Hi again,
I am big on quotations and finding pieces of text that speak to you as you read. Your task between now and Thursday is:
Find at least 3 quotes from the text that either tell about Matt, his outlook, that of society, or ones that evoke some sort of emotion in you. Record the quote or summarize each, include a page number, then explain the significance of each.
For instance, if it made you laugh, tell me why you laughed. If if made you sad, then explain the sadness.
This is due on THURSDAY!
"So Matt allowed her to go, but he was angry at the same time. It was a funny kind of anger, for he felt like crying, too." (p. 6) This quote makes me feel sad because Matt is left alone every day with no one to talk to or play with.
ReplyDelete"But Matt was so terrified, he couldn't squeeze out a single word." (p. 9) I think this quote is funny and sad at the same time. Matt is funny because he is afraid of two children, but it is sad because it reminds you how isolated his life has been.
"It occurred to Matt that this dove had come from the Virgin and that the feather meant She would watch over him here as She had at the little house." (p. 44) This quote makes me happy because Matt is regaining hope in getting out of his prison.
"The days passed with agonizing slowness, followed by nights of misery" (Pg. 43) This makes me feel sad for Matt because he was kept in solitude.
ReplyDelete"He ate slowly, watching the tiny yellow light that belonged to the Virgin" (Pg. 42) This is an insight to the beliefs of Matt. He was brought up by Celia to think that the Virgin is always looking over him.
This next quote is a long one so I'm just going to summarize it.
Tom was teasing Matt, so Matt threw a moldy, filled with worms, orange at him and that made Matt feel peaceful. (Pg. 45.) Well I'm happy that Matt finally found something to make him feel peaceful, even though it would probably only happen once.
" 'Okay,' said Matt, proud that Tam Lin considered him responsible enough to keep a secret." (page 79)
ReplyDeleteThis made me feel happy for Matt that Tam Lin would tell him something secretive and trust him, but also sad that this experience was so rare for Matt that he was so happy about it.
"Matt thought bitterly of Maria. If she really loved him, she'd take him with her and not care about how the other kids felt." (page 81)
This shows how Matt felt abandoned by Maria because she didn't insist on bringing Matt. He thinks that she values the opinions of other kids more that she values him, so it makes me feel sympathetic towards Matt but also a little disappointed that he would think selfishly because she needs space.
"He was in a rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." (page 91)
I feel sorry for Matt because he thinks he needs to prove himself to people to get him to like him. But I think if they don't like him for who he is, they're not worth it. I want him to be liked not because he's smart, but because he is a nice person.
“She suffering from delusions,” the doctor told El Patrón. “It’s a shame such an unstable individual was allowed to have a position of responsibility.” (Page 56)
ReplyDeleteThis quote is funny because, the quote is ironic because, Willum is supposed to be Rosa’s “boyfriend”, but Willum just insulted her in front of El Patrón and the Alacrán family.
“Who can tell me how many apples I have here?” warbled Teacher on day six. “I’ll bet it’s my good boy?”
Matt suddenly snapped. ”I’m not a good boy?” he screamed. “I’m a bad clone! And I hate counting and I hate you!” He grabbed Teacher’s carefully arranged apples and hurled them every which way. He threw the crayons on the floor, and when she tried to pick them up, he shoved her as hard as he could. Then he sat on the floor and burst into tears. (Page 73)
This quote shows how Matt has a passion to learn. Since he disliked just counting, and doing the same routine every day, he wanted to do something different and learn more things, but Teacher couldn’t supply that to him, so he rebelled against Teacher, just so he could get what he wants.
“Do it!” Willum snarled. “You know you have to do it!”
“Please, Father,” said Mr. Alacrán, gentler than Matt had ever heard him be.
“No, no, no,” moaned Mr. Alacrán’s father.
“You’ll die without chemotherapy,” his son begged.
“God wants me to come.”
“But I want you here,” Mr. Alacrán pleaded.
“This is a place of shadows and evil!” The old man was clearly becoming irrational.
“At least get a new liver,” Willum said in his harsh voice.
“Leave me alone,” wailed the old man. (Page 88)
This quote makes me sad and glad, because the quote shows how much Mr. Alacrán loves his father, and how much he wants his father to stay around on Earth. But Mr. Alacrán’s father is very stubborn and he wants to die, and go to heaven, so he can leave the Big House forever.
What Matt hated about the creature was everyone´s assumption that he and Furball were the same... He couldn´t understand the difference between right and wrong. He was a dumb beast and so, apparently, was Matt“(85).this quote made me feel sympathy towards matt because he is a clone he is treated like an animal like marias puppy.
