Blob Creators

  • Aimee Mayaliwa
  • Rafat Hamidi
  • Youssef Kachouh
  • Tom Millard

Tuesday 17 May 2011

What makes this novel? -- Rafat Hamidi

Journal #4


In the novel The House of the Scorpion written by Nancy Farmer, I think what makes the novel is the whole clone process. I really enjoy movies or other stories that have to do with clones and the future. They help me see what the future could be like or give me a picture of how we are all going to be like one day. This novel really showed me these very well which drove me to try and read more to see what goes on in the life written in the novel. I also really enjoy the way they explained the process of harvesting a clone in a cow, I have never really heard of that type of cloning, and I liked it because it sounded really realistic. 

What is the book saying about life? -- Rafat hamidi

Journal #3


The novel The House of the Scorpion written by Nancy Farmer is saying many things about life. It says that you should not judge people or treat them any different then anybody else around you. In this novel the characters showed a lot of disrespect to Matt by locking him in a dark room were there was no bathroom or anything that is close to a natural living environment for a human. Matt was judged and not seen for whom he really was. Everybody in the Alacran house with the exception of Maria, treated Matt like an animal and didn't listen to him or try and understand him. Most of the people in the house were convinced that he was dangerous and even Maria sometimes doubted him. But, Matt went on to learn more and tried to convince everybody that he can be like all the normal kids. Soon enough, Matt went on to save all eejits and was probably one of the most smartest out of all the characters in the novel.  

Monday 16 May 2011

Journal 4:Life Lesson- Aimee Mayaliwa

Reading this book, The House of the Scorpion, gives many life lessons. In life people go through alot of breakthroughs and struggles and speed bumps. Most people go to counseling for that, but many people do no know that there answers of life can be right under there nose, right in novels. In this book many different live lesson are taught. One of them being that everybody is unique. I hear many different stories about male and females being insecure about how they look or act, or even have issues of looking at themselves in the mirror. People in my generation are growing up to  technology and magazines and talented actors and actress that have unbelievable bodies and looks, but what people don't know, is that half of it is make-up or bot ox or surgery or just plain fake. Every single human being on this planet earth is unique. Whether if it comes to your colour of eyes or shape of lips, everybody has something unique about themselves. Having so many different races and cultures and mixes makes this world unique, going to a school with many different cultural background makes the school that i go to unique. Having a type of hair colour, or having a white grandfather makes me unique. Not everybody realizes how unique and special they are. Even though Matt and all the other clones are composed with the same DNA they are different, especially Matt, he is different and unique from the group because he gains artistic and musical skills that not all the other clones have. Let it be lesson, every single person has a unique thing in themselves that not everybody has that makes them unique.

What does this Novel remind me of? -- Rafat Hamidi

Journal #1


The Novel The house of the Scorpion written by Nancy Farmer reminded me of a movie called The Island. This Novel reminded me of that movie because both stories have to do with clones. In the Novel El Patron creates a clone for himself encase he needs a body part and in the film The Island humans created clones that were controlled by a facility and the clones were to be killed when the humans themselves needed a body part or a child. Also in the Novel, Matt was locked in the house and was not to talk to any other humans and in the film the clones were brainwashed and forced to think that there is an Island and they were not aloud to know that there were other humans or a whole other world out there. Also, in the novel Matt was smart enough to realize that he is a clone but he acted like a normal human when the doctors predicted that he would have bad memory and etc because he was harvested in a cow. Also, in the film the people in the facility were smart enough to know that they were clones and that they need to escape the facility before they kill them. These two stories are very similar and they are both written about the future were there is very high technology. 

What effects does this novel have on me? -- Rafat Hamidi

Journal #2

The novel The House of the Scorpion written by Nancy Farmer, bored me and excited me. This novel bored me because there were lots of chapters that just had details and no actual action that I like in a novel. It was very slow paced and that is one aspect that I don't like about novels that I read, mostly because they don't drive me to read further. This book also excited me because I love to hear or watch predictions about the future. It gives me an image on how the world is supposed to shape up. I also love hearing about stories or movies that have to do with animal or human clones, so when I first started reading this book I was driven to see what was about to happen next. 

Major Conflicts: Youssef Kachouh

    Journal #4


In this book I witnessed several major conflicts that occurred with Matt. The themes that i found most important were, Matt tiring to fit in with the kids of the big house, Matt falls in love with Maria, and she’s in love with him to, but both are unable to see each other. Most conflicts occur for the reason Matt being a clone and clones are viewed as wild animals that should be treated like any viscous animal. Matt is aware of this hatred that people have to clones. To begin with, Matt does his best to fit in with the kids at the big house, but the servants and the house keeper; that allowed him to stay since he is sick, are treating him horribly as if he has no feeling and is not a human. He does later achieve this goal of his throughout the novel. In addition, during his stay at the big house, Matt falls in love with the House keeper’s daughters, Maria, who she also falls in love with him. Matt and Maria are unable to see each other because the Maria’s father does not allow her being near clones, for the reason that they are dangerous. These conflicts occurred for the reason he is a clone, but in my opinion clones are humans, the only difference is, the clones are made by mankind. Some clones could be dangerous, but some could be humanlike, like Matt, he has feeling and a brain to think with, these kinds of clones should be treated with respect no matter what the reason is. If who kill them you are killing humans which will lead to consequences. This is the reason why it’s illegal to produce clones, it will lead to killing them for their body parts, which will lead to humans thinking its ok to kill for survival, and long term affects could lead to world disaster.               

