The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

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Description

Matteo Alacrán was not born; he was harvested. His DNA came from El Patrón, lord of a country called Opium -- a strip of poppy fields lying between the United States and what was once called Mexico. Matt's first cell split and divided inside a petri dish. Then he was placed in the womb of a... read more

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Summary

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Cast of Characters/Important People

Matt Alacran: The clone
El Patron: The original Matt Alacran; a powerful drug lord
Celia: Chief cook and Matt's caregiver
Tam Lin: Bodyguard for both El Patron and Matt
Maria: Younger daughter of Senator Mendoza, friend to Matt
Chacho: A Lost Boy in the Plankton Factory
Fidelito: A Lost Boy; eight years old
Ton - Ton: A Lost Boy; driver of the shrimp harvester
Jorge: A Keeper
Rosa: Housekeeper; Matt's jailer
Willum: Chief doctor for the Alacran household; Rosa's lover
Mr. MacGregor: A drug lord
Tom: Son of Feliciia and Mr. McGregor
Felicia: Mr. Alacran's wife; mother of Benito, Steven and Tom; a drunk
Mr. Alacron: El Patron's great grandson
Senator Mendoza: A powerful politician in the United States
Esperanza: Maria's mother; disappeared when Maria was five

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Memorable Quotes

“Very dark indeed is his majesty when he wants to be. When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other. He grew large and green until he shadowed over the whole forest, but most of his branches are twisted.”
Tam Lin
“You could say I'm a cat with nine lives. As long as there's mice to catch, I intend to keep hunting.”
El Patron
“Fetal brain implants - I must try that sometime.”
MacGregor
“You can tell how much someone loves you by the size of the present.”
El Patron
“I peed in a shrimp tank - don't ask me which one. I don't remember. And I left water running in the kitchen sink.”
Matt, making up confessions

First Sentence

In the beginning there were thirty-six of them, thirty-six droplets of life so tiny that Eduardo could see them only under a microscope.

I. Youth: 0 to 6
1. In the Beginning (2)
2. The Little House in the Poppy Fields (5)
3. Property of the Alacran Estate (15)
4. Maria (25)
5. Prison (36)

II. Middle Age: 7 to 11
6. El Patron (52)
7. Teacher(65)
8. The Eejit in the Dry Field (75)
9. The Secret Passage (84)
10. A Cat with Nine Lives (92)
11. The Giving and Taking of Gifts (102)
12. The Thing on the Bed (112)
13. The Lotus Pond (122)
12. Celia's Story (136)

III. Old Age:12 to 14
15. A Starved Bird (146)
16. Brother Wolf (156)
17. The Eejit Pens (166)
18. The Dragon Hoard (178)
19. Coming-of-Age (186)
20. Esperanza (194)
21. Blood Wedding (203)
22. Betrayal (215)

IV. Age 14
23. Death (230)
24. A Final Good-Bye (240)
25. The Farm Patrol (248)

V. La Vida Nueva
26.The Lost Boys (260)
27. A Five-legged Horse (269)
28. The Plankton Factory (277)
29. Washing a Dusty Mind (288)
30. When the Whales Lost Their Legs (295)
31. Ton-Ton (306)
32. Found Out (317)
33. The Boneyard (324)
34. The Shrimp Harvester (334)
35. El Dia de los Muertos (345)
36. Homecoming (363)
37. The House of Eternity (373)