The House of the Scorpion Final Review Study Guide
Character Matching: Reference the front index of your novel & study guides.
1.) __C___ Matt
A. comes to comfort Matt when
he is alone
2.) __T__ Celia
B. cruel; manipulative child
3.) __A__ Maria
C. lives like an animal for six
months
4.) __S__ El Patron
D. author of The History of
Opium
5.) __E__ Rosa
E. attempts to dehumanize
Matt
6.) __N__ Tam Lin
F. Lost boy who rescues
Fidelito from the fight
7.) __M__ Willum G. oldest Alacran son
8.) __B__ Tom
H. Alacran child that Celia
thinks might have a soul
9.) __H__ Steven I. Member of Alacran family
that refuses to receive transplants
10.) _P___ Jorge J. orders for Matt to be killed
after El Patron’s death
11.) _G___ Benito K. Lost Boy in charge of the
infirmary
12.) _O___ Macgregor L. Keeper that immediately
warns Matt that if he is trouble, he will be sent to
the boneyard.
13.) _I___ El Viejo M. Betrays Rosa to El Patron
14.) _R___ Felicia
N.becomes Matt’s
bodyguard
15.) _J___ Mr. Alacran O.Tom’s biological father
16.) _L___ Carlos
P. Keeper that canes Matt
17.) _K___ Luna
Q. petrified of bats in the
boneyard
18.) _Q___ Chacho
R. tricks Matt into going to
the hospital
19.) _D___ Esperanza S. commands everyone to
treat Matt with respect
20.) _F___ Flaco
T. first one to love Matt
Reading Comprehension: Reference your study guides and novel.
21.) Where does Matt grow up as an infant and
young boy? House in the Poppy fields(CH. 2)
22.) Describe Matt’s condition when he is taken
before El Patron. Malnourished (CH 6)
23.) Felicia poisoned and killed Furball (CH 16).
24.) The priest at El Viejo’s funeral calls Matt an
unbaptized limb of Satan. (CH 15)
25.) Felicia tricks Matt into going to the hospital by
saying that Maria wanted to see him.(CH 12)
26.) Mr. Alacran orders Matt’s death once El Patron
dies. (CH 23)
27.) Celia ruins the doctors’ plans to harvest Matt’s
heart for El Patron by poisoning Matt. (CH 18)
28.) Matt behaves maliciously towards Maria when
he demands a kiss at El Patron’s birthday party.
(CH 11)
29.) The Keepers threaten Matt with the boneyard
if he makes any trouble. (CH 26)
30.) Tam Lin tells Matt that he has a choice
whether he is good or evil? (CH 7)
31.) The boys in the orphanage are called the Lost
Boys. (CH 27)
32.) The mark of working with plankton is acne.
(CH 28)
33.) Jorge beats Ton-Ton as an example to the
other boys, especially Matt.(CH 30)
34.) The boys must recite the 5 Principles of Good
Citizenship and the 4 Attitudes Leading to
Rightmindfulness before they are allowed to eat.
(CH 27)
35.)Matt was able to quench his thirst in the
boneyard by drinking rainwater. (CH 33)
36.) What is Matt referring to when he says, “I was
purgatory. Now I’m in hell.” Purgatory is the
orphanage Hell is the plankton factory (CH. 28)
37.) Name three specific items in the chest that
Tam Lin left for Matt: 1.The History of Opium book
2.Blankets 3.water purification pills (CH. 15)
38.) Explain the symbolism of the title, The House
of the Scorpion, noting the importance of the mark
of the Alacrans. Alacran means “scorpion” in
Spanish. The Alacran family are sneaky predators
that are controlling and willing to take down
anyone in their way; sometimes even their own
family.(CH 38)
39.) The police arrest the Keepers for the following
crime: distributing drugs. (CH 36)
40.) What news does Esperanza deliver about
Opium? Opium has been in lockdown for 3 months.
(CH 37)
Literary Devices: Review your notes
Foreshadowing is a literary technique of giving clues to coming events in the story.
Directions: Please explain how the following examples provide clues to a future event.
