The House of the Scorpion

出版者:Simon & Schuster

作者:Farmer, Nancy

页数:400

出版时间:2002-9

价格:158.00元

装帧:SAL

isbn号码:9780689852220

具体描述

A Simon Pulse Guide for Reading Groups"The House of the Scorpion"By Nancy FarmerABOUT THE BOOKMatt is a clone of El Patron, a powerful drug lord of the land of Opium, which is located between the United States and Mexico. For six years, he has lived in a tiny cottage in the poppy fields with Celia, a kind and deeply religious servant woman who is charged with his care and safety. He knows little about his existence until he is discovered by a group of children playing in the fields and wonders why he isn't like them. Though Matt has been spared the fate of most clones, who have their intelligence destroyed at birth, the evil inhabitants of El Patron's empire consider him a "beast" and an "eejit." When El Patron dies at the age of 146, fourteen-year-old Matt escapes Opium with the help of Celia and Tam Lin, his devoted bodyguard who wants to right his own wrongs. After a near misadventure in his escape, Matt makes his way back home and begins to rid the country of its evils.Prereading activityAsk students to write down their definition of science fiction. Then have them discuss the meaning of cloning. Have them debate whether a novel about cloning is by their definition considered science fiction.Discussion questions LI Matteo Alacran is the clone of El Patron, the lord of the country called Opium, and lives in isolation until children playing in the poppy fields discover him. Why is he so eager to talk to the children, after he is warned against it? Why is Maria especially attracted to Matt? LI Describe Matt's relationship with Celia. Why is she the servant chosen to care for Matt? Celia snaps at Matt when he calls her mama. Then she says to him, "I love you more than anything in the world. Never forget that. But you were only loaned to me, mi vida." Why doesn't she explain the term loaned to Matt? Celia really believes that she is protecting Matt by keeping him locked in her cottage and ignorant about his identity. Debate whether this type of protection is indeed dangerous for him. How does Celia continue to protect Matt throughout his life on the Alacran Estate? LI After the children discover Matt, he is taken from Celia and imprisoned in a stall for six months with only straw for a bed. How might prison be considered a metaphor for his entire life? Who is the warden of his prison? Discuss the role of Maria, Celia, and Tam Lin in helping him escape his prison. LI Rosa describes El Patron as a bandit. How has El Patron stolen the lives of all those living on his estate? Which characters are his partners in evil? Debate whether they support him for the sake of their own survival. Explain what Tam Lin is trying to tell Matt when he says, "If you are kind and decent, you grow into a kind and decent man. If you're like El Patron...just think about it." Considering that Matt is the clone of El Patron, debate whether environment influences evil more than genetics. LI El Patron celebrates his 143rd birthday with a large party. Though Matt was "harvested," and doesn't really have a birthday, the celebration is for him as well, since he is El Patron's clone. How does Matt imitate El Patron's power when he demands a birthday kiss from Maria? Discuss how El Patron encourages Matt's uncharacteristic behavior. Why is Maria so humiliated by Matt's demand? How does Matt feel the crowd's disapproval? LI El Viejo, El Patron's grandson and the father of Mr. Alacran, is a senile old man because he refused the fetal brain implants based on religious and moral grounds. Debate his position. Why does El Patron consider Mr. Alacran rude when he mentions El Viejo's religious beliefs? Celia is also a deeply religious person. How is this demonstrated throughout the novel? LI At what point does Matt realize that Tom is dangerous? He remembers what Tam Lin had told him, "If you didn't know Tom well, you'd think he is an angel bringing you the keys to the pearly gates." How does Tom mislead Maria? Discuss why Tom takes Matt and Maria to see the screaming clones. How is this a turning point for Matt and Maria's friendship? Why does Celia feel that Matt deserves the truth once he has seen the clones? LI What gives Celia the courage to stand up to El Patron and refuse to let Matt be used for a heart transplant? What does El Patron mean when he says to Celia, "We make a fine pair of scorpions, don't we?" Explain why she is insulted by this comment. LI How does Tam Lin know that Matt's future lies in finding the Convent of Santa Clara? Describe Matt's journey to the convent. What does he discover along the way? Discuss Esperanza's role in helping Matt gain his ultimate freedom -- to live as a human. /ULActivities LI Discuss the structure of the novel. How does it resemble acts and scenes in a play? Why does the author include the Cast of Characters at the beginning of the novel? Divide the class into five groups, and assign each group a section to write as a one-act play. Take dialogue directly from the book, and use a narrator to relate the story between speakers. Matt finds order in the music of Mozart. Locate music by Mozart to use at the beginning and end of each act. LI Have students design a family crest for El Patron's empire. Discuss why this crest may repulse Matt. Create an alternative crest for the Alacran family after Matt transforms the empire. LI Read about Cinco de Mayo and draw a parallel between the history of this Mexican holiday and Matt's victory for rights and justice at the end of the novel. Plan a Cinco de Mayo celebration that Matt might have after he breaks down the empire of Opium. Include appropriate food and music. LI Maria refers to Saint Francis throughout the novel. As a class, create a picture book about Saint Francis that Maria might give to Matt. Write an appropriate dedication to Matt. How might the story of Saint Francis offer hope to Matt? LI Dolly, the first mammal to be succes

