Sarah+Hwang's+Summer+Reading

//The House of the Scorpion//, Nancy Farmer



Essay one: Quest……

According to //How to Read Literature Like a Professor// by Thomas C. Foster, a quest in a story of a novel charges five following things: a quester, a place to go, a reason to go there, challenges and trials during the route, and lastly, the actual specific reason to go there. The Nancy Farmer’s novel, //The House of the Scorpion//, has applied the listed five things through evolving around Matt, the protagonist. Matt is oppressed by a boundary that blocks him to interfere with other people. His entrance to anywhere is restricted to his own house, due to over-caring of Celia. Celia knows that people would treat him drastically different to others due to the fact that he is a clone. One day, in the beginning of chapter three, kids at his age come in front of Matt’s house and sees him through the window. Matt could not reply back to them while they were telling him to open the window to play together. Nevertheless, he could not successfully restrain himself and instead broke the window and jumped out, leading to a whole new incident. And that was the quest of his own.

//“Suddenly Matt knew what to do. Maria had walked a few steps away from the window before sitting down again. She was shouting insults at the vanished Steven and Emilia. Matt grabbed the big iron cooking pot Celia used to make menudo and swung it before he could worry much about her reaction She would be furious! But he was saving Maria’s life. He smashed out the glass in the window. It fell in a tinkling, jangling mass to the ground.......Matt came to a decision. It was frightening, but he’d never had an opportunity like this before and he might never have it again. He shoved a chair to the opening, scrambled up, and jumped.” // (Nancy Farmer 18)

Through this quote, it is evident how desperate Matt has been to encounter with people from outside. To break the window, Matt had to undergo through a struggle which was that he could not open the nailed window, but moreover, it was the challenge of breaking the promise with Celia of never leaving the house. Although the reason why Matt broke the window was to reply back to the children, actually it was the excessive loneliness and curiosity that encouraged him to risk the danger. Matt craved to experience the real world of outside, hence determined to take his quest, the advantage of this opportunity.

__**COMMENTS:**__
 * Hi Sarah! **
 * How are you doing? I hope you are having a great last day of summer vacation.... When I came into your page, I was quiet surprised because you chose the same book as me for the summer reading. Furthermore, I was more surprised because you wrote about the "Quest" for your first essay. Personally, it was hard for me to think of any quest that happened in this book. So, I chose not to write about it sigh.... I think your idea in this essay is very creative and I like it! ^ ^ In your introduction, I noticed that you did not mention in which page all those five following things are shown by Foster. Other than that, I think your introduction and thesis is clear and good. Next, I am not sure if this "Matt is oppressed by a boundary that blocks him to interfere with other people" is your second paragraph because you did not space it. Next, I am not sure if it is necessary to write all those quotes down. For third paragraph, just write down the quotes what you think it is important for the readers to understand your essay. For the last, I think you need to be more clear with the conclusion because it does not directly match with your thesis. Other than that overall your essay is fine. Good Job! **
 * -Nathan Cho- **

Hi Sarah!!! I hope you had a good summer vacation! ^^ I didn’t do this book for summer reading but I read it before so I can relate easily to your points. For your introduction, it leads the readers to the ideas that you’re going to present well and you state examples from Foster’s book which makes the introduction stronger. However, you didn’t state which chapter that you’re referring your essay to from Foster’s book which can definitely confuse the readers. Adding this minor information would help the readers! Also, for your thesis, I can’t get a clear idea or find it. It seems that you’re only stating your points and general information rather than giving a strong thesis. Your thesis needs to be more clear or rephrased so the readers wouldn’t misinterpret your ideas. In general, some sentences also seem wordy containing a few unnecessary words. Changing some of these would make your thoughts more concise. For the use of your quote, it looks too long and unnecessary to include so much. Picking out the important section from the whole quote would be better because you already expressed these ideas in your summary so it’s basically restating. Finally, there are some minor grammar errors in your sentences (last paragraph) as well as irregularity in your use of tense. Pick either the present or the past and stay consistent to one of the tenses. Overall, your essay is well constructed, and it would be improved a lot more if you fix some of the errors! -HaJung Kim-

