Matteo Alacran ( otherwise known as Matt ) , is a ringer of the affluent and powerful drug Godhead El Patron who regulations the land of Opium. Opium is a huge state that lies from the southern boundary line of the United States of America to the border of Aztlan. Even though Matt is blessed with high intelligence and musical abilities, he is treated by most people he meets as being worse than even a ragged creaky Canis familiaris. The motive for this is that unlike Matt, all ringers are supposed to be mindless. A ringer ‘s usage is merely to be harvested for variety meats. This intervention affects Matt as he grows older ; he struggles between make up one’s minding whether he is truly human or animal. Yet despite this internal struggle, Matt shows he is capable of emotions and human privation, hence turn outing he is human.

In chapter two and three of the book, Matt strongly demonstrates his desire to do friends and his wonder in viz. one major event. When Steven and Emilia program on go forthing Maria behind because she refuses to go forth, Matt shatters the window so he can salvage Maria. Steven and Emilia haste back. Matt hurriedly introduces himself: “ My name is Matt. I live here. Do you desire to play? ” ( Farmer 18 ) , but does non acquire the reaction he wanted. Matt so decides, impetuously, to leap out of the window so he can acquire to cognize them better. However, he steps on the broken glass and is earnestly injured. This leads to the disclosure of Matt as a ringer subsequently at the Alacran estate.

Matt besides displays his ability to love and care for others. Early on in the book he calls Celia “ Mama ” and is instantly rebuked for making so. Celia ‘s ground being that: “ aˆ¦you were merely loaned to me, mi vida ” ( Farmer 12 ) . Nevertheless, Matt continues to love Celia like she was his female parent. Another individual that Matt loves in a heartfelt way is Maria Mendoza. From the first twenty-four hours he met her Maria has been one of Matt ‘s true friends. However, this friendly relationship is at one point strained badly when Matt kidnaps Maria ‘s Canis familiaris Furball, merely for his program to travel incorrect when Furball is found dead. To Matt ‘s arrant letdown, Maria is ne’er allowed to see him once more. However, this relationship is reconciled when Maria returns and “ forgives ” Matt for killing Furball. However, it is revealed subsequently that Felicia poisoned Furball and framed Matt for the Canis familiaris ‘s decease. Finally, both Matt and Maria confess their love for each other:

“ I love you, “ Matt said.

“ I love you, excessively, ” said Maria.

( Farmer 222 ) .

Matt to boot exhibits leading qualities. When Matt escaped from the boundary lines of Opium, he is taken in by a group of people known as Keepers who watched over orphans. The orphans were forced to work and declaim the Five Principles of good Citizenship and the Four Attitudes Leading to Right-Mindfulness. In the first Keeper edifice Matt meets Chacho, a big and unsmooth male child and Fidelito, a immature and frail male child. They are both Lost Boys whose parents were captured by the Farm Patrol in Opium. After witnessing the unjust intervention of the keepers toward the orphans, peculiarly to Fidelito, Matt steps up to support himself and the younger male child. Although jeered at first by most of the orphans as an “ blue blood ” , they come to accept Matt as figure who represents hope for them against the dictatorship of the keepers.

Even though Matt expresses good features, like any other human being he has evil and malicious qualities. An illustration of this is when he forces Maria to snog him at El Patron ‘s birthday. Because of his position as a ringer, this act will be publically scandalous excessively the Mendoza household. Even though, Matt realizes how awkward it would be for Maria, it is excessively late. Nevertheless, El Patron even encourages Matt on by stating: ” ‘That ‘s the material, ” El Patron said joyously. ‘Make your adult females toe the line. ‘ “ . Matt subsequently regrets what he does. Another illustration is Matt ‘s hatred and green-eyed monster of Tom. Numerous times Matt has wished for Tom to decease. Besides being unable to swear Tom because of his evil ways, Matt is spurned by green-eyed monster against him because of Tom ‘s connexion to Maria. Even so, when it is revealed the whole full Alacran household was poisoned by El Patron, Matt ca n’t assist but experience a stab of understanding for Tom.

Like any other human being Matt feels fear every bit good. Matt in peculiar feels the fright of non being human. Matt expresses this fright many times including one episode at the Lotus Pond:

Senator Mendoza looked as though he wanted to strangulate Matt right at that place and throw his organic structure into the lotus pool. Nothing could hold been more exasperating than a reminder of how close Matt and Maria had become-so near that Matt had demanded a buss from her in forepart of everyone at El Patron ‘s Birthday party.

It was unthinkable. It was as though a Pan troglodytes had demanded to have on human apparels and to eat at the same tabular array as people. Worse. Because Matt was n’t even a normal, forest-living animal. He was the thing on the bed. ( Farmer 133-134 )

Matt ‘s friend and father figure Tam Lin, nevertheless, reassures Matt that he is human:

“ Wo n’t they be able to state? ” Matt imagined the Aztlanos ‘ fury when they realized they ‘d been duped.

“ Here ‘s the soiled small secret. ” Tam Lin bent down and whispered, as though he had to conceal the information from the sups, the duck, and the darning needles. “ No 1 can state the difference between a ringer and a human. That ‘s because there is n’t any difference. The thought of ringers being inferior is a foul prevarication. ” ( Farmer 244-245 )

In the terminal Matt comes to believe in himself and the words of Tam Lin.

Matt is an ever-changing character that begins inquiring his being and humanity at an early age. Throughout his tests and trials, Matt begins developing the attitude to confront adversity. By the clip Matt has returned from Aztlan, he has reached manhood and accepted that even though he and El Patron may portion the same cistrons, it is up to him to make up one’s mind his fate. As Winston Churchill one time said “ History will be sort to me for I intend to compose it. ” ( “ Winston Churchill Quotes. ” ) An person ‘s fate is determined by their actions.