用户评价

我必须承认，这本书的文字功底达到了令人发指的地步。它不是那种堆砌辞藻的华丽，而是一种精准到近乎残酷的表达力。作者似乎拥有将最复杂的概念用最简洁的语言阐述出来的魔力。举个例子，书中描绘的社会阶层固化和由此产生的群体心理异化，没有用大段枯燥的说教，而是通过几个关键场景的对话和主角的内心独白，不动声色地完成了对整个社会结构的解剖。读到某些段落时，我需要放慢速度，甚至需要重读几遍，不是因为我不理解，而是因为那种文字的美感和力量感让我情不自禁地想要“品尝”一下。它巧妙地运用了象征和隐喻，使得原本可能流于平庸的故事情节瞬间提升到了史诗的高度。阅读体验是沉浸式的，我感觉自己不是在看故事，而是在亲身经历一场漫长而又充满智慧的洗礼。这本书对“真实”的定义进行了挑战，它展示了我们所处的现实世界，在不同的视角和权力结构下，可以被扭曲成多么令人不安的模样。

这本书最让我感到震撼的，是它对人性复杂性的深刻挖掘。它毫不留情地撕开了那些光鲜亮丽的外表，暴露了隐藏在文明之下的原始欲望和恐惧。我尤其欣赏作者对于“灰色地带”的描绘，没有绝对的好人，也没有纯粹的恶徒，每个人都受制于他们的环境、他们的历史和他们自身的局限。这种写实主义，甚至可以说是一种存在主义的视角，让角色摆脱了脸谱化，变得立体而可信。我常常在想，如果我处于主角那样的绝境，我是否还能坚守住最后的道德底线？这种自我拷问，正是优秀文学作品的价值所在。而且，书中对不同文化间的冲突与融合的处理，也极为高明，没有简单的批判或赞美，而是展示了差异性本身带来的张力与可能性。这本书读完之后，会留下一种挥之不去的余韵，让你不断反思自己对世界和他人的判断标准是否太过简单粗暴了。

说实话，一开始我有些抗拒这种略显沉重的题材，但很快我就被作者高超的叙事技巧所折服。这本书的结构设计堪称鬼斧神工，它采用了多线叙事，将过去、现在和主角的内心独白交织在一起，像编织一张巨大的网，每当你以为自己看清了全貌时，总有一条新的线索将你引向未知的深处。这种叙事上的精妙处理，极大地增强了故事的悬念感和信息密度。每一次视角的切换，都像是在黑暗中点亮了一盏新的灯，照亮了故事的另一侧面。这种层次感和纵深感，是很多当代小说所缺乏的。它要求读者付出一定的专注力，但绝对物有所值。读完后，我感到自己像完成了一场智力上的马拉松，不仅享受了情节的跌宕起伏，更享受了跟随作者一起解谜和建构世界的过程。这是一次真正意义上的智力冒险。

这本书的叙事节奏简直像一部精心编排的交响乐，时而磅礴大气，时而细腻入微，将读者牢牢地吸入那个光怪陆离却又无比真实的世界。初读时，我以为这不过是一部老套的冒险故事，充满了奇幻的元素和英雄式的拯救，但很快我就发现自己被带入了一个更深层次的哲学迷宫。作者对于权力的腐蚀性、身份认同的模糊边界，以及个体在巨大社会机器面前的无力感，描绘得入木三分。那些栩栩如生的人物，每一个都像是从我身边走过，带着他们难以言喻的秘密和挣扎。特别是对主角内心世界的刻画，那种与生俱来的宿命感和对自由的渴望之间的拉扯，让人读来唏嘘不已。书中关于环境的描写，那种压抑而又充满异域风情的氛围营造，简直让人仿佛能闻到空气中弥漫的尘土和香料的味道。情节的推进并非一帆风顺，各种意想不到的转折像闪电一样击中你，迫使你不断地重新审视你对故事走向的全部预设。它不是那种读完就扔掉的消遣读物，它更像是一块需要反复咀嚼的橄榄，初尝或许有些涩，但回味悠长，总能咂摸出新的滋味来。

我必须强调这本书在氛围营造上的强大感染力。它不仅仅是“讲述”了一个故事，它更是“创造”了一个世界。那种弥漫在空气中的宿命感和对既定命运的反抗，构建了一种独特而又引人入胜的阅读体验。无论是对那个特定历史时期社会心理的捕捉，还是对个体在极端压力下心理防线的描摹，都展现了作者非凡的洞察力和同理心。书中的一些意象，比如特定的符号、重复出现的场景，它们像暗语一样在全文中回响，每一次重现都赋予了它们更深一层的含义，这需要读者细心捕捉。它不是那种会让你捧腹大笑的作品，但它会让你在深夜里，关上灯，陷入长久的沉思。总而言之，这是一部需要用心去阅读、去体会的作品，它提供的远不止是一个故事，而是一次深刻的、关于人类处境的哲学探讨。