Opium, a country in the future that has been formed between Mexico and the United States. The story takes us to the future where clones are not acknowledged as people. Matt is a clone born to the powerful, and ruling leader of Opium, El Patron. He is always tortured, and treated as a savage because he was born through the womb of a cow. Matt realizes what he is, and has to do something to change. He finally understands the consequences of being El patron's clone, and needs to find a way out.
Farmer has an amazing imagination, and created such a vivid story through the House of the Scorpion. The ideas really relate to many different aspects, which makes this such a great book for so many to read. Interests are raised about the future of our world, which gets you curious, and to think about what our world will be like in the future.
The beginning of the novel starts off quite slow, and it was hard for me to really get into the book. But once further in, it was interesting and better paced, even though some sections felt a bit rushed. The final section of this book was one of worst parts for me to read. I felt it was extremely slow, and the story just dragged on for too long. Parts towards the end of the novel could have been easily skipped, and focused on the more important scenes.
The ending of this book was nothing that I would have ever expected. To me, there were lots of loose ends that were not tied up. This book was building up to such a great finale, and it just disappointed me. The final events were so unnecessary, and did not engage me, at all.
Aside from that, Farmer incorporated such important themes and ideas into this novel. The ideas of immigration, clones, slavery, power and love are all integrated well into this novel. It really makes the reader think twice about what is happening in world today, and what changes can be made.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book for others to read. Though there are a few issues that certainly bug me about this book, there were many aspects of this novel that make it well worth it to read. This book easily attracts many readers with different genres, and I will be sure to recommend it to others.
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Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Angel - Final Book Review.
House Of The Scorpion Book Review - Emiola
House Of The Scorpion Book Review
Imagine. You were brought up to believe that you are like everyone else. One day you realize that you are so much more than a "human", you're livestock, garbage, a clone. A clone? Is this possible? In the land of Opium it is. Opium is a area between Mexico and the United states, it is set in the future, and there is only one leader, El Patron. It's is truly crazy to see how one past memory can completely set your life on a different path. El Patron believes he has a God given right to create clones for his own well being, and in this case, it is Matt. He goes to many tosses and turns, having to think hard about who to trust. What would you do if you were in his situation?
The House of the Scorpion was a tremendous book because when reading the book it was really simple to imagine the characters, setting, and all the major events that happened. It was generally a marvelous book because the writer, Nancy Farmer, has such an ingenious imagination!
I came up with so many questions during the book, and I am glad that by the end I was able to answer them! No matter how great the book was I was really angry during the book about how Matt was treated, it seemed like no one really cared for him besides Tam Lin and Celia. Sometimes I felt as if Maria didn't even care for Matt, she would go back and forth so many ties between Tom and Matt it was hard to tell!
I rate this book 9/10 because of how Tam Lin ended up definitely disappointed me! Other than that the overall book was engaging and stupendous, thus I would recommend this book to anyone who has a immense imagination!
Imagine. You were brought up to believe that you are like everyone else. One day you realize that you are so much more than a "human", you're livestock, garbage, a clone. A clone? Is this possible? In the land of Opium it is. Opium is a area between Mexico and the United states, it is set in the future, and there is only one leader, El Patron. It's is truly crazy to see how one past memory can completely set your life on a different path. El Patron believes he has a God given right to create clones for his own well being, and in this case, it is Matt. He goes to many tosses and turns, having to think hard about who to trust. What would you do if you were in his situation?
The House of the Scorpion was a tremendous book because when reading the book it was really simple to imagine the characters, setting, and all the major events that happened. It was generally a marvelous book because the writer, Nancy Farmer, has such an ingenious imagination!
I came up with so many questions during the book, and I am glad that by the end I was able to answer them! No matter how great the book was I was really angry during the book about how Matt was treated, it seemed like no one really cared for him besides Tam Lin and Celia. Sometimes I felt as if Maria didn't even care for Matt, she would go back and forth so many ties between Tom and Matt it was hard to tell!
I rate this book 9/10 because of how Tam Lin ended up definitely disappointed me! Other than that the overall book was engaging and stupendous, thus I would recommend this book to anyone who has a immense imagination!
Monday, 30 April 2012
Ashika - Final Blog Post - Book Review
In the country of Opium in a strip of poppy fields somewhere between the United States and what used to be Mexico lies a small house. In this house lives a boy named Matt who isn't exactly what you would consider normal. He is a clone of El Patron. His cells were split and divided in a petri dish later to be put in a cow, which he was born from. He considers himself normal, but thats far from what the rest of the world thinks of him. He is considered a Monster, a filthy animal and a disgrace. He is worthless to everyone but his creator, El Patron. His life is threatened by many characters simply because of the way he was conceived, will he make it through?
