What are some important quotes in house of the scorpion?

Answer 1

"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).

I chose this quote because it made me feel sympathy towards Matt. Matt is the clone of El Patron, and because he is a clone, he is treated like an animal. Being compared to Maria´s puppy, Furball, is unfair, because Matt is more intelligent than a dog and even an average human. Matt has excellent grades and good manners, but is still considered unimportant because of the way he was created.

"'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).

Tam Lin is one of my favorite characters in the book because he said many intelligent things to Matt. This quote was said in one of the first conversations between Tam Lin and Matt. Tam Lin was telling Matt that people choose how they want to live their own lives. If they want to grow up to be mean and nasty, it was their choice and it can only be changed by them

.

"'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 was another quote Tam Lin said to Matt when Matt was suspected of killing Furball. I liked this quote because it reminded me of another quote I was inspired by: "Lying is done with words and also with silence"~ Adrienne Rich. It is better to relieve one´s self from guilt than to keep it bottled up. Lying is for cowards because lying is done out of selfishness.

Answer 2

1. "A small fire gives light as well as warmth."
2. "The good should be done for its own sake."
3. "A house divided against itself cannot stand."