ReplyDelete“‘When you´re small, you can choose which way to grow. If you´re kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man´“(70). this quote made me feel hope like he could make it through it afterall
“‘I always say the truth is best even when we find it unpleasant. Any rat in a sewer can lie. It's how rats are. It's what makes them rats. But a human doesn't run and hide in dark places, because he's something more. Lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is´“(134). this quote made me feel pride that we humans do still have some decency left
lol my bad i was signed onto a friends gmail soo ya this is will mccord
ReplyDeleteThe following are the three quotes that greatly impacted me while I was reading The House of The Scorpion. I also felt that these quotes were significant to the story.
ReplyDelete1. "Matt cried steadily. His grief went on and on. When it lessened, he remembered Celia and started crying again." (Farmer, Page 29)
This quote describes the degree of sadness Matt faced because he was separated from his caretaker, Celia. If I were put in such a situation, I too would cry a lot, since I would dearly miss the one who treated me as her own child. This quote made me feel sympathetic towards Matt since he felt very alone and isolated in the "Big House". Matt also had been crying since at the "Big House" he was being insulted for being a clone by Rosa, the maid, who showed great hatred towards him.
2. "She picked him up and hugged him all the way to his bed. No matter how tired Celia was-and sometimes she almost fell over with exhaustion-she never neglected this ritual." (Farmer, Page 13)
This quote expresses the great amount of love and care Celia displayed towards Matt. One can tell that Celia cares for Matt as though he is her own child. This quote made me feel quite sorrowful after reading futher into the novel that Matt had to be separated away from such care when he is taken to the "Big House". I felt even worse when Rosa, the maid, constantly threatens Matt and frightens him too since before he was only exposed to love and care.
3. "Oh, God! There must be glass left inside," cried Rosa. (Farmer, Page 23)
This quote shows the amount of concern Rosa had for Matt before she discovered he was a clone. This quote makes the reader realize (as they read further on) how people change their colors. After reading how Rosa abuses Matt in the later chapters(after showing much concern), I feel even more sorry for Matt. I do not believe that it is fair for him to be treated differently because he is a clone. After all, he is still a living being with flesh, bones and blood.
~ Shivani Mehrotra
"Am I a machine?" This question made me feel sorry for Matt. He is not, in fact a machine, but he might as well be.
ReplyDelete"'When you´re small, you can choose which way to grow. If you´re kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man´"(70). Although Tam Lin says this, I think Matt takes it to heart and tries to be a good person.
"What Matt hated about the creature was everyone´s assumption that he and Furball were the same... He couldn´t understand the difference between right and wrong. He was a dumb beast and so, apparently, was Matt"(85). This annoyed me. Matt is not a "dumb beast," and people should be ashamed to think it. It made me want to grind their skin off with a potato peeler...
1. "He had never, never gone to bed alone. Always, even though it might be very late, he could count on Celia's return. When he woke up in the night, the snores in the next room made him feel safe. Here there was nothing, not even the wind over the poppy fields or the murmur of doves in their nests on the roof." (Page 29) This quote from THOTS made me feel so sad and depressed for Matt. I cannot imagine how scared and sad he must have been, to think that Celia would not return.
ReplyDelete2. "They talked about movies, then about stories Celia had told Matt of the dangers that lurked after dark. Matt found that if he lay perfectly still, his wounds didn't hurt too much. Maria bounced around and occasionally hurt him, but he was afraid to scold her. She might get angry and leave." (Page 30) This statement made me feel sad, and happy for Matt. It was sad that he hurt so much, and he didn't have the courage to tell Maria to be careful. Yet, it still made me happy that Matt really liked Maria, and that he was not alone anymore.
3. "He was in a rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." (Page 91) I felt very bad for Matt. I knew he was able to excel, and I'm glad he is trying to set a goal, but I feel bad because of the reason he's setting it. He thinks that nobody loves him, and that everyone thinks he is a clone. Of course, there are those who do love him, like Celia, Don Pedro, and Maria, but he is right. A lot of people are cruel and rude to him, and don't treat him like a human being.
"Matt cried steadily. His grief went on and on. When it lessened, he remembered Celia and started crying again." (Farmer, Page 29)
ReplyDeleteThis quote makes me feel sad, since Matt is all alone. Since we all have friends, I feel bad for Matt because he has no one.
"The days passed with agonizing slowness, followed by nights of misery" (Farmer, Page 43)
This quotes also makes me feel sad for Matt.It makes me feel bad that no one cared enough about Matt to at least stay with him during his pain.
"He was in a rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone." (Farmer, Page 91)
This quotes makes me feel happy for Matt, yet sad at the same time. I'm happy because he is smart, and wants to learn. But I'm sad because he thinks the only way to earn love and respect is to become smart.
This book overall made me very sad. There were many quotes that stood out to me and highlighted this. These were the ones that did it the most.
ReplyDelete"The days passed with agonizing slowness, followed by nights of misery" (Page 43)
This quote made me feel very sorry for Matt. I have never been in a situation like his. But I can imagine how alone I would feel with no friends or anyone, just me by myself.
