Comparing HOTS to Gattaca

Matt and Vincent may be from two completely different but similar stories. In Matt’s world if you are genetically modified or in most cases a clone you are looked down upon in society you are considered useless and worthless, which begs the question why have a clone in the first place? Where as in Vincent’s world, DNA means everything. Genetic modification means everything, you are the best you are considered better than everyone who is normal, and unfortunately Vincent is not. It seems like these two characters are discriminated from both of their societies. Matt is a person who was altered from another person’s cell and Vincent was weak in society because he wasn’t altered and ended up with a heart condition. Most people look down on Matt and Vincent because of these defects and treat them differently because of how their societies portray them. However, even whilst having all these obstacles in front of them they have overcome them and chosen from what I believe the “right path”. Vincent born a normal child always raced his bother by racing into the middle of the ocean and playing chicken knowing that every stoke they took would be a stoke they would have to take back, and Vincent would always lose to his superior brother because he was born in a test tube. But this drove him to practice and better himself until that day he beat his brother. I can say the same for Matt, because he was a clone everyone told him he couldn’t do anything and that be was unintelligent but he chose to overcome this and he wanted to be normal. So he indulged into his “school” learning and eventually he took over opium. 

Reviews

Grant's Review:

House of the scorpion novel review

Matteo Alacran is a normal boy. Except on thing. He was not born; he was cloned and harvested. He was cloned from the powerful and villainous leader of Opium. His name is spoken in hushed tones. His name, El Patron or The Boss. He runs a cruel and corrupt drug ring. This is where Matteo grows up. He struggles to stay alive in El Patrons ruthless and power hungry family. Matt watches as the world he lived in collapsed around him. Now on the run he faces life-threating decisions. Whom he can trust. Whom he can rely on his times of need.

Overall I feel that this novel almost has two faces. In the beginning the book was interesting and engaging then it becomes a very slow and predictable novel until the “La Vida Nueva.” Or the new life in english.  In this section Matt has to learn to live outside of the Alacran estate. He has his first experiences with other children and physical labor.  This brings out a new person in matt. He is determined to find his way home and save opium. He meets new and interesting characters as well. This had  a profound effect on Matt. Before Matt was an just an explorer. He found El Patron secret tunnel system after all.  But he never left his comfort zone while exploring. After he had left Opium he had to leave his comfort zone almost everyday. This novel also meets another thing on my checklist of great novels. It has character development. Matt is an obvious example of this. He is not the only character who changed throughout the story. Tam Lin started as a cold and cruel bodyguard for a crooked drug lord. But underneath his hard shell this is nice caring person. Matt really brought this out of him. Tam Lin also started to care for matt. Matt never had a father figure before and Tam Lin stepped up to met that role. From cover to cover this book was a very entertaining read with a few slow points in between. I would recommended this book to anyone who are fan of adventure stories. Also to anyone who has read the Airborn series by Kenneth Oppel

Curtis:
This is my own review of the novel now that I have finished reading it. I will summarize it quickly because if you have been reading my blog then you know what has happened so far. Matteo Alacran appears to be a normal boy but there is something different about him. He is treated differently and that is for a reason. He is a clone. Although he is the clone of the most power person in the country he is still hated upon because of the stamp on the bottom of his foot. In this story Matt as he is known is on a mission to prove that he can be more than a clone and exceed what is expected of him. That is until he learns what he was created for. Then he goes on a journey that will change his life forever The novel house of the scorpion in my opinion is a good book. It was written in a way that made it exciting to read. I enjoyed how the book was unpredictable and it wasn’t obvious what was going to happen. Another good feature about this book was how it was action packed for the most part. For the most part after the beginning there was always something happening to keep you attention. This helped make the book enjoyable because I wanted to keep reading. There were also a lot of small things in the novel that made it more enjoyable to read such as the way Farmer developed all the characters. She gave lots of detail of the characters and how they behaved. This made you feel like you knew the characters and makes you feel more involved in the novel. Another small detail that made the book enjoyable for me was that it was set in the future but not to far in the future. This helped to keep me reading the book because I was imagining what it would be like if we were living with all the technology they had. Such as being able to program brains like the eejits and have flying ships of course being able to clone people.

