The Scorpion Quotes

What would happen to the world when the Government and the drug producers create a partnership that benefits each side? This is reality in The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer. The drug producers are given land between Mexico and the United States, known as Aztlán, that is theirs to do whatever they want, without the interference of outside government, as long as they make sure no illegal immigrants come to the U.S. In the middle of all of this, there is Opium. This is the largest exported drug from Aztlán and the center of young Matt’s life. The symbol of, The House of the Scorpion, is the drug Opium. In this story it is the source of all of Matteo’s wealth and why he can do what he wants. But to the illegal immigrants that Matteo has captured and made human slaves, Opium is their shackles. This is shown when it says, “The workers bent and slashed, bent and slashed, bent and slashed in a hypnotic rhythm. They didn’t speak. They didn’t even wipe the sweat off their faces” (Farmer 77). This quote shows how the eejits or “workers” are slaves to the Opium and are used to harvest it, and repeat. This

The fact that harvesting the Opium and make as much money as possible truly shows Matteo’s real personality. He enslaves people and turns them into lifeless slaves, works them till they die, and replaces them in seconds. The Opium makes Matteo a heartless dictator only trying to increase profits. But the Opium to Matt is a plant and the eejits are real people under control of a terrible empire. This is shown when Matt says, “When I’m in charge---Matt quickly adjusted his thought: When I’m helping the person in charge, I’ll free the eejits” (Farmer 171). This quote shows that Matt doesn’t care about the Opium that provided him his life with Matteo. This reveals that Matt only sees Opium as a plant and that he doesn’t agree or like that it is the reason so many people are