Jada's Blog Post #2

Farmer describes Matt through his thoughts, interests, actions, and how others view him; she does not describe Matts physical appearance. I found this incredibly interesting since most authors will start off by saying, “The tall tanned blonde known as John said…” or “Rogers bright blue eyes captured each aspect of…” One way or another the character is always described based on physical traits, Farmer however, has not. My imagination projects Matt as a dark skinned boy with mid length dusty brown hair, big curious blue eyes, and a skinny physique; Farmer in no way described Matt this way, it is just what I see based on the facts she has stated about the boys personallity. She brought Matt to life through thoughts and emotions he feels, along with the people around him, it is not what most authors will typically do making it all the more interesting to read. The reason I picture Matt the way I do is he is speaking of nature most of the time and is surrounded by it for the first six years of his life, this gave me the impression that Matt would be a very humble kid. Having only observed people most of his life I figured he would be shy and anti-social (Which was proven after he was put in Rosa’s care, since he refused to speak to anyone with a fear of being punished) towards anyone older or younger than him. This way of character development is strange to me, that is probably why it keeps me intrigued.  I can picture Matt however I want without worrying about getting it wrong. That's what interests me the most so far.

Jordans Discussion #2

Farmer has done lots of little descriptive things with the book that I feel make it that much better. I so far have most enjoyed the development of characters, especially Matt. Farmer has done an excellent job on changing Matt's personality based on things that have happened to him. The way he was stuck in a litter box and told he was a bad clone really changed him. Matt went from a sweet little boy who did what he was told, to actually believing he was a dirty, horrible clone. The way he went from being himself to almost being what every one else wanted him to be. I thought the way Farmer did this really made you feel bad for Matt, because he is actually begging to believe and accept that he is a monster and an animal.

Stephanie's Discussion #2

Nancy Farmer has done a wonderful job on providing excellent visuals in her writing. I would have to say one of my favourite quotes from the book regarding the setting would be "The poppies, now blue in the long shadows of the hills, stretched away in all directions." For me, this quote really paints a visual image in my mind. I can see fields of white. However I am confused because I have always thought that Mexico was like a desert.  So they must be growing poppies for opium specifically.  I imagine a hostile place filled with sand, dirt and too dry to support any life or greenery. Yet, poppies still grow there so, then again I think that there must be some sort of greenery. 

Jamie Blog Post #2

To me the most interesting literary aspect is the way that Farmer describes the setting of the novel.  I particularly enjoy the way she uses figurative language subtly.  An example of this is a passage from page 29, "“Here there was nothing, not even the wind over the poppy fields or the murmur of doves in their nests on the roof.  The silence was terrifying.”  I love the way she describes the doves and the atmosphere without even having to say that it was a quiet and lonely place.  Another example that I like is from page 19, "The poppies, now blue in the long shadows of the hills, stretched away in all directions."  What I like about this passage is that when she says the long shadows stretched away in all directions, my mind instantly creates the image of a very long stretch, meaning that Matt is cut off from the rest of the world.  Farmer is able to describe the setting using vivid imagery, and shows us the story instead of telling it.  She does not say where the fields are located; instead she chooses to show that it is isolated.  

Jada's post 1

What I’m wondering about:

Matt had been living in that small house for 5-6 years without ever leaving during the day. I wonder how Celia was able to keep him inside that long with stories about chupracabra and other fantoms. Sure she let him out at night sometimes, but would that really work out the way Farmer says it does?

Why had no one found the little house and Matt living inside it before the kids? Even though it was “Miles and miles” away from the house it seems strange. Matt got curious when Emilia and steven first came bye, the next time he made contact with them. If Matt had seen other people before then, than wouldn’t he be curious then and break out as well? Or had no one else actually found his home those 6 years?

When Emilia and Steven found Matt they seemed to not care who he was or what he was, they helped him when he fell on glass and asked if he would come out. Why then did they instantly turn their backs on him after they found out he was a clone? They were actually worried for him, then literally threw him out of the home onto the grass not caring one way or the other. It seems strange to me how someone can go from having one personality then instantly changing because of something you just find out.

Has anything struck you in this section:

It struck me how Matt was treated horribly by the rest of the people he came into contact with except Celia, she seemed to love him no matter what he was. She took on the role of taking care of Matt knowing what he was, she still cared for him as if he was her son, giving him a nickname like a parent would. To Matt this was probably the best thing he had been given in his short life. Even though he was stuck indoors his entire life he still found ways to see the bright side of things. The doctor only cared for him in a strictly medical way, he did not even care if Matt felt pain. Rosa thought of him as a stupid clone and nothing more often mocking him. Matt would make those things around him that others found gross and unappealing into ‘dolls’ and fake friends. He seems to be very resilient.

Why is Farmer making the choices she is in the first section:

Honestly, I think she is trying to get you to understand the predicament Matt is in, and why it was so important for him to stay in the little house. Celia Tried her best to protect Matt from unappealing eyes. It also showed how major breaking through the window really was in changing Matts life around. It introduces you to the characters and makes you intrigued enough to continue on reading while maintaining some truth to it. She is trying to portray what Matt has gone through and what is most likely to happen in the future.

Stephanie's Discussion #1

What are you wondering about?
When reading the book House of the Scorpion. One of the first things I noticed about this book was where it was located. I constantly and am still wonder why it's located in poppy fields? I do know that these fields of poppies are used to make opium and lots of rich drug lords live there. Perhaps in the rest of the book I will find out the why factor. 

Has anything struck you about this section?

I have wondered why is there so many children living near and in the fields. Why are children associated with the drug world? I also wondered why Matt was created in the first place? Why did he have to grow in a cow? why not something else like another animal? 

Why is Farmer making the choices she did in the first section?

I think that Farmer made the choice to make the book in this setting because many of the characters could get money from the drugs. It is a different, more original setting than most books, where is either in a city or in the country side.

By: Stephanie 9.4

Jordan's Discussion #1

My first thoughts on chapters 1 to 5 were that they went through a lot. The chapter title I found was very misleading because it said 0 to age 6. I found they only really discussed pre birth and age 6. This confused me because I though they were maybe going be discussing how it was hard for him to grow up not having a real family and only having celia but they really just skipped to age 6. I hope this changes and they really discuss how he ages. Also it really tugged at me that he is so lonely when there are children around him and how he really is getting used to being alone. 


I look forward to the next few chapters because the titles are quite intriguing and they make me wonder what happens. I am almost excepting him to maybe get out of the room he is stuck in now and to move back to Celia's. Hope fully we will see more progression of the age and I am expecting him to return to more of him self. Honestly I can't wait to read the next few chapters and the next age group.

Farmer made some interesting choices in this chapter and age group. Some of them are very interesting choices that make sense and some that don't. I feel that the fact she went from age 0 to age 6 was sightly confusing because I didn't really know what age he was at I had to guess. I really did like the way she so briefly made his age 0 quite interesting but not to a point that it took many chapters to explain how he was born. The worst part though was when the story started after his birth he was just their. There wasn't any explanation to who the characters we're. The story just started and so did the progression of these two characters.

I personally did not enjoy this first age group very much and I hope it gets better as the book goes on...

By. Jordan. B