The House of the Scorpion - Characterization

Here is my post for my thoughts on characterization for this novel:

            In The House of the Scorpion Matt is clearly the protagonist of the story. The tale is told from his perspective and the whole story talks about how his life progresses and how it differs from the life of a normal child. At the start of the novel, the way Matt was portrayed was a different experience for me because I had never read a novel that showed the perspective of a six year old child. As the novel progressed and he grew older however, I could definitely relate to what he was feeling and his reactions. Matt has some sort of a relation with each of the characters. It could be short, it could be long, it could be negative, or it could be positive. His speech differs throughout the novel, depending on his age group but there was one thing that didn’t change, he always spoke his mind. He didn’t try to hide what he was feeling, at least not from everyone, which is something many people struggle to do.

            To accompany Matt, Nancy Farmer also included María, Tam Lin, Celia, Chacho and Fidelito. Out of everyone in their society, these individuals stick by Matt for the whole novel, and though they aren’t talked about throughout they play a major role in Matt’s life. Celia and Tam Lin play the mother and father figures for Matt. They are more flat characters than they are round, but pieces of their pasts are shown to us in order to better understand them and their motives. María, to some extent, is a stock character. Though she is in the story throughout, we don’t really get to learn much about her. She is like the classic female figure, or heroine, of the novel. Chacho and Fidelito come in at the very end. They help Matt once he reaches Aztlan sticking by him when he was criticized by all others. They remain with him for the rest of the novel.

            Like each story, this one also has an antagonist. In this case, it was El Patrón. He created the society that despises clones and he also had every intention of killing Matt. He was definitely a round character. We learn more and more about him each time he comes to visit Matt but also by people who are associated with him. Matt also had a foil, Tom. Even though Tom was definitely not Matt’s friend, through his character we came to better understand Matt through his actions and feelings towards Tom.

            With the support of his friends, and wisdom of his mother and father, Matt makes it through his life and becomes “The one possession El Patrón let slip through his fingers.” (Page 246)