House of the scorpion – Flashcards

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is an intriguing story about a young man who discovers he is a clone and must struggle to learn what this means. Matteo Alacran, a clone harvested from the DNA of El Patron, the Master of Opium, is treated poorly by the Alacran family and servants, despite his superior education and his attempts to fit in. After escaping death by fleeing to the neighboring nation of Atzlan, Matt faces isolation for reasons he never imagined. The House of the Scorpion is an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable novel. Matt lives isolated in a house in the middle of the poppy fields with Celia. When children appear outside the window and try to talk to him, Matt breaks the window and jumps out, cutting himself on the glass. The children carry him to the Big House on the Alacran Estate to see the doctor, but when Mr. Alacran recognizes Matt as El Patron's clone, he puts Rosa in charge of Matt. Rosa imprisons Matt in a room filled with sawdust, treating him like an animal, but when Celia finds out what is going on, she contacts El Patron who rescues Matt and forbids anyone to treat Matt poorly. Matt is educated and raised in the Big House, but the Alacrans and their servants ignore him as much as possible. Maria Mendoza is Matt's only friend near his age. Tam Lin, his bodyguard, teaches him a bit about life outside of the poppy fields. El Patron loves Matt because Matt is El Patron. When Matt learns that clones are created to harvest body organs, he is distraught, but he convinces himself that El Patron would not waste resources educating him if he is supposed to be used for spare parts. During Steven and Emilia's wedding, El Patron has a heart attack, and though Maria tries to save him, Matt is captured and taken to the hospital so that he can be used for El Patron's heart transplant. Since Celia has poisoned Matt with arsenic, El Patron cannot use his heart, and he dies. Mr. Alacran orders Tam Lin to destroy Matt, but instead, Tam Lin sends Matt to Atzlan to find Maria. When Matt escapes Opium, the Keepers take responsibility for him, sending him to work in the plankton factory near San Luis where he is mocked as an aristocrat. After escaping his intended death in the boneyard, Matt escapes from the plankton factory with three friends and finally reaches the convent of Santa Clara where Maria resides. Esperanza, Maria's mother, sends Matt to Opium to investigate the lockdown that has been in effect since El Patron's death because only Matt can override the system since he shares El Patron's DNA. At the Big House, Matt is reunited with Celia who tells him how everyone at El Patron's wake, including Tam Lin, was killed by poisoned wine because El Patron wanted to be buried with all of his possessions, including people. Since the original Matteo Alacran, El Patron, died, Matt is now the Master of Opium, and he prepares to take responsibility and correct the evils that his predecessor committed.

Book= beginning - middle (where shift happens) - end Examples:In the beginning of the book, Matt was naive, mute, lonely. He changed a long, at times he was immoral, very immoral as when he forced to make Maria kiss him. But by the end of the Book he was a good and moral character, willing to do what was right, to stand up for himself and others like Fidelito, and he would make things right. A character who changes by the end of the book is called a dynamic character. Examples: Matt(primarily), (Keep in mind, these next characters do not change, but simply were hiding their feelings) El Patron, Willum, Emilia and Steven, etc. A character who does not change in the book is called a static character. Examples: Jorge, Maria, Tom, Mr. Macgregor, Celia, Tam Lin, Felicia, Senator Mendoza and Esperanza.

Cloning Key terms: Cloning: Creation of an animal or person that derives its genes from a single other individual; "asexual reproduction". Creating a copy that is virtually identical to the original (can be done with molecules, cells, and whole organisms.) Adult Stem Cell: A stem cell from organs and tissues, usually after birth (including umbilical cord and placenta), that can renew itself and transform into other specialized cell types. These stem cells can be obtained from just about anyone, and after a long process can be reverted back to stem cells. Embryonic stem cell: A cell from the inner mass of cells of a blastocyst, with the potential to become most or all of the body tissues. These stem cells are unspecialized, and have great potential, but require the destruction of an embryo to harvest. Stem cells: Unspecialized cells with the capacity to self-renew and to transform into other mature cell types "Therapeutic Cloning" (Experimental Cloning): Creating a cloned embryo for the purpose of destroying it to harvest embryonic stem cells or tissues, or for other experimental studies. Tissue culture or cell culture: Growth of cells or tissues in a laboratory dish Therapeutic cloning is actually just the creation of specific tissues, organs, or muscles primarily used for studying or transplants, and would not require an entire embryo for the purpose of destroying it(this is just how it is portrayed in House of the Scorpion because El Patron was old). Reproductive Cloning" (Live-Birth Cloning): All cloning is reproductive in that it creates - reproduces - a new developing human intended to be virtually identical to the cloned subject. The term "reproductive cloning" has been used to signify the implantation into a womb of a cloned embryo, in hopes of a live birth. Reproductive cloning is the creation of someone who is identical genetically to another person already living.

Currently going on around the entire world is a drug problem. These problems appear in Afghanistan, Mexico, Colombia, etc. We focused on Mexico. In Mexico, these DTO`s(Drug Trafficking Organizations, or Drug Cartels) have a lot of power, more than most people like, or less than many others like. We focused on Los Zetas, La Familia Michoacana/Templar Knights, and the Sinaloa Federation. However there are 3 key points that you need to remember. Los Zetas: Los Zetas are often referred to as the most brutal drug cartel, as they have a very efficient business strategy. Los Zetas were formed by the Gulf Cartel out of treason, because they were elite paratroopers that actually worked for the Mexican Army. They eventually became extremely good at their jobs, and took over the Gulf Cartel Territory. Their business strategy usually involves a fear tactic, which gets them what they want. When they enter a town or place, they make it known they are there, and will head to the most powerful local gang or member. They offer them a chance to work and be a local representative of Los Zetas, which will give them weapons, food, money, power, all in exchange for royalty. Despite the answer, they take over. But not all of their revenue comes from drugs. Since they were created in treason they cant connect to many markets. So they got more money in other ways, kidnapping, prostitution, human trafficking, stealing oil, etc. LFM/TP: Famous leaders such as Carlos Rosales Mendoza or Nazario Moreno, and they started as a group of vigilanties with the aim to protect people from bad people and other harmful cartels. A family emerged in the 1990s. They protect the places they stay at, they take drugs that arent theirs out, and when they kill someone they announce they did it and the reason behind it. They have trade products in Michoacan for this purpose. Also located in Michoacan is a huge port, in the central west of Mexico, called Lazrocardenas, they payback to the comunity, and they get rid of a lot of criminal activity. They are the representatives of Michoacan and have a social enterprise. Sinaloa: The Sinaloa federation is an international drug trafficking organization. They distribute drugs, they also murder, bribe, and launder money (a way of getting clean money, without having actually earned it). They started around the 1980s as a small smuggling group, but turned into a huge federation, and invented drug tunnels or the Narco submarine. They are a powerful DTO, with the famous leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. They are also known for creation of new drugs, forms of transport, and have a ton of money all over the world. 3 Main Points: At the end of the Teded talk, the speaker would like you to remember primarily just 3 rather simple concepts, because they are the most important thing in understanding drug violence in the world 1-Drug Violence is the result of a huge market demand, and the violence is to guarantee passageway through major roads and delivery routes. If there was no demand, there would be no business, but the thing is, there's a huge demand. 2- Drug Cartels are not just inept goons doing something for fun. No, they are sophisticated, coherent, business organizations and it would be best to treat them as such, they know what they are doing. 3- Either directly or indirectly, we are accomplices to them. They are part of our society, we are more involved than we think. We may not feel so, but unless you recognize and see the need for change and do something, you are really just continuing support or just pretending it's not happening.