This book was truly amazing. The plot was unlike anything I have heard about. Farmers thought process was unbelievable. Though the book started off extremely slow and I was unable to connect with the book at all but when I got deeper in, every scene seemed to pull me in, loosing track of time and unable to put the book down.
One of the things that I didn't enjoy was the amount of characters that were in the book. I would often have to go back and read chapters again because I wouldn't be able to remember where and who this character was. That was frustrating for me because I would be so into the book and then a new character would come into play and it would get complicated. The book would have been much more powerful if there were less characters because that would have allowed her to go deeper into their specific personalities although she did cover them quite well.
I just feel like after a while, the characters were left hanging such as Tom. When Matt was reunited with Maria in the end of the book, Tom was completely out of the story. Was he alive? Was he with Maria? He totally disappeared from the book, which was a huge shock to me that Farmer would pull that out of the book. One last thing that I felt she left out of the book was the relationship between Matt and Maria in the end. Once they had met, she left them off as friends which seemed odd to me. After all of Farmer leading us on that Matt was in love with Maria, she never really informed us if they ever fell in love, or got married. It was a big chunk missing out of the story to me.
This book was outstanding, the twists and turns of the book were always a shock. Farmer was constantly putting hints of foreshadowing which kept me engaged in the book, and like I had said before, unable to put the book down. Overall, It was a really interesting read, I will be sure to recommend to my friends.
This book was truly amazing. The plot was unlike anything I have heard about. Farmers thought process was unbelievable. Though the book started off extremely slow and I was unable to connect with the book at all but when I got deeper in, every scene seemed to pull me in, loosing track of time and unable to put the book down.
One of the things that I didn't enjoy was the amount of characters that were in the book. I would often have to go back and read chapters again because I wouldn't be able to remember where and who this character was. That was frustrating for me because I would be so into the book and then a new character would come into play and it would get complicated. The book would have been much more powerful if there were less characters because that would have allowed her to go deeper into their specific personalities although she did cover them quite well.
I just feel like after a while, the characters were left hanging such as Tom. When Matt was reunited with Maria in the end of the book, Tom was completely out of the story. Was he alive? Was he with Maria? He totally disappeared from the book, which was a huge shock to me that Farmer would pull that out of the book. One last thing that I felt she left out of the book was the relationship between Matt and Maria in the end. Once they had met, she left them off as friends which seemed odd to me. After all of Farmer leading us on that Matt was in love with Maria, she never really informed us if they ever fell in love, or got married. It was a big chunk missing out of the story to me.
This book was outstanding, the twists and turns of the book were always a shock. Farmer was constantly putting hints of foreshadowing which kept me engaged in the book, and like I had said before, unable to put the book down. Overall, It was a really interesting read, I will be sure to recommend to my friends.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Blog post #5: Ashika
Blog post #5: Not being accepted for who they are.
"My father was right, it didn't matter how much I lied on my resume, my real resume was in my cells."
Vincent, Gattaca
Our entire lives we have been taught to avoid discrimination, to treat people the way you want to be treated. This novel and movie really show the reality of what it would be like if equality wasn't something we value as greatly as we do today. Though the movie, 'Gattaca' and the novel 'The House of Scorpion' have different plots they have several things that make it easy to relate them both, one of which is the sense of equality in general.
On the outside both Matt and Vincent appear as if they are no different than the others. If someone were to not know about how they were made, nobody would have suspected any difference. Unfortunately the inside is what matters the most in both cases. No matter the amount of skills they may have, at the end of the day if you're the minority, you're not accepted. In both books, the minority is entirely opposite. Natural born baby, Vincent lives in Gattaca where it has become the 'norm' to be genetically engineered to have 'perfect' genes. In the novel 'The House of Scorpions' Matt's scenario is the opposite. He is born a genetical engineered child, while most of the world are normally conceived human beings, which brings up an odd topic. What is normal? In the two stories, the perception of normal is completely different, yet in both cases they are facing discrimination. I suppose the inference that I can make from that is everyone is forced to believe that the majority is superior than the minority in both stories. Truth is, Matt and Vincent are both just as, if not more capable then many of the others. They are being judged simply because of how they were conceived. Discrimination is an ongoing thing. It has occurred in the past, and it happens now. It most likely will carry on into the future. In both stories, the discrimination is taken quite far. Matt and Vincent were treated as if they were entirely different people. Vincent was constantly insulted due to the fact he was different from the rest, this was a similar case for Matt. People treated him like an animal, they pushed him around and called him names, thinking it was okay because he was a clone. Though both of them went through a lot, they overcame all the obstacles and proved everyone wrong in the end.