Akash:

This was a very interesting and original book and I applaud Farmer for that but at the same there some issues. To begin with this book gets into the story very, very slowly and this one of my biggest issues with books; I loose interest before I have any, I am never drawn in. Also I feel as though some sections of this book were rather pointless and could have been skipped and if not just gone through faster. The end of this book was rather interesting but disappointing, some of the event that occurred were useless and I think that it could have been done so much better. However, I believe this was a very good book, once the story actually got engaging at times I didn’t want to put the book down because it was so interesting. Also I have never read a story such as this I give Farmer lots of credit for coming up with such an original book that incorporated so much. Overall, I am going to recommend this to other readers and I give this book a 3/5.


Evan :

The main character in this book is a boy named Matt who is a clone and grows up in a  world under the control of a drug lord who’s name is El Patron. Oh, and this drug lord happens to be the man from whom he was cloned. Matt's first few years of live are peaceful. He lives away from everyone else with his caretaker named Celia, who works for the very wealthy Alacrán family, of which El Patrón is the head of. But when Matt is taken to live in the Big House on the Alacrán estate in the country of Opium a country run by drug lords, Matt's life takes a turn for the worst. Matt fortunately finds some allies in the mean Alacrán clan: his sum-what mother Celia, his bodyguard-turned-mentor named Tam Lin, friend and crush María. With the help of these friends, Matt eventually escapes from Opium  and travels to Aztlán, formerly known as the country Mexico. After more abuse, hard work, friendships, and near death experiences in a plankton factory, Matt finally makes it to safety with María and her mother Esperanza, who is heavily involved in politics and protests in Opium. At the end of the novel, Matt returns to Opium and takes over as the leader of that country, now that El Patrón has died. The novel ends on a fairly optimistic note as the intelligent and idealistic Matt sets out to undo the damage the ruthless El Patrón did during his rule and to make Opium a better place.  

I really liked this book even though many people did not.  I think that the constant action was great as well as all the secrets and lies that are throughout the book.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read filled with action, conspiracy, and dystopia.  

i would rate this book 4/5

Your Choice Blog

Evan: Today i am going to be blogging about what i like and what i don't in the book The House of the Scorpion.  Firstly i will be talking about the positives in the book so far up to chapter 25.  I like the overall setting and theme of the movie.  I also like the characters in this book especially Matt because he still tries to be as normal as possible even though he is a clone and people treat him like trash.  I think that this shows a huge amount of self motivation because my self i would feel like trash but he pulls up his socks and works to the best of his ability.  He has some people to help him though such as Tam Lin who is his body guard and father figure.  Tam Lin used to be a scottish nationalist who blew up a bus of children and later regrets it and then movies to Opium (the country where they live) to work for El Patron.  I think that this book is great and i am looking forward to writing more about it because of the deep insights that the writer has.

Grant: What have I loved and hated about this novel so far

First we will start will the positive. So far I have loved how farmer has created these characters. She has thought of every single possible detail involving the characters and locations. Its almost like this really happened and she just re-told their story. The characters are realistic and relatable. We all have some who loves us very much who is somewhat similar Celia. We have good friends similar to Maria and Tam Lin. Of course we all someone who we hate and have endless fights. This is similar to tom. I also love the whole creative idea of this story. The whole idea of a country created for the sole purpose if drugs. It is very creative and one of a kind idea. Also the relationship between a young venerable boy and a big, mean, tough Scottish bodyguard is a unique one of a kind idea and I love it.  Tam Lin is a big , brutish  ex-terrorist form Scotland yet he forms a very close and father like relationship with young, fragile, friends 7 year old boy.  With everything this are something’s I really don’t like with this novel, first off, the predictable of it. I would this novel about as predictable as a Looney Tunes cartoon. There where no shockers or unexpected turn.  I knew that Celia would do everything in her power to protect matt. I knew that this would send El Patron into a rage. Also knowing that he is 140 and just had a heart attack common sense would tell you that going into a fit of rage would kill him. Another thing that I didn’t like was how easily matt got things. He didn’t have to ask for Celia to help him, she just did. It was like watching a soccer mom spoiler her child. There is no entertainment in that. Over I have liked the book thought 

