Holly's Posts

Holly's 4th Blog Entry

In chapter 23, El Patron’s motives start to unravel and truly show. In chapter 23, I think that El Patron finally showed his true colours to Matt. In Chapter 15, Matt describes the mansion with everyone gone. He says The house was like a stage with all the actors missing.” on page 146. El Patron is the director. He controls everything. Who people marry, what people do, and which people to own. “Everyone had known for years that Steven and Emilia were going to get married. El Patron had decreed it. He wanted to bind the Alacrans to the powerful political machine Senator Mendoza ruled in the United States. It was simply good luck that Steven and Emilia liked each other. If they hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered.” Matt states on page 204. El Patron does everthing for a certain reason, and for self gain. The gain might be for his personal desires, or it might be for his whole empire.

I am also curious about this idea of eejits. The History Of Opium, written by Esperanza in the book, states that it is an evil way to control and manipulate people. It is sick and inhumane, which I agree with. Of course it is inhumane to control people by putting a computer chip in their brain, but in this sort of situation, some might think it is the most humane option. Instead of allowing the people to deal with their own emotions and mental state, just put them to sleep. The way Matt acted when Rosa put him in a cell was how he dealt with his situation. How would the workers deal with their situation? Should they just have to deal with what they have done and what has happened like Tam Lin, Or should they be put to sleep? I think that it depends on their certain situation. The workers that slash the opium fields everyday and nothing more should be m an eejit because that job is cruel to begin with. On page 202, Matt decides he wants to run away, “Esperanza’s book had opened his eyes to the horrors of the empire El Patron had built, and he had seen for himself the low, dark dwellings of the eejits that were no better than coffins.” but he chooses to wait until after the wedding because Maira would be there. i think that this is foreshadowing of what might happen later in the book. Matt will run away with Maria, or to be with Maria. The flower girls however, was a sick idea to make into eejits. Weddings are supposed to be a happy and life filled occasions. Farmer chose well to make the flower girls eejits because it really elaborates on what kind of kingdom El Patron runs. The reason behind the eejit flower girls in the book was that normal girls would not be able to do the job correctly. This idea that normal girls unable to do a good job is quite interesting as well. Perhaps it will be elaborated or surfaced later in the book.

Holly's 3rd Blog Post

At the end of chapter 14, Celia talks about her past for the first time with Matt. This story has many connections to the real world today. Celia was an illegal immigrant trying to leave Mexico to escape her poor town she grew up in. “Nothing grew there except weeds, and they were so bitter that they made the donkeys throw up. Even roaches hitchhiked to the next town. That’s how bad it was” says Celia, page 140. This may be how some illegal immigrants feel about where they came from. They desired change, and a better life, like Celia did. There is a news article on BBC News (Glasgow & West Scotland) titled “Illegal immigrants at Glasgow and Clydebank nail bars” on December 13, 2011. A nail salon had employed illegal immigrants, and could be charged a fine of £100,00 if there were no legally required checks, such as requesting for their passports, were not in fact carried out. Illegal immigrant employment exploits vulnerable workers and undercuts wages.

What I did notice about this particular article, was that nothing was said about the Vietnamese workers. Why would they choose to leave country and illegally enter West Scotland? What persuaded them to make such a rational decision? Celia’s reason was that she wanted a better and easier life in America. “We knew that under that glow was the most wonderful place. Everyone had his own house and garden. Everyone beautiful clothes and ate only the best food. And no one worked more that four hours a day. The rest of the time people flew around in hovercrafts and went to parties.” said Celia, on page 141. She desired elegance, wealth, and an easier life. This was a greedy, yet very human, desire. The grass is always greener on the other side. This may have been what the illegal immigrants in this article thought. They wanted change. They wanted to leave their life they knew behind, and start over fresh. The similarity of Celia’s story and the article is that both were caught to be punished for their actions and choices.

