Language, Law, and Dehumanization Theme Analysis

The leaders of Opium, the futuristic country in which the novel is set, use language and law to strip clones and eejits (enslaved people who have computer chips in their brains) of their humanity. Once those in power deny these groups their humanity, they can exploit their bodies for their own gain. However, both the clones (like Matt) and eejits (like the Lost Boys’ parents) prove their inherent, undeniable humanity through Matt’s ability to learn and create, his lack of DNA difference from humans, and the eejits’ enduring human relationships. Thus, the novel argues while authority figures may try to manipulate language and law in order to rob people of their humanity, these factors can be reclaimed or overcome for the opposite purpose, showing that there is an enduring personhood in all individuals that cannot be taken away.

Authority figures like Mr. Alacrán use language to deny Matt’s humanity as a clone. But Matt’s beloved friends, Celia and Tam Lin, show how kinder words can acknowledge Matt’s inherent worth as a person. This shows the power of language to build up or tear down one’s humanity. When Matt first enters the Alacrán house, the servants and the children living there address Matt as “he” and “kid”, until Mr. Alacrán enters. Mr. Alacrán knows Matt is a clone, so he calls Matt “it” and “beast” as he throws him out of the house. Mr. Alacrán’s choice of words classify Matt as an animal rather than a person. This shows how language can deny an individual’s dignity and personhood, allowing Mr. Alacrán and others to treat Matt as less than human. Celia and Tam Lin, by contrast, speak about Matt as a boy who is growing into a man. This language affirms Matt’s personhood by acknowledging his identity, age, and gender. Because Celia and Tam Lin recognize Matt’s humanity, as shown through their use of language, drives them to help Matt escape execution for being a clone. This shows how language is a key part of both affirming and denying one’s human rights.

Authority figures also use the law to strip clones and eejits of their humanity, and therefore their rights, so the leaders can exploit them for their own gain. Matt learns that clones are grown inside cows, therefore making them livestock under the law, even though there is genetically no difference between Matt and any other human. The clones being legally classified as livestock means that the Alacráns can kill them for organs. Thus, authority figures like the Alacráns use technicalities of the law so they can take away clones’ rights and harvest their organs. This shows how in general, laws can be manipulated to support the dehumanization and exploitation of others. Eejits are individuals who were attempting to cross through Opium to illegally immigrate either to the United States or Aztlán, and Opium uses this crime as justification for implanting commuter chips which turn them into mindless workers. Farm Patrol is the law enforcement agency within Opium who capture the people trying to cross illegally through the country. The laws of Opium allow the illegal immigrants to be stripped of their humanity by turning them into machines. This shows how the law can be used to justify the dehumanization of those who violate it. Once dehumanized, people can be exploited for their labor. Dehumanizing laws go beyond the country of Opium in the novel. Activist Esperanza tells Matt that international law “unpersons” a clone because two versions of the same person cannot exist at the same person. Matt can only become a “person” in the legal sense after El Patrón dies. This further emphasizes how the law can take away an individual’s legal personhood due to a technicality.

Despite the language and the law’s attempts to dehumanize clones and eejits, throughout the novel they show an inherent humanity that cannot be erased. Despite being called a beast, Matt shows his humanity through his ability to enjoy and create music. This shows that despite what dehumanizing language one might face, they are still capable of human endeavors such as art. As Matt worries about being discriminated against in Aztlán for being a clone, Tam Lin tells him no one in Aztlán will know he’s a clone, because there is a no genetic difference between a clone and a human. No one will know he’s a clone unless they were previously told. This shows that law and language cannot change the humanity inherent within one’s DNA. The Lost Boys and Girls, children of immigrants who were caught by Farm Patrol and turned into eejits, still long for their parents and dream of reuniting with them one day. Knowing the children miss their parents motivates Matt find a way to reverse the implantation and give the eejits their free will back. This demonstrates how human relationships, such as the bond between a child and a parent, can maintain an individual’s humanity even as the law seeks to take it away. The language and laws of society in The House of the Scorpion attempt to rob groups like clones and illegal immigrants of their humanity. In many ways, society succeeds in denying these groups their personhood, such as when clones are killed for their organs or illegal immigrants are robbed of their free will through becoming eejits. However, signs of their inherent humanity endure these oppressions, shows that an individual can never fully be separated from their personhood.