Scorpions Symbol Analysis

Scorpions are the emblem of the Alacrán family and represent El Patrón’s cruelty toward others, as well as the connection that exists between him and his clone, Matt. “Alacrán” means scorpion in Spanish, symbolizing the family’s poisonous, back-stabbing nature. El Patrón says that Mexico is a crowded with people as it is with scorpions. Comparing people to scorpions shows how El Patrón often reduces people to animals, so as to justify disposing of them for his own gains. El Patrón also describes himself and Matt as a pair of scorpions. This shows that he believes he and Matt share the same traits of viciousness and cruelty, like a couple of poisonous animals. Matt rejects this presumption of scorpion-like characteristics by attempting to be kind and compassionate when El Patrón is cruel and deadly. Scorpions further signify the link between Matt and El Patrón, as drawings of scorpions mark entrances to passageways that can only be opened up by El Patrón’s DNA, which Matt shares despite his rejection of his destiny as El Patrón’s clone. Thus, scorpions represent the predetermined link between Matt and El Patrón, which Matt rejects when he leaves the Alacrán mansion, decorated with an image of a scorpion, but which he also embraces when he connects his DNA to the marks of scorpions in order to open locks closed to everyone but El Patrón.