The House Of The Scorpion Character Analysis

Although The Screwtape Letters and The House of the Scorpion are very different stories by different authors, the main characters experience events that lead to growth. The main character, also known as the “patient”, in the Screwtape letters is tempted by an aspiring devil named Wormwood. The patient fights these temptations with the help of some friends especially his girlfriend. Likewise, Matt, the main character in The House of the Scorpion, has his friends Maria, Chacho, and Fidelito to help throughout his story. In both cases, the authors show that friends can help you through many temptations even when you have to oppose people who want you to die.
One similarity between the adventures the characters is that through Matt and the patient’s struggles they had people who helped them. Wormwood’s patient had his Christian girlfriend to help keep him on the right path. “He has escaped the worldly friends with whom you tried to entangle him; he has ‘fallen in love’ with a very Christian woman and is temporarily immune from your attacks on his chastity; and the various methods of corrupting his spiritual life which we have been trying are so far unsuccessful.” (Lewis 153) Matt also had many people to help
him along. He had Celia and Tam Lin to guide him. He also had Maria to support him and befriend him. While everyone was searching for him to take his heart, Tam Lin helped Maria guide Matt as to what to do, and what takes to be a good friend. While having to face multiple challenges, Matt and Wormwood’s patient had many friends to help him along.
The characters in these books also sank to low levels at a few points their journeys. In both case, these falls made Matt and the patient stronger. Wormwood continually tried to lure his patient into doing the wrong thing. He brought bad friends and bad habits into his life. Screwtape reprimands Wormwood when his patient goes for a nice peaceful walk and chooses to read a book he wants to read, noting: “The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring two-pence what other people say about it, is by that very fact fore-armed against some of our subtlest modes of attack.” (Lewis 66) Likewise, El Patron, the evil head of the Alacran mansion, encouraged Matt to be rude and inconsiderate to Maria at his party. This advice doesn’t make Matt feel any better. “Matt was sorry he’d started the whole affair, but it was too late now.” These enticements made Matt and Wormwood’s patient stronger as they pressed onward in their unique journeys.
No one wanted the patient dead, unlike Matt.
Throughout Matt’s journey, people constantly wanted him dead. The purpose for which Matt was created was to supply El Patron with his heart when El Patron grew close to dying. “In the end the only thing that mattered was how strong his heart was.” (Farmer 216) Matt didn’t want to die so he escaped from this sentence with the help of his friends. In The Screwtape Letters, no one wanted or could afford for the patient to die. While the war was happening, bombs were being dropped over where the patient was living. Screwtape was advising Wormwood. “Whatever you do, keep your patient as safe as you possibly can.” (Lewis 157) Even though no one wanted the patient to die he did, and Matt didn’t die against everyone’s
wishes.
These journeys that Matt and the Patient had to face were not easy. What seemed to be two completely different stories actually had problems for the main characters that were very alike. These problems made the character’s journeys difficult to face. With the help of friends, they overcame tempters, and went against the wishes of those around them. The obstacles the characters had to face were tough but they usually chose the right thing to do which helped them prevail in the end.