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.

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.

Lib's Individual 3

This article caught my eye because it represents the consequences of the country's reluctance to let immigrants in. The reason Celia and the others decided to try and cross the border was because they hoped for a better life. The family of the boy in this article made the risky decision to illegally immigrate in hopes that they would have a better life. Instead, they found themselves at a disadvantage to the point where Joaquin decided to kill himself because he'd rather be dead than a failure.

The situation brings up questions not only about immigration or House of the Scorpion, but about humanity itself. Say you were in Joaquin's situation. What would you do? If you were one of the people travelling with Celia and you were intercepted by Farm Patrol and you had to choose between eejithood and death, what would you do? Joaquin was in a very similar situation; either die or become what he considers a failure (hence, life as an eejit). He chose death.

Jennifer - Individual post #3

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/us/21refugees.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.wgal.com/r/30678992/detail.html

There are many similarities between House of the Scorpion and real life illegal immigration. In the book Celia tried to immigrate to the U.S. from Aztlan, and was nearly turned into an eejit for being caught while crossing through Aztlan. Though the punishments aren’t as harsh in real life, there are still penalties for being an illegal immigrant. In most places if you are caught you are deported back to your country of origin, without much time for preparation for living arrangements. If you are an illegal immigrant you can’t really go to most colleges because they will need a social security number, which you won't have. Also, if you’re an illegal immigrant there can be trouble with finding a job that pays high enough to support your family. So why don’t people just wait to be accepted by the government? Mainly because the process takes so long, and there is the hope that while living in a certain country they can gain citizenship. Through some immigration systems there is little hope for potential immigrants with a lower level of education than others. Some are trying to escape poverty, and one way to do that is to immigrate to another country.

 "It was poor then and its even worse now. Nothing grew there except weeds, and they were so bitter that they made even the donkeys throw up. Even the roaches hitchhiked to the next town. That’s how bad it was." (Farmer 140)

This is what Celia said about the town she grew up in, and that was one of the reasons why she tried to immigrate. Another similarity between the book and real life is how illegal immigrants are treated badly, in comparison to other people. When Celia was caught by the farm patrol they treated her like dirt.

"I was taken to a room and my backpack was dumped out. ‘Be careful,’ I cried. ‘Don’t hurt the Virgin!’ That’s how she got the chip on Her robe – when the Patrol dumped Her on the floor.

They laughed, and one of them was going to crush Her with his foot when someone shouted ‘Stop!’ from the doorway.”  (Farmer 142)

This quote shows that the Patrol didn’t really care about her, and they proabbly wouldn’t have done that to someone else. There is also the fact that the people they catch trying to cross Opium are turned into eejits, which is considered a punishment. In the real world if it is found out that someone is an illegal immigrant, or if they are suspected of being one, they are normally paid less than other people doing the same job. 

Right now there are people called “Coyotes” who will take you across the border for a fee, like in House of the Scorpion. The only problem is sometimes it turns out that they aren’t trustworthy, and they might just lead you to the authorities. Some people take this risk though because the idea of a better life is too tempting, especially to some people in poverty stricken areas.

Aidan - Written Blog Post 3

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Being an immigrant is hard, but being an illegal immigrant is harder. Such is the life of Jose-Antonio Vargas, an illegal immigrant to the USA at the age of 12. His mother entrusted him to a coyote, in hopes that he would have a better life. This coyote, posing as Jose’s uncle, took him to America from the Philippines. In America, he lived with his grandparents, not once suspecting that he was an illegal immigrant. When he was 16, he biked to the local D.M.V office to get his drivers license. He was asked to produce his green card as proof of US residency, and discovered that it was fake. Ever since then, Jose has lived in fear of discovery. At the age of 30, he has no legal driver’s license, and is still hoping for a way to legally stay in the US without deportation.

In The House of the Scorpion, Celia turned to a coyote to help her get from Aztlán to the USA. Her and twenty others packer their bags and willingly followed the coyote in hopes of a better life. According to Celia, this experience was quite frightening.

For example…

“’We panicked like a bunch of scared rabbits’” (Farmer 142)

Celia’s group was afraid of being discovered; if they were, they would be captured and turned into eejits. This fear is similar to Jose-Antonio’s everyday life. He has hidden his citizenship status for 18 years, out of fear of discovery.

Celia also expressed that following the coyote was a horrible decision, calling herself an idiot. Clearly, Celia regrets trying to illegally cross the border, and would have preferred to stay in dirt-poor Aztlán.

For example…

“’What an idiot I was! Those people don’t help you go anywhere. They lead you straight to the Farm Patrol.’”

Similarly, Jose-Antonio expressed anger towards his mother for sending him to America. When he was aware of his status, he initially felt mad at his mother for putting him into his current situation.

Sara -Blog Entry #3

Celia’s story is very similar to the article I found on New York Times; both are personal stories about immigration from what is currently Mexico.  Specifically, “coyotes” brought Celia and Oscar (from the article) to Opium/United States when they were both young. I believe both of them turned to “coyotes” for help to escape the poverty they were living in.  Celia’s story was very heart touching and emotional, as was the article, but the article shows the harsh reality of illegal immigration. I’m sure there are many factors pushing people towards immigrating illegally, including escaping prosecution, poverty, or violence. There are many people living in dreadful situations, most without proper identification, therefore forcing them to immigrate illegally.

I believe Celia risked her life in hopes of finding a better one; this is probably true for most illegal immigrants.  She imagined a wonderful country, much better than her own and knew that’s where she wanted to be. This is described in following passage from The House of the Scorpion, “You couldn’t see much because the Farms are dark at night. But beyond, where the United States lay, was a great glow in the sky. We knew that under the glow was the most wonderful place.” Oscar and Jorge, both illegal immigrants, were only 15 when they left Mexico. Not only did they want a better life for themselves, but also to provide for their family back in Mexico. Soon after arriving in the United States, they were both arrested and homeless. Although Celia wasn’t arrested, she was taken by the Farm Patrol, “What an idiot I was! Those people don’t help you go anywhere. They lead you straight to the Farm Patrol.” (Farmer 142).

Moreover, if the Farm Patrol hadn’t taken Celia, I wonder what would have happened to Matt. Who would’ve taken care of him? Farmer portrayed Celia as a kind, considerate, caring mother figure towards Matt. I think Matt’s personality was partially shaped by his surroundings. If Rosa happened to take care of him, Matt could’ve turned out like Tom! All in all, I think Celia enjoys her current life and probably doesn’t regret immigrating as she now has Matt in her life.

Resources:

-Knight, Meribah. “Far From Family, Alone, Homeless, and Still Just 18.” Nytimes: New York Times (2012): n. pag. Web. 16 Mar. 2012.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/us/of-young-immigrants-who-arrive-alone-many-end-up-homeless-in-chicago.html?scp=16&sq=human%20trafficking&st=cse