Essay Two: …Violence

Violence is something that is often conveyed in novels, symbolizing cultural or societal implications. //The House of the Scorpion// by Nancy Farmer often displays violence, meaning more than simple physical pain. Through infliction, Matt learns important values of his life, and enters an initial stage of maturity that deals with facing the world of hostility and harshness. Later as the story proceeds, by chapter four, when people find out that Matt has been a clone, Matt becomes imprisoned in Rosa’s house at the worst conditioned area. With inferior treatment given that is less than a dog, Rosa does not free him and gives him food that lacks in quality and quantity. Matt undergoes through emotional breakdowns, turning numb—he misses Celia, whom has taken care of him as if a real mother. Matt, crammed with confusion and puzzlement, self-concludes that he does not deserve to be treated as an equal being. Nancy Farmer has thrown violence on have him suffer, gradually leading him to a lesson of the importance of home and the nostalgia of being safely protected.

//“Bleating won’t save you, you good-for-nothing animal. No one can hear you. This whole wing of the house is empty because you are in it! They don’t even put pigs down here!” // (Nancy Farmer 39) Although this quote is an assault, it is potential to consider it as violence. Since Matt is a clone incubated from a Cow's body, he is regarded with the lowest respect. He is perhaps not even considered as a human being, although ironically he is mentally and physically no different to one another. Through such verbal violence cast upon Matt, it is easy to conclude that he is treated unequally, allowing the readers to understand the scale of how low clones are regarded in the society and understand its background.

Essay Three: Blind for a reason…  Novelists in literature, develop characters holding certain characteristics with certain purpose. For example, as mentioned in How to read like a professor by Thomas C. Foster, a blind man may be blind but instead has the capability to see spirits and the divine world. An originality of character has its own individuality which others do not have. Such example of it can be spotted in Nancy Farmer’s book //The house of the Scorpion//, through seeking at the elaborated character analysis of Matt, a clone of another human. Matt ponders through potential answers to why El Patron has decided to allow education and entertainment to him unlike his other clones. Matt concludes that El Patron has deceptively planned out to overtake Matt’s heart. And to keep the heart healthy, Matt has been given an opportunity to stay lively with enjoying life. //“They all knew! Matt’s education and accomplishments were a sham. It didn’t matter how intelligent he was. In the end the only thing that mattered was how strong his heart was.” // (216) By chapter 22, Matt suddenly realize that so many hints have been given to him throughout his lifetime; Tam Lin teaches him how to climb mountains and survive in the wild, and the reason why Celia has been overly protective of him. There must have been a specific reason towards why Matt was given such a blessing advantage unlike other clones. Just as the title of the chapter in Hoster’s book, “He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know,” Matt is a clone for a reason as well. Although readers may find inexplicable of why Matt is born as a clone of El Patron, as the story progress, readers can eventually figure out the precise key to the answer: for the health of his original source—El Patron, a vile man. Although that may be the actual reason why Matt exists in his society, in terms of questioning the author why she has decided to have him as a clone would be something else particular. Despite that Matt is a copy of El Patron, who creates clones to enhance his health through replacing their organs with his old ones, their personalities are not completely congruent with each other. Matt is pure and has musical skills, unlike El Patron. Although Matt is a clone, he has his own uniqueness, just as every individual in the world is different.

Essay Four: Symbol...

According to //How to read like a professor//, a symbol can mean something that is applied to one thing for all of us and for all timeThe novel //The House of the Scorpion// by Nancy Farmer, evolves around Matt who is discriminated mostly throughout his whole life as a clone. It would have probably questioned a lot of readers while reading this book, the polemic difference between and a clone and a human. Ironically, Matt is no biologically different to a normal person, except that he was incubated in a cow’s body at the stage of embryo. Matt, through Tam Lin, his bodyguard, learns the importance of being human. Humans are more logical which makes it complicated when thinking of it. Through seeking at the gradual development of character analysis on Matt, it becomes evident that Matt has been deeply oppressed by the society due to the fact that he is a clone. Just like a typical boy would, he loved a girl named Maria, his only friend. However, towards the end of chapter 13, Senator Mendoza, the father of Maria, delivers news to him that Maria’s dog Furball just died from consuming an excessive drug, which people assumed it was Matt whom fed the dog. Also Tam Lin, who was like a father to Matt, distrusted him whom refuted to be guilty. Anyhow, the top concern that swirled in Matt’s mind was Maria. He afraid that she might disown him, because he knew there was nothing precious as Furball to Maria, since it was ever most treasured.

