Matt And El Patron's Character In The House Of The Scorpion

A prominent theme in The House of the Scorpion is that genetics do not determine one's character. This applies to many characters, but it is demonstrated most clearly in Matt. He is El Patron's clone; his DNA is the exact same. Scientifically, they could be considered the same person. But Matt is different, because he has different experiences, different values, and makes different choices.

First, Matt and El Patron's experiences and backgrounds differ dramatically. El Patron is an unloved orphan, who, through careful manipulations and deceit, became one of the most powerful men alive. Everybody at the Alacrán estate treats Matt like he is less than human, a disgusting animal. María treats him kindly most of the time, but as if he were

Soon after he begins watching him, Tam Lin explains how choices affect one's character to Matt. "…you can choose which way to grow. If you're kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man" (70). This confused Matt at the time, but he listened and it stayed with him. He diverges from El Patron many times with his choices. A good example of this is when he and Chacho fall into the pit. Using an enormous effort, Matt crawls out, but Chacho can't. He doesn't respond when Matt calls to him, so Matt doesn't even know if his friend is alive. Physically, Matt cannot do anything to rescue him, so he talks. "…he couldn't leave Chacho behind, either… He talked until his throat was raw, but he didn't stop because he felt this was the only rope he could throw to Chacho" (336). Matt is injured, exhausted, and scared. He doesn't know if one of his only friends is alive or not, but he keeps talking, keeps trying to help him, because it is the right thing to do. El Patron would not have done this. El Patron would have gotten out himself, and then disregarded his friend, because he always puts himself first. Matt shares his DNA with El Patron, but not his