ipl-logo

Humanity In Ender's Game

527 Words3 Pages

The Command School authorities made the better choice for humanity's sake at the expense of Ender. What they chose was the intended goal of Command School, and it also saved the most people. Their decision might not be free from ethical questioning, but in the end, it was best for humanity and hence justified.
In a utilitarian perspective, Colonel Graff and Major Anderson did nothing wrong. Their purposeful trickery of Ender and his fellow young commanders was the best way to ensure the largest amount of surviving people. This is comparable to the famous Trolley Problem, where a trolley is about to run over five people, but you have a lever that switches the tracks so the trolley runs over only one person. In Ender’s Game, however, it’s the …show more content…

Humans tend to have an us-vs-them mentality, leading to the feeling of moral superiority and portraying the other side as more evil than they are. Little is known of how the buggers lived and if they cared for their kind, but the mercurial and diverse nature of humans is well known. In some sense, it would be better for humanity to die off, considering our damage to the environment. As eloquently said by Graff, “It isn’t the world at stake. Just humankind. As far as the rest of the biosphere is concerned, we could be wiped out and it would adjust.” (Card 35) During the First Invasion, buggers killed humans in cold blood. To them, killing individual humans is like killing off a couple of genetically identical cells in one body. The buggers, like actual bugs in a colony, are all offspring of one queen. Their unified thinking allows them to communicate instantaneously; all the buggers are of one mind but in separate bodies. In this regard, each and every individual human is akin to a bugger queen. If the buggers had known this, they likely wouldn’t have killed the humans. Due to the incompatible communication styles between humans and buggers, misunderstandings caused most of the bugger wars. After the Second Invasion, the buggers became peaceful towards the humans. However, the humans cannot possibly know this, so they had to kill off the buggers in order to guarantee no further attacks. Thus, the Command School

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Enders Game Movie And Book

    917 Words  | 4 Pages

    The way the teachers moved Ender forward through command school is what made him a great leader for the third war. Soon there

    Read More

  • Summary Of Ender's Game

    682 Words  | 3 Pages

    HE never wanted to kill the buggers he wanted to see if the war was a mistake or misunderstanding. He wanted to talk to the buggers and figure them out. Ender’s ability to see patterns as shown through his ability to reorient his gravitational angle, his great ability to think like the enemy and see from the enemy’s perspective,through his ability to innovate unique battle strategies.

    Read More

  • Ender And His Friends Chapter Summary

    586 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Chapter 14 Ender and his friends were to believe their final evaluation is the last test and game before they go to battle against the buggers for real. But Ender and his companions believed these stimulators were just games they were playing against fake enemies. Not until they have succeeded their final test did General Graff and Mazer Rackham explain that these games they were playing were actually the real deal. I believe that the Command School authorities were justified on how they handled Ender’s and his peers final evaluation because sometimes lying and keeping the truth away from somebody for the good of humanity is worth the mistake that has been done. Without tricking Ender and his friends they would not take any necessary risks to battle

    Read More

  • Outline For Ender's Game Essay

    400 Words  | 2 Pages

    Evidence #1: While in Battle School, ender pushes the soldiers of his toon to their breaking limit, just so that they would win the next battle. b. Evidence #2: When ender blows up the buggers’ planet he kills many of his soldiers’ ships in the process. c. Analysis: By putting winning above his soldiers’ well-being he is putting his need to win above his soldiers’ health. This demonstrates that Ender is selfish. In addition consequently he kills many of his soldiers in the final battle, proving that not only does he put his needs above his soldiers’ well-being he also puts his needs above the soldiers’ lives.

    Read More

  • Ender's Manipulation Analysis

    1043 Words  | 5 Pages

    This quote comes directly from Colonel Graff, who ultimately monitored Ender the most. Thus, they knew that he would most likely agree to going to battle school. Another example of manipulation from early in the book is when Ender beats up Stilson, who bullies him. Unbeknownst to Ender, Ender actually beat Stilson to his death. The I.F. selectively does not tell Ender this information.

    Read More

  • Animal Attack In Ender's Game

    647 Words  | 3 Pages

    Quarter 2 Term Paper In Ender's Game, Earth is at war with the buggers, an alien species that has been a threat to humankind for a very long time. The humans think that they are attacking to gain land, but they can not know for sure. Mazer Rackham, Ender's teacher, thinks they have different reasons for attacking. "The buggers don't talk.