"What Matt hated about the creature was everyone´s assumption that he and Furball were the same.... He couldn´t understand the difference between right and wrong. He was a dumb beast and so, apparently, was Matt" (Page 85) This made me feel awful for Matt. I woul dhate to be comapred to a dog because I was created differently and thought to be an animal. It wasn't his fault, why should people hate him!
"But Matt was so terrified, he couldn't squeeze out a single word." (Page 9) This quote made me feel awful for Matt, and how he was even afraid of the two children. He had never been close enough to anyone else in his life to talk to except for Celia. I couldn't imagine going through that.
'"You're a monster!" she cried. "It wouldn't surprise me if you ate them!"' (Farmer, page 44) This quote was spoken by Rosa. It made me feel terribly bad for Matt since everyone assumed him to be some kind of animal. Even earlier, Roda has said that he was a beast that was not house trained. Matt was not being given the opportunity to shine, given his current predicament.
ReplyDelete'The rotten orange burst apart all over Tom's face. He jumped back, screaming, "It's moving, it's moving!" Pulp dripped off his chin. Wiggly worms dropped into his collar' (Farmer, 45) This quote disgusted, and amused me. I think it was brilliant of Matt to do that; that would scare the life out of anybody! I am personally creeped out by worms and the idea of a rotten orange being thrown at me. I think Tom deserved that. I would never be able to store food just to attract bugs, that would freak me out really badly.
'But underneath Matt felt a hollowness. He understood he was only a photograph of a human, and that meant he wasn't really important. Photos could lie forgotten in drawers for years. They could be thrown away'(Farmer, 84) During this quote, I felt very bad for Matt. He tried to hard to be nice and please everyone, but just because he was a clone, he was hated. He knew that he was hated, and people were not afraid to show it to him. He felt as if no one really cared about him, which most people didnt.
“That’s disgusting. Clones aren’t people.”-Chapter 4 I think this is probably the most important quote in the entire book. It makes me feel sad that Matt is treated this way, but I have to ask myself if I would do it anyway conforming to society. “Underneath the sawdust and he knew exactly where”-Chapter 5 I think this is another sad quote because it shows just what pigsty he really lives in. If he knows where gristle is in sawdust, we have a big problem. I was angry in the quote where the teacher happened to be an eejit. I can't believe they would try to gives someone a just and decent education from a single-minded creature.
ReplyDelete^^^
ReplyDeleteAbove comment posted by Riley, apparently I forgot to sign in.
1. "Oh, God! There must be glass left inside," cried Rosa. (Farmer, Page 23)Before Rosa knows that Matt is a clone she treats him very nicely, and actually cares that he's hurt and wants to help him. After she finds out he's a clone though, she treats him horribly.
ReplyDelete2. "The days passed with agonizing slowness, followed by nights of misery" (Page 43)This makes you realize how badly Matt is being treated, and how nobody cares about him except Celia, Maria, and El Patron. You can't help feeling sorry for him.
3. "Matt thought bitterly of Maria. If she really loved him, she'd take him with her and not care about how the other kids felt." (page 81)You can tell Matt is hurting from this, but it is not physical pain, it's mental. He's in love with Maria but he thinks she doesn't love him back.
1. He was in rage to learn. He would excel, and then everyone would love him and forget he was a clone.
ReplyDelete-This made me sort of feel bad for Matt because he has to try so much harder than normal people because he's a clone and even then people won't accept him because he's a clone.
2."Tom said I was puked up by a cow," said Matt
"Tom is a filthy little pustule" said Tam Lin.
-I think that Matt really needs someone like Tam Lin to remind him that he should ignore the people who put him down.
3. Matt suddenly snapped. "I'm not a hood boy!" he screamed. "and I hate counting and I hate you!"
- I again feel bad for Matt because people are so mean to because of something he can't control and never asked for and he's beginning to believe all of the terrible things people say to him
1. Pg 91
ReplyDelete2. Pg 81
3. Pg 73
"Bleating won't save you, you good-for-nothing animal." (Farmer, 39)This describes how the average person thinks of a clone. Clones are looked upon worse, if not the same as sheep. The only difference is that Matt is actually a human with his full intellectual capacity.
ReplyDelete"My name is Matt. I live here. Do you want to play?" (Farmer, 18) This makes me feel sad because it must be horrible to be as lonely as Matt was. He was so lonely that the first thing he thought of to say was "Do you want to play?". Usually when you meet someone, you get to know them before becoming their friend, but for Matt, they were three new people when he only knew one person besides himself.
"Take me with you." begged Matt (Farmer,5) This shows Matt's view of the outside world as something wondrous. It is sad how Matt has never in his conscious life left the little house in the poppy fields and thinks that just going outside is an adventure.