View the article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-16159166

Holly’s 2nd Blog Post

I find that the characterization in the book interests me a lot. The way that Farmer describes each character’s actions are very interesting and intriguing. Bit by bit you are able to chisel away and discover more and more about a certain character.  The way that Tam Lin treats Matt like a regular boy whereas others wont even acknowledge him shows us that Tam Lin is kind hearted. The way he treats and talks to Matt only supports this more. he took Matt out for a picnic as soon as Matt started to talk and he told him about eejits, clones, and fun things like nature. This may have been foreshadowed when Matt chose Tam Lin as a bodyguard because he saw a hint of kindness in his eyes, and El Patron told him he made a good choice.

Also, I enjoyed how Farmer allowed the reader to learn more about Celia by telling us about Rosa through Matt’s mind. Rosa treated him like an animal by filling his cell with deep litter, not feeding him well, and not even talking to him. Rosa was a foil to Celia. Celia acted as a mother figure to Matt, and this was elaborated when she came to get Matt out and by comparing how Rosa treated him.

And of course, the way that Farmer characterizes Matt is brilliant. On page 66, “Matt wished desperately that he could get over things that fast. Whenever he was hurt or angry or sad, the feelings stuck their claws into him until they were ready to let go. Sometimes it took hours.” when Tom invaded Matt’s home, his safe haven, and tore off the ear of his teddy bear. Tom quickly apologized for teasing Matt as soon as Tam Line came in. I remember feeling the way that Farmer described when I was little. I find that more of a “human” emotion than to quickly apologize, like Tom did. Also, on page 68, Farmer describes how Matt felt satisfied when he was able to prove people cared through their reaction to something. Again, this a very human trait. I am also learning more about Matt through Tom’s actions, for he is his foil character.

Holly blog post #1 - About the setting

 

Thinking about the setting, I noticed the author does not bluntly tell you the location. This might drag out because Farmer wants the reader to make certain connections with today's society and characteristics with the book's. I think that because of the line “I didn’t think anybody was allowed to live in the opium fields” on page 9 of the book implies that the location is quite possibly in Mexico. To further support this theory, the names Celia, Alacran, and El Patron are all Spanish names. Also, on page 7 it says “Matt could read - both English and Spanish. In fact, he and Celia mixed the two languages together, but it didn’t matter. They understood each other.” which could be because Celia is employed by English people at “The Big House”. 

In the beginning of the book, it describes the creation of a clone. Not specifically Matt, but that may have been implied. “‘The cells were frozen over a hundred years ago. They can’t be as healthy as samples taken yesterday.’” Said by Lisa, Page 3. This implies that this technology is very advanced, and that perhaps the idea of clones had arisen hundreds of years ago. This leads me to believe that this book is set in a future setting. I think that Farmer intentionally put this at the beginning of the book to firstly, capture the reader's attention, and to set in the idea of these certain clones being unique. In chapter 4 the doctor says "You should have called me at once. It's my my job to make sure it stays healthy." which tells us he knows something that the others don't. In the family tree, it does it says El Patron's former family was unknown, and that his siblings had died young. I find this rather suspicious and very interesting. If Matt is El Patron's clone, he has the same name, and in the beginning of the book it talks about how the Matteo Alacran clones are not fixed, meaning their intelligence is left intact. Is El Patron a clone as well?

So far, this book is almost forcing you to inquire about what might be going on. For example, on page 4, it says “‘Don’t fix that one,’ said Lisa hastily catching his arm. ‘It’s a Matteo Alacran. They’re always left intact.’” which begs the question, why? What is so special about those clones? There is obviously more than one "Matteo Alacran". He is locked inside of Celia’s house, and “He had been warned by Celia never, never to show himself at the window.” meaning that he was intended to be kept hidden. This may explain why all the maids, the doctor, and the big man was so disgusted when they found out Matt was a clone, also that they expected him to be brain dead. That might have been what Lisa was referring to as “fix” in the beginning. All the people in The Big House were considering Matt as an animal, "'Don't,' said Emilia. The seriousness in her voice made the little girl pause. 'Matt's a clone. You mustn't go near it.'" Although, the doctor had second thoughts about Matt on page 43, "'It' a sullen, evil-tempered animal,' she said. The doctor sighed. 'Clones go that way in the end. I did think this one was brighter than most.'" Why would the doctor think Matt was brighter than most clones?