Curtis:

These are my opinions of the book so far up to chapter 25. So far I have really enjoyed this book. It was a bit confusing at the beginning with all the different names and the cloning process was confusing because I had no idea what was happening. It got better and more exciting thought when he jumped out of the window and was taken to the big house as it is called. This also answered some of my questions I had in the begging part about Matt and why he is different and couldn’t do any normal things like touch the microwave or leave his house. Some things that I have specifically loved about this novel so far is the character development that farmer has done. She has done a really good job of describing each character and this had made the book more enjoyable for me because I can imagine the book like a movie in my mind easier with all the specific details. Also I just like the book as a whole. The suspense has kept me interested and I couldn’t stop reading the book so I read the book in a week. Although a thing I don’t like about this book is the names that the author gives to the characters. They are really confusing and similar to me and I use to get people mixed up all the time at the beginning of the book. So far this book has exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to see how it ends. 

Akashdeep:

Life of a clone. Well it sucks. Everyone looks down upon you get no respect no matter what. But Matt is one child who plans on being a little rebel, he wants to change the rules. He’s going to demand respect by becoming a normal child, how will he do that you may ask? He plans on becoming a master at everything school, music, etc. He plans on camouflaging with the “normal” kids so he get treated like a normal human being not a stray dog. 

Evan Setting

This novel is set is a small country called Opium. This country spans from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean including parts of Mexico and the United States such as San Diego, it is also run by a  drug lord named El Patron, this evil country is ruled by the production of the drug Opium.  El patron and the other Major drug dealers managed to strike a deal with Mexico and America. The deal was this El Patron and the other drug dealers were allowed to produce and export the drug opium and in return they will stop illegals from jumping the border and not ship to these two countries even though people still smuggle it through.  This book has hovercrafts similar to airplanes but with the ability to do vertical takeoffs.  So I believe that this book is set in the future. But it also says that El Patron likes to live 100 years in the past and they cook on wood burning stoves which leads me to believe that this book takes place in about 2045.  I think that this book has a great setting and i think that the author did a great job of portraying it to us.

Illegal Immigration

Grant: What Celia has experienced is similar  to what is currently happening to Mexicans are experiences today. As we now Mexico is a dangerous, violent place. Mexicans want to live in safer more secure place. Most will choose to try the United States of America. Would-be immigrants trying to enter America for Mexico face some of the strictest immigration laws in the world. After being turned around some will try to immigrate, illegally. There are many ways of doing this, popular ones being hiding inside a vehicle, swimming across the border and so on. Almost everyone attempting this will hire a “coyote.” These people know the ins and outs of the US Mexico border. Often these “coyotes” work with the US government and hand the would-be illegal aliens over to US border patrol. Like in the novel the United States is cracking down on illegal “aliens.” They have very strict and, from personal experiences, scary border guards.  Farmer must have modeled the farm patrol after the United Sates border guards. Similar she also featured the use of coyotes in her novel. Currently the United States is creating new very strict laws against illegal immigrates. The will “make life difficult for illegals aliens.” This new law stops aliens from being able to get IDs or public assistance. It also gives police the right to check the immigration status of anyone they arrest.  This is a key step in stopping the flow of illegal immigrants from the southern states to the northern states. Something similar happens in opium. Any illegal immigrant in opium is turned into and eejit. This is very extreme but effective. I believe that US border patrol can learn something from El Patron. Instead of sending the aliens back you can put then to work. We could keep them in a controlled prison style factory. This is something the United States does already. Convicts can be put to work assembling or making things inside the prison.

http://articles.cnn.com/2007-11-02/us/oklahoma.immigration_1_illegal-immigrants-immigration-law-immigration-status?_s=PM:US