//“Any rat in a sewer can lie, Tam Lin had said. It’s how rats are. But a human doesn’t run and hide in dark places, because he’s something more. Matt tho ught he could make Maria understand if he ever got to see her. She’d forgive him because he was a dumb animal and didn’t know any better. But Tam Lin had called Matt a human and expected much more from him. Humans, Matt realized, human were a lot harder to forgive.” // (Nancy Farmer 138). Matt realizes that Maria would not easily forgive him. It would take her a long time to forgive him, regardless of the fact that it was not true of Matt poisoning Furball. Hence, Matt figures out the difference between an animal and a human. Being a human itself symbolizes much more than a simple typical rat. Human is a symbol of complicated creature unlike others in terms of animals, since it deals with greater care and concern when accepting one another. Matt learns that he should be considered as an equal person to another, since he is not simple like an animal. Although he has been emotionally desolated by the society for being a clone, he believes in himself that he is not worthless. Anyhow through Tam Lin, Matt learns his importance as a human, and that he is not an animal.

 Essay Five: More than just rain or snow…

In literature, weather is never just simply weather, as it’s never just rain. “It’s more than just rain or snow,” a chapter in //How to read like a professor// by Thomas C. Foster, explicates how weather can have deep symbolic meanings than rather creating a shallow image in a plot. Rain can symbolize as an obstacle in one’s journey to create a challenge or from having a good mood. Although there is no raining scene in //The House of the Scorpion// by Nancy Farmer, there are gloomy scenes which Matt is discriminated for being a clone. Usually rain creates a sorrowful atmosphere but eventually leads to positive outcomes, such as purity and cleanness of a character after rain stops. A parallelism of that would be Matt undergoing through hostility wherever he goes. Throughout the story, people treat Matt in the respect of an animal or even less than of animal. People around him emphasize that clones are not human, concluding he is not worth being respected. // “ “I don’t mind,” he whispered. “If I had a soul, I’d probably wind up in hell anyway.” ” // (Nancy Farmer 159) Towards the end of chapter 15, Matt states to Maria that he would not care either he go to heaven or hell, which shows that he does not regard himself high. Matt has naturally put to lower his esteem due to so much hostility and unkindness wherever he confronts. However, there has been three people in his life whom truly loved him and took actual care for him; Celia, Tam Lin, and Maria. Celia has been like a real mother to Matt, who provides motherly love and warmth. Tam Lin, who has been so protective over Matt as a bodyguard, is like a father to him. And lastly, Maria is his lover. These three people consider Matt no different to any other people. Although it is highly feasible of Matt to have turned into cynical and pessimistic person due to lack of hospitality he confronts, he is not completely deprived of love. Due to his essential people, he has been able to have a grip of confidence to face the harshness of the real world. Just like rainbow after rain, Matt does not turn sensitive and weak but tough and prepared for the harshness of the world.

My Comments: Hi Soobin! I have just read your first essay on the topic ‘quest,’ As I was reading, I found the sentency flow very good, since it was easy for me to follow along. Moreover, all the sentences are pretty much straightforward to your main idea. The paragraphs refer back to your thesis. Anyway, after I’ve read your essay, I realized that the quest you’ve spotted in your section is quite different from the quest that I’ve found in my section. Although they are different type of quest, I guess yours work perfectly fine too, and I guess the quest basically on learning a lesson and having self-discipline. Overall, your essay is tight and concise and I really like that! The book you’ve chosen seems interesting, and also, would be a favorable book to the Christians I assume.

Hey Corie, I have just finished reading your first essay on ‘violence.’ According to what I have understood from your essay, the author of your book has used violence as a tool to expand on character analysis and as an attention-grabber. I found your discovery quite agreeable. The paragraph that I wrote based on violence states that it has lead the readers to understand further more of the character, which is similar to what you have wrote on your essay. Anyway you seemed to put more analysis than summary in your essay which is not bad, but a little bit more of summary provided would make it more excellent! <span style="color: black; font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Georgia; mso-hansi-font-family: Georgia; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msohansifontfamily: Georgia; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msoasciifontfamily: Georgia; msochartype: symbol; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">J Your sentences are easy to follow along, and your examples are clear. Good job Corie!