    Read More

  • War Of The Worlds 'Vs. Wells Monster In The Film Monsters'

    928 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whilst referring to the attack the narrator uses the phrase “swept out of existence in a war of extermination”. This phrase uses emotive language such as extermination, a word commonly associated with insects and vermin, to convey to the audience the attitude and disrespect the British had for these “inferior races”. Whilst only a small section of the novel expresses his views on the situation, the narrator’s negative viewpoint allows him to use it as a key point in his question as to whether the Martians actions have justification based upon their circumstances. This idea of control over a large population is less of a focus in Edwards’ film “Monsters” though it is still a present concept. The group that has control in the film is the United States army, with the group they have control over being the Mexicans living in the infected zone.

    Read More

  • The Mentor In Ender's Game

    518 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past 13 years of my life, many mentors has appeared by my side. No matter if the idea the mentor taught me was big or small, those mentors has made a significant impact on my life. Today, I have the pleasure of suggesting a book to a mentor that had played a crucial role in the development of myself as a person. That person was only a normal person that I met at a basketball camp this summer, but what he said to me I would remember for my whole life, and use it as inspiration to keep going on in this world. Now you are probably wondering, what is that person called if he is so important to you?

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Chapter 1 Dialectical Journal

    1088 Words  | 5 Pages

    Chapter 1. “Ender walked around him and kicked him again… Stilson could not make a sound; he only doubled up and tears streamed out of his eyes… ‘You could probably beat me up pretty bad. But just remember what I do to people who try to hurt me.’ ” (7) Ender’s main objective is to extend his existence, because of this, he forgets his humanity and continues to inflict pain on Stilson.

    Read More

  • The Fate Of The Buggers Analysis

    206 Words  | 1 Pages

    I agree with Dink. I think that the buggers are gone, and if they’re not then they are just a weak species, still struggling from the last war and aren’t trying to get back at mankind because they can’t even help themselves. I agree with Dink that the teachers

    Read More

  • Lies And Manipulation In Ender's Game

    831 Words  | 4 Pages

    The whole time Ender had not been aware he had killed them, and the leaders were manipulating him for his own sake. They explain that they didn’t tell him that he actually killed both Bonzo and Stilson; so that he wouldn’t think of himself as a killer. Throughout the book Ender repeats that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone and doesn’t like that he has to be violent in order to be safe. If Ender would’ve found out, it would destroy his motivation and drive to want to be the best he can be. All in all, Ender is an overall better person because of the fact he didn’t know the

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Violence In Ender's Game

    776 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Ender was talking to himself he said,”the power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can’t kill then you’re always subject to those who can, and no one will ever save you,”(Card pg.212). This shows that inaction can make people prone to lose against people who have power can have power over them because inaction leaves them open and defenseless to those they could restrain. This also shows that inaction leads to loss because Ender is referring to the fight against Stilson, Bonzo, and Bernard because if he had waited for the teachers to respond to call for help they would’ve overpowered him and he would’ve lost. After ender defeated the buggers Mazer Rackham told Ender, “you made the hard choice, boy. All or nothing.

    Read More

  • Essay On Ender's Game

    612 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, it is made completely clear that the system of both the Battle School and Command School are breaking Ender down, ultimately demonstrated by Ender being completely bedridden after the Third Invasion due to everything he’s endured. This also happens with the movie’s presentation of the characters, with more characters being sympathetic to Ender. This completely overrides a plot point in the book,

    Read More

  • Ender's Game Thesis Statement

    1183 Words  | 5 Pages

    However, the majority of the battles he fights are constructed and orchestrated and controlled by the Adults. Ender lives in a military archetype which assumes humans are compliant, flexible, controllable pawns, tool to be used for the benefit of others. Ender’s insecurities,doubts and fears, as to why he is so isolated, how he is becoming more like petter, how he is an ostracized genius, all that sets him apart– make him diligent, sympathetic, preservant, resilient, flexible, and above all pliable, impressionable, malleable, qualities far more common in children. Supporting quote: “‘So what do we do now?’ asked Alai.

    Read More

  • Ender's Game Character Analysis Essay

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    This was one of the reasons why he was the perfect choice to be the commander. He also had a tremendous amount of guilt after (unknowingly) killing all the buggers and the pilots he and the squad leaders had controlled. This guilt would only be resolved when Ender finds a purpose as Speaker for the Dead and finding a safe place for the egg to

    Read More

More about Humanity In Ender's Game

Open Document