Curtis: Right now the process for people crossing the border seems to be fair to me. If someone can’t get across the border legally it is probably for a good reason they can’t. I do think that calling them aliens is going to far though. Even if people don’t want them there they are still people and calling them aliens is just to mean. They still deserve rights and they are probably immigrating because of a problem in their home country like in Celia’s story. I can see why they would decide to leave if they all they where doing was working all the time and doing nothing else. And if you were going to leave it would make sense to get a professional aka coyote to help instead of trying to escape on your own but you are taking a risk when doing that. If the coyote leads you right to the police like in Celia’s story then you are caught and at a risk of being deported or worse as you can in Celia’s case. I think that doing what El Patron was doing was unnecessary and maybe instead of turning them into eejits he could of sent them back and if they were caught again then they become eejits. This is because they probably have a reason to leave and should be given a second chance. I think that the steps they are taking in this newspaper article are needed to stop illegal immigration but I still think that they should just be sent back and given another chance. If they still try and come back again hen they should be punished further.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/03/15/mississippi-lawmakers-pass-anti-illegal-immigration-law/

Evan:

In Celia's story, we read about her attempt to escape from her home town in what used to be Mexico.  It tells us that she was working in a factory. Celia told Matt, that all day she sat on an assembly line and put tiny squares into tiny holes with a pair of tweezers. (page 141) Celia then became a cook because she knew how to, and met a 'coyote' who would take her across the border into the United States.  Coyotes are people who take people across the boarder and most of the time they just scam the people by taking their money and leaving them.This was the case in the book because the coyote abandoned her and left her and the others to die in the desert. The group was found by the 'farm patrol which are pretty much the boarder patrol of opium. At that moment Celia was an illegal immigrant.  There are two basic ways for people to cross the boarder illegally. One of the biggest ways (and the way most people do) of illegal immigration is through a visitors visa. A visitors visa gives a person a certain amount of time in a country before they must return to their home country. Often people stay long after their visa is expired.  So The second way to cross the border. People get someone like a 'coyote' or someone related to drug trafficking to guide you across the border through like a tunnel or like a boat.

http://roygermano.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/how-do-people-immigrate-illegally/


Akash:

Immigrant: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43499929/ns/us_news-life/t/pulitzer-winning-journalist-admits-hes-illegal-immigrant/ - .T2OWIWbv538

This article is about a reporter who had come to America illegally when he was a young child. He became a journalist with fake documents and no one had noticed, until he had finally spoken out that he was done with running from being a illegal immigrant. He had worked hard and achieved many things while working, however he was not allowed to become a citizen even with these many achievements. This story really shows the human part of illegal immigration as opposed to the legal side.  I believe the reason why people immigrate from a country is mainly because they want to be successful, or live a safer, or better life than they would be able to in their country. This is why I think Celia tried to escape Aztlan and go to America, she describes Aztlan as a dangerous, and very poor country and that it was not safe for her. I believe that the reason why immigrant’s like Celia would rely on a “coyote” to bring them across the border is because they believe that the risk of doing this is not as great as the reward, sot hey think that if they get across they will be very successful. Although as we saw with the story from the article that this is a very hard thing to do. When you are illegally in a country you don’t have many opportunities as someone who is legally there, also they are in danger of being deported if their documents are fake. 

Playlist for Tam Lin

The Playlist


#1 Black Or White- By Michael Jackson Picked by Evan
In this song Michael is talking about no matter where your from, no matter what your skin colour is that you should be treated the same as everyone else.  In the House of the Scorpion Tam Lin always treats Matt like a human even though he is a clone and everyone else treats him like an animal.  He always defends Matt and even teachs Matt how to survive in the wild.  In the end of the book all of his work with Matt pays off and Matt is able to escape from Opium.  He always treats Matt as an equal and with respect and that is what this song is about.  And I Told About Equality, And It's True, Either You're Wrong, Or You're Right is what MJ said and I think that Tam Lin would agree.