The Novel's Expression: Youssef Kachouh

    Journal #3


When I think of this book I would imagine an adventures and experience learning book mixed with some depression and action, this book has variety of moods expressed by the author or the opinion of the way a person sees it. This novel’s mood comes from Matt’s experience and what he is put through from the reason of him being a clone but still he was able to turn the odds and got the others too like and respect him as human being.  It takes place in the future when clones are created to provide the wealthy with replacement body parts. Most clones are brain-dead, but El Patron, a drug lord, doesn't ruin his clone's brains because of his desire to relive his childhood through them. The story follows the life of his clone, Matt. Nancy is a good writer who can evoke strong imagery. The story kept moving at a nice pace and the primary characters were well developed and distinct. The main strength of this book is the creative world that Nancy creates.  It wasn't really clear where the story was going and it tended to shift gears from time to time. It also felt overly-bleak, and sometimes throughout the book I feel like I’m reading a different book. I like this book, it was enjoyable. If I had to give an idea for a second book it would be, Matt has to, capture other clone makers, and stop them from making clones, leading to larger problems like haters who want the clones for their body parts, so they start wanting to kill Matt, Which than Matt realizes that he has to change his plan by helping the clones to escape their makers in order to keep them safe. This book is very interesting in many ways and I recommend It for any reader, if they are looking for an enjoyable book to read.   

Journal #4 By: Tom Millard

Journal #4


In today’s society cloning is considered by most to be ethically wrong but in the novel The House of the Scorpion cloning is a more or less an acceptable thing to do. Clones are not thought of as humans they are more closely compared to animals because their ability to think was destroyed when they were “harvested” . It is illegal for a clone not to have their intelligence destroyed at birth but El Patron was so wealthy he could get around the law and so Matt was not a normal clone. Unlike most clones Matt could think and learn and as much as possible when being a clone of someone be his own person. In the book Matt is seen as a socially unacceptable being and this was an issue for most of the people he met with the exception of the people who really got to know Matt for who he really was not what he was or how he was born. Such as Maria, Celia, Tam Lin and his friends from Aztlan. This book is a very different style compared to other books that I have read. It is longer than books I usually read. It is probably longer because of the amount of detail and description used the tell the story. I usually read books where the setting is Canada or The United States. But in this book the setting is in a made up county that is not similar to The United States or Canada. This book is set in the future where thing are very different from the way things actually are and I tend to read books that are set in current time and thing are pretty similar to the way my life is.

Journal #3 By: Tom Millard

Journal #3


The book touches on many different themes. I think that the main theme is that no matter where a person comes from or what they believes, or what they are that person has feeling that should be recognized and respected not disregarded. Another theme touched on in the book is friendship. In true friendship a friend will do whatever it takes to be with his or her friend. A friend also makes sacrifices for the people they care about. In the book Matt and Maria are true friends. Even though she could get in big trouble for talking to Matt, Maria still talks to him every chance she gets because she loves him and is a true friend. Tam Lin is one of Matt`s best friends. Tam Lin sacrifices his life for Matts freedom. Overall i think the theme is that you should be who you are even in a world that doesn't respect you. It is about friendship, love, and understanding yourself. I think it's about living in a world that sees you as someone different, and trying to overcome that intolerance and be respected and loved by others. This book made me more conscious of how some people are rude to others with out even knowing it. Some people are mean to others without even realizing that they are having an effect on the other person. In this story everyone except for Matt`s real friends are mean and rude to him because he is a clone. They don’t even realize that how they treat him or that what they say to him actually hurt him. They say hurtful things dismissively not knowing or caring that Matt has feelings. I think this happens a lot in actual life, people are so caught up in there own lives that they don’t stop to think that the thing they say may have an effect on other people.

Journal #2 By: Tom Millard

Journal #2


The book The House of the Scorpion has different moods throughout. At the beginning of the book the mood is very lonesome. Its lonesome because Matt is all alone with out any friends. He only knows Celia who is only home for a little bit in the evening. The mood changes in middle of the book from lonesome to adventurous. The mood becomes adventurous because Matt and Maria become friends and Matt and Tam Lin his body guard become good friends and they do stuff together. Maria is always telling Matt about her adventures and he is really interested. Tam Lin takes Matt to the oasis and they hike and have picnics and Tam Lin teaches Matt things about nature. In the middle of the book Matt's life really changes because he is used to doing nothing except for watching television and playing by himself. Now he meets all of these new people and he is always doing something such as talking to El Patron or learning to play music. I think this is a positive change in his life. Near the end of the story the mood becomes depressing and kind of hopeless. Matt realizes that his purpose for being born was so that he could be used for spare parts when El Patron needed them. When El Patron dies Matt is still sad even though El Patron was going to kill him for parts. Tam Lin takes Matt to the oasis and tells him to run away to Aztlan. Matt doesn’t want to leave Tam Lin or Celia he is sad to go but does it any way. When he reaches Aztlan the border police pick him up and bring him to and orphanage where the boys work all day. They send him to San Luis where he is hopeful he will find Maria. Instead he is greeted by a nasty keeper. The mood becomes hopeful when he and a few of the other orphans make a plan to escape. They make it out and find Maria and her mother who rescue them. The mood at the end of the book is inspirational and prosperous as Matt goes back to Opium and find Celia and makes plans to reform Opium to a good country.