Example
41.) Story of Peter
Rabbit
Explanation
Matt’s fate when he
leaves the house in the
poppy fields
42.) Tam Lin’s
note/supply chest
Matt’s eventual escape
43.) Matt’s erratic
heartbeat
Name: ________________________
Poison in his system
Period: _____
Vocabulary Review: Refer back to your definition sheets.
Directions: Reference your definition sheets to match the vocabulary terms in the
word bank with their correct definitions.
malnutrition
consternation
ravenously
Chapters 1-8
lunar
clone
alliances
covey
delusions warren momentous shards
typhoid
rivulets
tentatively
capitalists
tetanus
tattered
illegals
weevil
1.) rivulets_________ small streams
2.) warren__________ a crowded area; a maze or
passageways
3.) lunar___________ of or relating to the moon
4.) shards__________ pieces of broken glass or
fragments
5.) clone___________ an exact duplicate of
another
6.) covey___________ a small group
7.) momentous______ very important
8.) delusions________ a persistent false psychotic
belief
9.) tetanus__________ an infectious disease
caused by bacterial poisons; marked by violent
muscle spasms, muscle stiffness, and possibly
death
10.) malnutrition_____ faulty and especially
inadequate nutrition
11.) ravenously_______ eager to eat; extremely
hungry
12.) consternation_____ amazed dismay;
confusion; paralyzing terror
13.) illegals__________ non-citizens living in a
country without proper immigration documents
14.) alliances________ a union to promote
common interests
15.) tentatively______ not fully worked or
developed; hesitant and uncertain
16.) tattered________ to make/become ragged or
torn
17.) capitalists_______ persons of great wealth
typically invested in business
18.) weevil__________ beetle
19.) typhoid_________ a communicable bacterial
disease marked by fever, intestinal inflammation,
etc.
Chapters 9-22
fervor
mewling
enraptured
grovel
harangued
furtively
jovial
aristocrats
servile
ashen
domain
cravenly
oblivion
laudanum
ensconced
rasping
paranoid
theological
indignation
abomination
wraith
decamped
malevolence
nationalist
ethics
pillaging
vanity
ecology
penance
sham
DNA
20.) sham__________ fraud; scam
21.) abomination____something detestable, hated,
and loathed
22.) DNA__________ the substance of which most
genes are made
23.) enraptured______ filled with great delight
24.) servile__________ befitting of a slave or
servant; submissive
25.) pillaging_________ robbing with force or
violence
26.) rasping__________ grating, harsh, or
irritating (often referring to sound)
27.) wraith___________ a ghost
28.) decamped________ having left quickly or
secretly
29.) harangued________ a ranting speech or
writing
30.) laudanum________ a solution of 10% opium
in alcohol and water
31.) mewling_________ to cry weakly; whimper
32.) indignation_______ anger at something
unjust or unfair
33.) penance_________ a punishment to make up
for a wrong deed and obtain pardon for a sin
34.) ashen___________ pale; pallid
35.) cravenly________ cowardly
36.) vanity__________ too much pride in one’s
ability, looks, or accomplishments
37.) theological______ having to do with the
nature and will of God; religion or faith
38.) ensconced_______ hidden; sheltered from
harm
39.) grovel__________ humble oneself; remain in
a degrading state; crawl at someone’s feet; cringe
40.) fervor__________ intense emotion; passion
41.) paranoid________ suffering from a psychosis
in which a person imagines he is being persecuted
or is suffering from delusions of grandeur
42.) malevolence_____ ill-will; spite; the wish that
evil will come to others
43.) nationalist_______ a person who believes in
and is devoted to the interests of his own nation
44.) ecology_________ the branch of biology that
deals with the relation of living things to their
environment and each other
45.) furtively_________ done with stealth; sly
46.) oblivion_________ condition of being entirely
forgotten; nothingness
47.) jovial___________ marked by good humor;
full of fun
48.) aristocrats_______ noble; privileged; upper
class
49.) domain__________ territory; ownership of
land
50.) ethics___________ formal or professional
rules of right and wrong; system of conduct or
behavior