"The days passed with agonizing slowness, followed by nights of misery." (43) This quote kind of showed people the real inside of Matt. He was alone all the time, and he naturally wanted to see other people. The only connection he had was Celia for a long time.
ReplyDelete"Any rat in a sewer can lie. It's how rats are. It's what makes them rats. But a human doesn't run and hide in dark places, because he's something more." (134) Tam Lin is such a nice guy, and he always has something wise to say. He has profound opinions and he isn't one to follow everyone else.
"'I'll explain things when you're older.' But she wouldn't. She had made the same promise before." (21) This is pretty sad, since Matt feels like everyone is keeping him from knowing anything. Even Celia, who is the most important person in his life, refuses to tell him why he's alone all the time.
This is Jane Zogbi. I am having difficulty logging in so I'm just going to write my assignment under anonymous.
ReplyDeleteMy first quote is "You were harvested, Tam Lin reminds him. You were grown in that poor cow for nine months and then you were cut out of her.
I think that Tam Lin is pretty harsh while he's saying this. I mean, it sounds like Tam Lin feels sorry for the cow and not Matt. I have to say that I do think that Tam Lin is a nice person in general but here, was not one of those times.
"Don't cry, Mi Vida, I love you more than anything in the world. I'll explain things to you when your older." This quote warms my heart because Celia is letting Matt know that he is not alone in this world. He has at least on person who loves him and understands him. Celia isn't just saying these heartfelt quotes out of orders. She saying them because she really loves Matt.
"I want a birthday kiss." When Matt said these words I was dumbfounded. I had no idea that Matt could ever say such a thing to Maria. In addition, he's humiliating her in front of all of her family friends. Matt was such a kind, sweet, boy. And now he's starting to act more and more like El Patron. Which is a very bad thing.
"The Good Lord passed me by when He was handing out talent. You've got it, though, and it'd be a shame not to use it. I'll talk to El Patrón about finding you a teacher." (Farmer, 90)This quote kind of relieved me to know that Matt might actually have a chance of being something more than a clone.
ReplyDelete"Is that how you usually open a window, kid?" (Farmer, 18) This quote made me feel kind of bad for Matt, because it seemed like Steven was making fun of him, or being angry at him for doing something he thought was right.
"'Come closer, boy,' said an old, old voice. Rosa gasped. Her hand dropped from Matt's shoulder. 'El Patrón,' she whispered." (Farmer, 54)
When i first read this I was scared because I didn't know what El Patrón intended to do with him.
"The days passed with unvarying sameness."
ReplyDeleteThis quote, to me, was very depressing. Matt had been abandoned by his only friend, Maria. People had hated him more than ever now, because he was said to have killed Furball, Maria's beloved dog, although it was really Tom who did it. Also, people had now avoided Matt more than ever, because they believed he could kill a dog, so he must really be an animal.
"Tom threw it open. Matt could hardly register what lay on the bed before them. It rolled its eyes and thrashed helplessly in the straps that restrained it. It's mouth opened in a horrible O when it saw the children, and it screamed louder than Matt thought possible."
I thought this quote was pretty disturbing. This quote was also very creepy because it described, in detail, MacGregor's clone screaming and thrashing, and worse, what it looked like. I can understand why Matt would have felt himself an animal after seeing what other clones look like, because he had never seen a clone before and didn't know what they were like.
""Tom said I was puked up by a cow," said Matt.
"Tom is a filthy little pustule" said Tam Lin." (81)
This quote made me laugh. I didn't like Tom in the first place. Now someone had insulted him, and it was funny to me. Finally Matt had found someone who agreed with him about what he thought. I guess Matt was really relieved to know someone who he shares something with, other than Maria.
***
ReplyDelete1st One: Pg 146
2nd One: Pg 119
That night, when Rosa brought him dinner, Matt asked her when Maria was coming back. "Never!" snarled the maid.(36) That is not going to give Matt any hope. If he thinks the one person at the big house that didn't mind that he was a clone, he will never see again, he might not care if he stays alive anymore. He thinks Celia has forgotten him, so now he believes he is alone. This would be a very depressing thing for Matt to hear.
ReplyDelete"El Patron hasn't asked about the beast in years," remarked the doctor. Matt understood that the beast was himself.(37) Its pretty sad to think a little boy is used to being called a beast. The only thing he could also get from this is that his creator has forgotten him. He already thinks Celia has forgotten him, and now there is another name to add to the list of people he is forgotten by.
Clones go that way in the end. I did think this one was brighter than most.(43) Matt is hearing what everyone thinks he will become. No one is even giving him a chance they all think that he has or will become like an animal. He is being forced to live like an animal, they don't need to tell him thats what everyone thinks of him. This is bad for a little boy to hear, he doesn't need to be thinking that everyone hates him.