Gattaca Post - Haley

            House of the Scorpion & the movie Gattaca, are similar in many ways. For starters, they both take place in a futuristic world, and the characters and their relationships are very similar. The main similarities between characters that I saw, were Matt & Vincent, Tam Lin & Jerome, Maria & Irene, and Tom & Antonio.

            Although Matt and Vincent are very different in age as well as appearance, they have a lot of underlying factors that really connect them. Not only do they both live in a futuristic world where genetically creating people is the norm, but they both are fighting to be considered an equal among others. As well, people view Matt and Vincent as the minority among society. While Matt is living in Opium, most people loathe and despise him because he is a clone, and therefore don't consider him a human. When Vincent is still using his own identity, people treat him as an unequal because he isn't as intelligent as everyone else and could have health problems. They both are ostracized and outsiders which is the most noticeable similarity between the two. Due to their depressing situations, both Matt and Vincent have to take on a new identity, Matt when he escapes to Aztlan and Vincent when he becomes Jerome Eugene Marrow.

            Tom and Antonio (Vincent's brother) both act as foils to the protagonist (Matt and Vincent). The swimming competitions that Antonio and Vincent have in Gattaca, are symbolic. They represent Vincent proving that he is stronger than his brother, even though Antonio was selected through preimplantation genetic diagnosis. In House of the Scorpion, Matt is always working his hardest at everything to prove he is better than Tom. These similarities make Matt and Antonio characters that are alike, with a related role in the plot. Especially, because both Antonio and Tom find themselves being well loved and the poster child in their families or groups, even though they should not be. I also feel that both Antonio and Tom are quite vain characters that feel they are superior to Vincent and Matt, when really they are just deemed better by society.

            I feel that Tam Lin and Jerome Marrow have many things in common, appearance being one of them. Although Jerome is in a wheelchair and isn't nearly as stocky as Tam Lin, they both have an intimidating edge to their look. Also, they act as caretakers in the story. Tam Lin's purpose is to protect Matt, and in a way Jerome's purpose is to protect Vincent. When Jerome is present in Gattaca, he is always providing Matt his DNA samples or giving him tips.  In the end, both characters have similar mindsets and are unhappy with their lives, leading them to commit suicide.

Although Maria and Irene are very different in age, they both play the protagonists romantic interest. Both of them carry a very mysterious aura, and Matt and Vincent can't really read them or figure out what they're going to do. When Irene found out that Vincent was not who he was pretending to be, she looked quite horrified and afraid, but she never left his side. Maria has a similar reaction to Matt at first, but she never feels that Matt is very different than anyone else so she welcomes him.