House of the Scorpion (2)

"Drink," said Tam Lin. The horse trotted forward and dipped its muzzle. It blew noisy bubbles as it drank ravenously. "We'll walk the rest of the way." "Can't we take the horse?" said Matt, looking doubtfully at the streambed snaking into the hills. "It wouldn't obey. It's programmed to stay on the Farm...It's a Safe Horse, which means it has an implant in his head. It won't bolt or jump. It won't even drink unless you tell it to."

The people in House of the Scorpion are possesed by the ideologies of El Patron. They do not have a mind of their own and they are not able to develop their own thoughts and beliefs. Because of El Patron, the people are not able to be "normal people" because they do not have the same privileges as El Patron and his family. In this world, the social classes are very strict. All of El Patron's family are at the top of the social pyramid, compared to the eejits and other workers in Opium. The eejits and the rest of the people must obey every single command the chief family gives them. They must attend to all their problems and must put them in front of everyone else, including themselves. In the orphanage home, Lost Boys, the keepers are at the top of the pyramid. The boys placed in this orphanage must work hard without good treatment and they must not expect anything in return for all that they do. The boys are worked to death, only being fed when the keepers feel their work is sufficient.

These social distinctions make it easier for El Patron to control the population of Opium. The people at the bottom have no privileges are can not defend themselves. El Patron has established a society in which the people praise him. He is the center of their world and everything good that is discovered or made belongs to him. The people do not have any freedom and do not need it because of the life that El Patron made for them.

The people were vaccinated at a very young age. Growing up obeying the laws, the people feel that it is normal for them to not think and work hard for someone much "superior". El Patron attacked them at a young age, which makes it easier for them to obey him. All the years that the people live, they live working for him. They never had the opportunity to see how much they are worth. They feel that being servants is normal and their freedom is much different than what we feel is freedom. According to their lifestyle, the people feel free when they please El Patron. They can not live without him controling them and telling them what and what not to do. The amount of control El Patron has over the people clearly shows that the society he created is a dystopian.