Aidan - Individual Post 5

Matt and Vincent from The House of the Scorpion and Gattaca are strikingly similar; from the way they act to how society treats them. First of all, they both grew up knowing that they were lower than the dirt on society’s boots. Matt was shunned by the entire Alacrán family, but he learned to ignore their hateful stares. Vincent, on the other hand, was shunned by all of the people around him, including his own brother. Despite this, both characters managed to find people who accepted them for who they were. Vincent could only be himself around Jerome, just as Matt could only be comfortable around Celia, Tam Lin and María. These people provide a sanctuary for Matt and Vincent, who have no one else to confide in. I’m sure Matt and Vincent didn’t ask to be born the way they were, and they can’t do anything to change how their lives turned out. Society can be your biggest enemy and motivator. For example, each Matt and Vincent both have their respective rivals, who are both perfectly acceptable in society’s eyes. Tom continuously reprimands Matt for being a dirty clone, while Vincent’s brother Anton is a constant reminder that his own genes are inferior. Matt constantly bickers with Tom, usually resulting in teasing Matt for being a clone. Vincent likes to have swimming competitions with his brother, and these competitions are not friendly. Both Matt and Vincent try to prove themselves worthy and that they are just as good as their rivals, despite their genetics. The societies from Gattaca and The House of the Scorpion are polar opposites from each other; they respectively see the right as wrong, and the wrong as right compared to the other. But in each twisted form of society, both main characters are “wrong” or out of place. However, all their efforts pay off when their rivals admit defeat, in one way or another. During the end of the story, each character ultimately triumphs over the abusive society and is allowed to live his dream. Vincent’s secret is not found out, and he is able to accomplish his childhood dream and go into space. Matt, on the other hand, is not treated with any “race” based contempt and is allowed to live as a normal person. In modern day terms, society’s treatment of Matt and Vincent would have been known as racism. The people around them discriminated against them just because of the way they were born, just as it is in real life. However, the underlying theme of both these stories is “equality”. Everyone should be treated equally, without race or genetic prejudices, as they can go on to do amazing things.

Sara -Blog Entry #5

The House of the Scorpion and Gattaca are both similar in many ways, including the main characters, Matt and Vincent. Although physically they look very different they are both in the same type of situation. Matt lives on a farm in a country called Opium, between the U.S and what is currently Mexico. He lives in a society that discriminates him for being a clone and treats him like an animal rather than a person. “That’s disgusting. Clone’s aren’t people,” cried Emilia. (Farmer 26) The setting in Gattaca is almost opposite in way, Vincent who is naturally born is discriminated for not being genetically enhanced. After reading The House of the Scorpion and watching Gattaca, we can determine that both plots are set in the future. I find it interesting how both futuristic societies discriminate based on genetics when currently our world focuses on gender, race, and religion. Furthermore, the characters of Matt and Vincent are similar because they are both facing prejudice solely based on how they we’re born. For Matt, he just wants to be treated the same as everyone else, like a human being. On the other hand, Vincent’s dream is to travel to space but can’t due to his genetic make-up.

I believe that Matt and Vincent’s personality are the same; they’ll do anything to succeed. As I mentioned earlier, Matt wants to be treated like a normal boy and Vincent wants to fly to space. Matt believes that if he learns as much as he can, people will treat him differently and see that he isn’t an eejit. This is accomplished by learning many instruments, studying science, and more. Vincent fulfills his goal by Jerome, impersonating an athletic man fit for space. Moreover, both characters can be considered as clones in different aspects. Matt is genetically a copy of El Patrón, whereas Vincent is impersonating Jerome.

Interactions between characters are similar for Matt and Vincent. In general, society regards them as useless and unequal to humans. Specifically, Maria is one of the few that loves Matt for who he is. She protects and stands up for him even though almost everyone else in Opium thinks he’s a beast. Gattaca relates to this because Jerome goes to extremes to help Vincent achieve his goal even though it’s illegal. At a glance, you wouldn’t think that Matt and Vincent have anything in common such as age difference and physical appearance. Yet when you get deeper into each story, they have quite a few similarities. 

Jennifer Individual post 5

House of the Scorpion and Gattaca are both stories that have any similarities, and a few differences. The biggest similarity I can see is in both situations is that there is discrimination against people who are not conceived in the “normal” way. In Vincent’s world being genetically modified before you are born is the normal, and the people who aren’t are treated worse then everyone else. In House of the Scorpion clones are considered to be little better than animals because they’re just a copy of someone. In both situations the protagonist faces adversary from the society around them, even though both of them are fairly smart, and can accomplish many things. There are certain ideals that have been engrained in society, and trying to break those can be very difficult. This is probably why Matt and Vincent have to go to such extreme lengths to fulfill their goals.

