorist you would have a predisposition to not like the character, and that’s not what the author wanted. Also if Matt had found out he probably would have been focusing on whether on not Tam Lin might hurt him, and he probably wouldn’t have trusted him, which was very important to the plot.

One thing I am exited to read is how life will be in Aztlan. If El Patron kept his estate way in the past, technology should be pretty advanced. 100 years ago there weren’t computers or cell phones or planes for commercial use, and no color T.V’s. Now we take these things for granted. If Matt hasn’t been exposed to these things he might be overwhelmed and he will stand out a lot. People might also be able to take advantage of him. It’s like how Celia was tricked by a coyote, then left to fend for herself. If the same thing happens to Matt he might never get to the convent, which is currently his main goal. The book would also become much darker and more negative, because it would portray the world as a very dark and dangerous place. Normally young adult books don’t have that sort of theme because there is already enough teenage angst going around without people seeing the world in such a way.