"My father was right, it didn't matter how much I lied on my resume, my real resume was in my cells."
Vincent, Gattaca
Our entire lives we have been taught to avoid discrimination, to treat people the way you want to be treated. This novel and movie really show the reality of what it would be like if equality wasn't something we value as greatly as we do today. Though the movie, 'Gattaca' and the novel 'The House of Scorpion' have different plots they have several things that make it easy to relate them both, one of which is the sense of equality in general.
On the outside both Matt and Vincent appear as if they are no different than the others. If someone were to not know about how they were made, nobody would have suspected any difference. Unfortunately the inside is what matters the most in both cases. No matter the amount of skills they may have, at the end of the day if you're the minority, you're not accepted. In both books, the minority is entirely opposite. Natural born baby, Vincent lives in Gattaca where it has become the 'norm' to be genetically engineered to have 'perfect' genes. In the novel 'The House of Scorpions' Matt's scenario is the opposite. He is born a genetical engineered child, while most of the world are normally conceived human beings, which brings up an odd topic. What is normal? In the two stories, the perception of normal is completely different, yet in both cases they are facing discrimination. I suppose the inference that I can make from that is everyone is forced to believe that the majority is superior than the minority in both stories. Truth is, Matt and Vincent are both just as, if not more capable then many of the others. They are being judged simply because of how they were conceived. Discrimination is an ongoing thing. It has occurred in the past, and it happens now. It most likely will carry on into the future. In both stories, the discrimination is taken quite far. Matt and Vincent were treated as if they were entirely different people. Vincent was constantly insulted due to the fact he was different from the rest, this was a similar case for Matt. People treated him like an animal, they pushed him around and called him names, thinking it was okay because he was a clone. Though both of them went through a lot, they overcame all the obstacles and proved everyone wrong in the end.
Blog Post #5: Angel
Underestimating the Capabilties of Matt and Vincent.
In the plot of Gattaca and the House of the Scorpion, both stories are taken place in a futuristic time setting with the concept of genetic modification. Matt and Vincent share many differences and similarities. Being underestimated is something shared between these two main characters. Born naturally or through livestock, either way both characters are underestimated solely for the fact of being different.
When Matt grows up in the Alacran estate, he lives with the title of being useless. He is mistreated and hated upon, simply for being a clone. Matt tries to excel in anything possible. When being home schooled, he attempts to go above and beyond, but unfortunately he is just as good as everyone else. He isn’t worse, nor is he better; his learning ability is recognized equal to others. In Gattaca, Vincent is a naturally born baby. Unfortunately, naturally born is no longer the process that occurs in this society. Furthermore, humans are now created in petri dishes ensuring they are given the perfect characteristics, and have everything a ‘perfect’ human can be. Because Vincent is a naturally born baby, his chances of achieving his goals are much more difficult than the rest of the humans who are genetically modified to be perfect. Vincent is angry about the fact that he is unable to go to space because he was naturally born. He decides to change his identity in order to fulfill his dreams. He scrubs his body down everyday, and uses another human’s urine and blood samples to achieve what he wants in life.
Both these characters have such giant issues to overcome in their life. Matt just wants to grow up without being killed for his organs; he would love to live a life just like any other kid. Vincent wants his dream of going to space to be true. Many people in this novel underestimate the capabilities of these two characters. In fact, they are quite sure that Matt and Vincent will never achieve their dreams. Through lots of hard work, both Vincent and Matt eventually achieve their dreams in some way, even if it isn’t exactly legal. Vincent pretending to be another to achieve his dream of going to space; as well as Matt running off for an new life before he gets mistreated by the Alacran estate.
There were many obstacles that these characters had to get past, they were forced to be strong. But with courage, and confidence these characters were able to accomplish the goals they had been holding onto for what seemed like eternity. Props to Matt and Vincent for accomplishing the goals they set out to achieve.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Blog Post #5 - Emiola
Matt vs. Vincent: Genetically Modification
There are clear similarities between Matt and Vincent, such as how they are treated due to them being different from everyone around them. Matt isn't taken as a person because he was born through a cow, he is constantly called livestock closer to the beginning of the book. Vincent isn't taken as a person either because he isn't normal, or should I say highly advanced like everyone else. Their generation of normal is genetically modified children, Vincent is only expected to live 30.2 years.