Both Vincent and Matt are both copies of someone else, Matt is genetically a copy, and Vincent is impersonating someone else. The difference between them though is that Matt is unhappy being a clone, but it was Vincent’s choice to become a look-a-like of Jerome. This doesn't necessarily mean that the characters are different though, because later Matt doesn't tell anyone he is a clone, so it's like he's trying to blend in, like Vincent.

One way that the stories differentiate is that near the end of House of the Scorpion Matt’s clone status is revoked because El Patron is dead. That means he will have fewer people discriminating against him. Vincent on the other hand still has to deal with the discrimination, because nobody except his brother and Irene. Even if he did tell someone they might believe it was just a fluke, and then take his job away.

Another difference that was prominent in between the two stories was the age difference. Gattaca took place over a week, while house of the scorpion takes place over quite a few years. Vincent would be approximately 30, while Matt was 14 at the very end. This means that Vincent had more options than Matt to achieve his goal, partly because he had more experience and partly because he would be considered an adult. Evidence of this is that when Vincent ran away from home he was able to get a job and get paid for it, though when Matt did that he was taken to an orphanage where he was treated horribly.

Though Vincent had a family and Matt didn't, it seems that Matt had more support. All throughout Vincent's life his family was telling him we wouldn't be able to do anything notable because he wasn't genetically modified. Matt on the other hand had Celia and Tam Lin to encourage him as he went through life, and that probably helped him get out of Opium and survive in the real world. 

ROUND TABLE 4

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Liberty's 5th Blog Post

Recently, in class, we were asked to watch a movie called Gattaca and compare the main character, Vincent, with the main character of Scorpion, Matt. The similarities between the two characters became instantly apparent to me about ten minutes into the movie. Both characters were treated in a disrespectful manner due to their genetic composition. Matt's intelligence and talent is disregarded because he was not, so to speak, conceived in the usual way. In Scorpion, the so-called "acceptable" method of conception was the natural way. Matt was not, however, born the natural way, therefore is shunned by most members of society. The world of Scorpion is a world where your character and IQ don't matter so long as you are born the "right way".

Like Matt, Vincent is born in perhaps may seem to be the unorthodox way. In contrast to Matt, he was a natural birth, but, in the future world he lives in, almost every child is conceived in vitro. That way, doctors and scientists can manipulate their genetics in such a way that can prevent them from contracting illness and increase their life expectancy, among other things. We see an example of this in Vincent's brother, Anton, who is conceived the usual way (in vitro). Anton is noticeably taller, stronger, and physically superior to Vincent. Both stories, Scorpion and Gattaca, take place in a world where genetics can get you a job and a spouse and a reputation. And that is what makes them so similar. Their encounters with prejudice and discrimination over something they can't control - a modern idea reminiscent of racism or homophobia. Matt can't fulfill his dreams of playing the piano and excelling academically as long as he's a clone, just as Vincent can't be an astronaut because he was mistake (ha). I also think there's a bit of a connection between Matt and Jerome (from Gattaca), because both of them were roped into giving DNA and such. The only difference was that Jerome was doing it voluntarily and Matt was doing everything in his power to avoid it, and that is what sets them apart. Ultimately, Matt is the one who fights for his own life (and for María's), while Jerome so easily gave his up by killing himself. I find the comparison of these two characters just as interesting as the comparison of Vincent and Matt, because they are so alike yet so different.

Sara -Blog Entry #4

I find the setting in The House of the Scorpion very interesting so far. Nancy Farmer described the setting very well by including specific details. From around the beginning of the book I always imagined the plot took place in Mexico, specifically because the characters spoke some Spanish. First off, the plot takes place in a little house in a poppy field. This makes me think of a rural area, which we learn later on in the book that the setting is on a farm. I wonder why Matt and Celia lived in a separate house instead of in the Big House. If El Patron really loved him, wouldn’t he want Matt to have the best? I can answer no to this because he probably didn’t want Matt to find out that he was a clone. The book is set in Opium, a country in between the United States and Aztlán, which is currently Mexico. This is an evident piece of information because we can assume the book is set in the future, as there currently isn’t a country called Aztlán.

Further along into the book, Matt lives at the Big House, a whole different setting in itself. Farmer did an excellent job of illustrating certain aspects of the mansion, such as the lotus pond. “The lotus pond was one of a dozen pools of water in the vast gardens of the house. It was deserted in the summer because it had little shade. Ibises, with wings clipped to keep them from flying away, stalked through papyrus grass and hunted frogs under the lily pads. It was El Patrón’s idea of an ancient Egyptian garden.” (Farmer 128) I’m excited to read more about the setting of Aztlán and the similarities and differences between Aztlán and Opium. So far we already know that Matt discovers Aztlán is very developed and is full of factories. “But beyond them lay a seething mass of factories and skyscrapers. He saw roadways not only on the ground buy going up in wide spirals among the buildings. A sea of hovercrafts restlessly prowled the air. The buildings stretched on as far as Matt could see, which wasn’t far because a smudgy brown haze covered everything.” (Farmer 254)

Aidan - Individual Blog Post 4

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.