The House of the Scorpion: Theme

Hey everyone! Today I am going to be discussing the theme of The House of the Scorpion. The theme is basically a universal truth that the author is trying to communicate to the reader through his/her work. This message is rarely stated, so the reader must use his/her knowledge that he/she knows from reading the text to figure it out.

My Theme Statement: A corrupt world is one without equality. Corruption will bring us down, but peace will build us up.

In the big house you weren't treated well if you didn't belong to El Patron, but if you were of El Patron's "belongings" then you never left his possession. If they didn't do as they were told, they would become brainless zombies, so they really didn't have a choice. He had the most power because of force, which is unfair. pg. 169, 170, and 274

Later on in the book, Matt escapes from El Patron's grasp. He takes a run for Aztlan,  hoping for freedom, but when he gets across he's stuck with Keepers, who send him to a plankton factory to do labour out of force. The other boys at the factory are also doing work, and he is treated the same as them. It's hard but it's fair! Later on in the story, though, we find out that the Keepers live a better life-style. Not only this, but when the boys find the tattoo at the bottom of his foot, he doesn't get treated the same. It's only his friends that accept him after this information. pg. 262, 266, 286, and 287

That brings me to my next theme of this book. I defiantly think that The House of the Scorpion provides more than one. For my theme statement of this one, I would replace the word "equality" with "friendship".

At the big house, Matt starts to develop a father-like-son relationship with Tam Lin. Tam Lin teaches Matt essential things about surviving out in the wild, and society. This information gives Matt the opportunity and the strength to continue foreword in his journey and escape. pg. 149

When Matt goes to the plankton factory, he starts to bond with a few characters. These characters go through tough moment together, which they may not have been able to push through on their own. This friendship also has trust. When Jorge accused Matt of being a clone, Chacho and Fidelio refused to believe it because of their relationship. It's a cycle. Because of the trust, they stay together and help each other which results in trust. And it keep on going until someone looses their trust. This never happens in the book, and I think that Farmer is trying to tell her readers that we need trust and friendship in this world. pg. 287, 321, 357

What did you think the theme was? Comment below, and happy reading.