Matt has to deal with the consecutive reminders that he is not "human" and that he is different, and always will be. Matt seemed to be compared with Tom. Tom was one of his fierce competitors during the middle of the book because of Maria; liked by both Tom and Matt. Other than the time at the end of the book when Matt realizes that he really is special, he is intelligent, plays the piano, has a mind set. As well, he is able to survive running away from the great El Patron. Esperanza shows Matt that he is more than just a "clone", in fact he is human. Vincent also has to deal with the thought that he isn't "normal" all the time. This would be immensely hard for him because of his "perfect" and "tremendous" brother, Anton. It seemed like Vincent was always second place to his brother whenever they competed, like when they played chicken when they were smaller, which continued when they became older.
Why did they do this to prove they're human? I believe this may have been because they wanted to have a higher purpose in life. I think that was another struggle for Matt. It seemed like Tom, El Patron, and the Keepers weren't his only struggle; it was generally life as whole. Through trying all these ways to change himself, he believed that he would be treated differently but that didn't happen. In addition, Vincent faked his way to his dream job by using another identity. He had to follow through with his lie! He had to continuously shave his skin off, and take blood samples for the scan. Matt and Vincent did a lot of extra work so that they could truly be acce-ted, as genetically modified and natural.
If I were to decide what the theme was for House of the Scorpion was, I would have said love conquers all. However, now I believe the theme has struck out to be never underestimate yourself. Life brings its challenges but always believe in yourself. Or another theme is that everyone deserves a chance.
Friday, 23 March 2012
Blog Post #4 - Emiola
Why is everyone else in the book El Patron's puppets?
WHY? Why doesn't Matt have a lot of say in any decisions, or that he gets stuck with people that don't care about him? These are some of the main questions that continuously to come to mind, as well as would we treat clones like this in real life? The way Matt is treated is despicable, he recieves no rights or freedom. In fact, why does El Patron have so much power? He DOESN'T deserve it! However, besides the disrespectfulness towards Matt, and manipulative El Patron, I am really enjoying the book. I love how Farmer constantly throws eye popping scenes into the book, and when she brings them in it changes your whole perspective on the book.
The Charter of Rights was the first subject that I thought of that connects with the House of the Scorpion book. This is because Matt was being neglected and deprived from him having his own freedom. Matt's equality, legal, fundamental, mobility, and democratic rights are all being torn down. Equality rights are not represented because he is taken as only a "clone" not an actual human. He is neither taken as a individual but as an animal. Closer to the beginning of the book Matt was locked away without any say. Rosa treated him like a pig therefore this is not showing his legal rights! He doesn't have fundamental rights, the freedom of speech, neither to believe in religion, or mobility rights. He is not aloud to go anywhere at all. When he went to El Viejo's funeral he was insulted by the priest as an "animal". Lastly, democratic rights, El Patron is the only person who has a say in decisions, everyone else is like his puppets. When you look at El Patron and how he treats everyone, it's disgusting. When El Patron doesn't get his way, which is incredibly rare, he takes his anger out on people, whether it's turning them into eejits or acting like he is their friend.
WHY? Why doesn't Matt have a lot of say in any decisions, or that he gets stuck with people that don't care about him? These are some of the main questions that continuously to come to mind, as well as would we treat clones like this in real life? The way Matt is treated is despicable, he recieves no rights or freedom. In fact, why does El Patron have so much power? He DOESN'T deserve it! However, besides the disrespectfulness towards Matt, and manipulative El Patron, I am really enjoying the book. I love how Farmer constantly throws eye popping scenes into the book, and when she brings them in it changes your whole perspective on the book.
The Charter of Rights was the first subject that I thought of that connects with the House of the Scorpion book. This is because Matt was being neglected and deprived from him having his own freedom. Matt's equality, legal, fundamental, mobility, and democratic rights are all being torn down. Equality rights are not represented because he is taken as only a "clone" not an actual human. He is neither taken as a individual but as an animal. Closer to the beginning of the book Matt was locked away without any say. Rosa treated him like a pig therefore this is not showing his legal rights! He doesn't have fundamental rights, the freedom of speech, neither to believe in religion, or mobility rights. He is not aloud to go anywhere at all. When he went to El Viejo's funeral he was insulted by the priest as an "animal". Lastly, democratic rights, El Patron is the only person who has a say in decisions, everyone else is like his puppets. When you look at El Patron and how he treats everyone, it's disgusting. When El Patron doesn't get his way, which is incredibly rare, he takes his anger out on people, whether it's turning them into eejits or acting like he is their friend.
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