#2 Sacrifice by Elton John Picked by Evan
I picked this song because Tam Lin makes many sacrifices for Matt in this book.  For example he risks everything including his life to help Matt escape from the House. In this song Elton John says


Sensitivity builds a prison

In the final act

We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burn

and in the end he sacrifices him self by drinking the poisoned wine that El Patron gave to him even though he knows that he will die if he drinks it.  I think that he thought the way to redeem himself to the world was to help Matt. He even tells Daft Donald not to drink the wine and Daft Donald is the one that gives Matt the news that everyone is dead.  

#3- Don't look back in anger by Oasis  Curtis
I think Tam Lin would have this song on his playlist to remind him to forget about his past. Since Tam Lin was not very happy with himself after he killed all of the children he kept trying to forget about it and move on. Tam Lin also tells Matt how it was a mistake and he wishes he didn't do it.

#5 Akash OH MY PA-PA by Eddie Fisher 
This song is talking about a actual father and what he means to his son or daughter and Tam Lin is not Matt's actual father but fits the criteria. By this I mean, even though he isn't Matt's blood related father he acts like one he cares for him just like another character Celia. This song/poem describes what a father does and how he makes his kids feel.  


#6 Akash Man I used to be (K-OS)

When Matt meets Tam Lin it has been many years since he joined El Patron in Opium and he sees Matt as a younger version of El Patron or in other words the son he never had. He tries to steer Matt away from the evil of El Patron as a bit of redemption for himself for the 20 kids he killed. This is shown when Tam Lin says "It's like the old vulture was being given a second chance" (farmer 69). In the song K-os tries to get back to his roots. "Back into the man I used to be. I tried it, I couldn't fight it"

#7 Change by Blind Melon

This song follows Tam Lin’s life. It starts out with how his life was so bad and not worth living after he killed the 20 kids on the bus. 

I don't feel the suns comin' out today
its staying in, its gonna find another way.
As I sit here in this misery, I don't
think I'll ever see the sun from here.

This was like Tam Lins life after the accident but then like in the song his life slowly started to get better and he enjoyed life more when he was a bodyguard for El Patron. 

#8 Grant  Scotland the Brave (Bagpipes) – Scharmutzel

Tam Lin is a patriotic Scotsman. He is a Scottish nationalist. He wants to separate Scotland for the United Kingdom. Because of his past he wouldn’t ever be able return to his homeland. So this song helps him get through this fact. This song has represented Scotland and Scottish pride for years. This song is also a sad song and is played at Remembrance Day ceremonies. This also shows that Tam Lin is sad about having to leave Scotland

#9 Grant Space oddity – David Bowie

The main theme of this song is being lonely. Tam Lin is a lonely person. His body might be in opium but his heart is back in Scotland. After his mistake he hasn’t been able to return to his homeland of Scotland. Tam Lin had friends and family members back home in scotland because of simple mistake. He was one the run with no one to turn, no one rely on. Then he found El Patron.

#10 Grant The logical song  - Supertramp

Tam Lin is a very matter of fact and logical person. He doesn’t hide things from Matt nor does he sugarcoat things either. “I’ll tell you this much lad.” He hauled matt up by the front of his shirt. “You where grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you where cut out of her. You where harvested. She was sacrificed. Your step mother was turned into ruddy T-bone steaks.” Found on page 189. This song about being logical. Tam Lin would have this song to remind him to remain logical not matter the situation.

Grant setting 

This novel is set is a country called opium. It spans parts of Mexico and California. Run by a cruel and evil drug lord, know as El Patron, it is responsible for creating vast supplies of the drug opium. A few years back El patron struck a deal with Mexico and America. He was allowed to grow and ship his opium and in return he will stop illegals from jumping the border. Regarding a time period, a specific date is never said but we can make a few inferences.  This book has hovercrafts similar to airplanes but with the ability to do vertical takeoffs.  So I assume it is set in the future. But it also says that El Patron likes to live 100 years in the past and they cook on wood burning stoves because of that. Around 100 years ago we cooked on wood burning stoves. This leads me to believe that the novel takes place only a few years in future from todays date. So this would be around 2020-2025.