Brock Kugler

December 2014
Informative Paper The House of the Scorpion

Communism is a form of government where all possessions are public. In this form of
government a lot of work is involved to support the community. Inevitably, communism will turn a
government in a tyranny, limiting advancement and progress of these countries. Such was the case of
Azlan in the House of the Scorpion. Azlan started out as a communist region between the United States
and Mexico, however the book concludes, the author foreshadows the ultimate take-over of the area by
the orphans from the Keepers. This paper will compare three current-day communist countries with
Azlan.
China is the largest communist country in the world. It is known as Red China due the great
communist influence over the country. Since 1949 when Mao Zedong took over China and created the
Peoples Republic of China, this country has been under communist rule. Previous to Zedongs rule,
China was known as a world leader in the arts and sciences. But, after the issues like civil unrest and
occupation from World War II, Zedong seized power and led a revolution that controlled and limited
individual freedoms and China was no longer considered a world leader. Zedong was succeeded by Deng
Xiaoping, who focused on economic reform, helping China once again achieve growth while maintaining
a strong grip on political and personal control. China still practices a Hukou system which was much like
the relationship between the clones and their masters. In Hukou, farmers do not have the same rights as
city dwellers, just as clones are not seen as having the same rights as the real people who harvest
them.

Cuba was taken over by Fidel Castro in 1959 and, within two years, was transformed in to a fullfledged communist country. Just as in Azlan, there are Spanish ties. Castro was exiled to Mexico before
taking over Cuba and remained in power for 49 years, just as El Patron remained in power for many,
many years. Raul Castro, Fidels brother took over office after Fidels retirement in 2008, just as Matteo
was going to take over El patrons position after his permanent retirement (death). Another similarity
between Azlan and Cuba are the economic implications of running a communist country. Throughout
the 1970s to the 1990s, Cubas economy was impacted by trade embargos placed against Cuba by the
United States. This is very similar to the House of the Scorpion, because Azlan was created to keep drugs
and undesirables out of the United States.
The third current-day communist country that is like Azlan is North Korea, which was converted
by the Soviets to communism in 1948. Korea was captured by Japan during World War II and divided
between a Soviet North and an American south. Led by Kim-II Sung, North Korea was shaped by Sungs
personal philosophy of Juche, which focused on self-reliance and became a focal point for the entire
country. Decades of following this philosophy have led to a stagnation of development. Over two million
North Koreans have died due to starvation and human abuses under this communist rule. This is very
similar to the life in Azlan, where lower class citizens resorted to being eejits to El patron, where most
die of exhaustion, thirst or suffocation from the dead air in the eejit pens.
As one can see, the communistic state of Azlan is not very different than that of the current-day
communist counties of this real world. All three examples provided China, Cuba, and North Korea are
ruled under communism, however tyranny by one single person in power is always the case. Also as in
Azlan, these three countries show slow to no progress in economic and social development. There is
total control in human rights and those in power live much more fruitful lives than their followers, just
as El Patron lived as compared to his people.