In the book Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, the reader comes across a character who is very smart for his age. Ender is only six years old when the reader first meets him. This young boy often refers himself to his aggressive older brother Peter. After hurting some kids that bullied him, Ender thinks to himself, “I am just like Peter. Take my monitor away, and I am just like Peter” (38). This is interesting because later in the book we find out that Peter sometimes threatens to kill Ender and their little sister, Valentine. As the siblings play a game, Peter says, “But someday you two won’t be together. And there’ll be an accident” (43). He was threatening Peter and Valentine. The reader then thinks that Ender does not sound like Peter at …show more content…
The book mentions that there was a battle between humans and buggers, or aliens, earlier on. This school was designed to train kids and to learn how to defeat the buggers if they ever return. Due to extra taxes, parents usually only had two children. The government suggested that Ender’s parents have a third child because their children showed bright characteristics. The government hoped that their next child would be the one that could be a major help in defeating the buggers. This is important because the third child of a family is usually looked down upon. Peter is always making fun of Ender and says, “You’re a Third, turd.You’ve got no rights” (47). So when an officer from Battle School arrives at the door, a prediction can be made that Ender will be chosen and Peter will become jealous. Peter feels like he wasn’t good enough so they had to have a third child to make up for him. This jealousy is like the story of Joseph in the Bible. Joseph, the youngest of twelve brothers, was given a cloak of many colors. His older brothers became jealous of him because they felt like they were looked down upon by their father. Peter, too doesn’t feel appreciated when his younger brother is chosen to go to Battle School over him. This may be the reason for him constantly threatening to kill
Ender then sets out on a journey to find a new home for the buggers where they can live in peace. The detail within the book, along with the greater influence placed on characters other than Ender within it, make the novel better than the movie. Three of the most important points in Ender’s game are how Ender was selected for battle school, how he overcame each challenge he faced as he tried to be moved up to command school, and how he tried to make things right at the end of the story with the bugger species. Ender’s parents were selected to have a third child, something that was not permitted by the government.
Therefore tricking the commander and the squadron leaders was the only choice mankind has against forces that may destroy humanity. Another reason why the command school authorities kept the truth away from Ender especially is because Ender’s personality is a combination between Valentine’s and Peter’s. Basically a mix between good and evil. If his compassionate side gave in, then the buggers might take over the world. Although his kindness might cost the destruction of his world, his killer instinct might take rash decisions.
One of these major themes is Ender’s siblings. Peter, his brother, has a violent and reckless personality who aspires to take over the world, while trying to kill Ender on his way. His sister, Valentine, however, loves Ender and encourages Ender when he feels lonely. Another necessary part that has to be included in Ender’s Game is the part when Ender discovers that the simulator is the actual commander podium. This part is an important part of the story because this is when the bugger specie and home world is destroyed.
In Ender’s Game, Ender is reminded of his past and his maniacal brother. Peter, Ender’s older brother often threatened Ender, saying
Though each member of the family testified that they never believed him dead for a moment, the stress of the possibility weighed on them constantly. Comparably, the last time Ender ever saw his parents was at the age of six, at which point he was flown off to Battle School. After training for years there, he was a very different person, and was most likely barely recognizable to his parents. His older sister, Valentine, was the only member of the family permitted to see Ender when he went back to Earth for a short period of time. After winning the war, his parents were notified that it was, in fact, their son who had saved the planet from utter destruction by the Buggers, but whether it was was the son they had raised or one who had been hardened by the stress of competitive schooling was unclear.
This automatically causes complications because he was a third child. In this time it was rare to have three kids, so it was likely that Ender would get picked on after the monitor was taken away. The monitor kept anybody from messing with because it helped the government watch him. After Ender get’s the monitor taken off Stilson, a bully in school, starts causing trouble. “Hey Third.’
This helps keep the constancy and make it so it show that ender was a gifted child. This was important because it made both the movie and book be showing how special children are and how Ender
8). After that he compared himself to Peter—his brother, who is known for being an evil and cruel child. This is not completely true because of Ender’s gift of compassion and Peter’s lack of it, but Ender despises Peter and hates how he is becoming more like
“Just as the next blow was coming, Ender reached up with both hands, snatched the boy by his wrist, and then pulled down on the arm, hard.” () Card and his somewhat applaudable idea of power did not view it sufficient enough for Ender to request the aid of an adult. But did envision Ender reinforcing the agony brought upon him, promulgating his power in such a way he experiences yet another unintended consequence. “…the boy was feeling exactly the pain Ender had meant him to feel…I am Peter. I’m just like him.
After going into space for battle training, he becomes isolated from the other students immedetaly. Ender overcoming challenges finally begins to be accepted by the other students, only to be transferred and isolated again.
Chapter 4. “I am not a killer, Ender said to himself over and over. I am not peter. No matter what Graff says, I’m not. I was defending myself.”
This is Valentine’s main downfall unlike Peter who is the Id. This is the primal, non organized side This was Peter’s main downfall yet Ender seems to be a perfect balance of the
This lessens the scope of how much the International Fleet has been lying to Ender, leading to the reveal being less dramatic. The movie also completely erases the Locke and Demosthenes subplot, removes the epilogue of Ender moving to a colony with Valentine, and then replaces it with Ender finding the queen bugger’s egg on the same planet as the Command School and leaving to find a safe home for it. This also gets rid of the parallel between Ender and Peter at the end of the book, where it’s pointed out that in spite of Peter being portrayed as exceedingly cruel, he prevents the war on Earth which saves millions of lives. Ender kills billions of buggers in the Third Invasion, almost wiping out their race completely, despite being described as gentle and not wanting to hurt anyone. The movie’s tendency to cut anything not deemed an important event also makes it seem that Ender is unaffected by most of the events that occur.
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.
Ender’s Game is a 1985 science fiction novel by Orson Scott Key. Set in the future where an insectoid alien species, the Formics (or the buggers), have attacked Earth twice with devastating results for the human species, Andrew “Ender” Wiggins is humanity's last hope. A child prodigy and main character of Ender’s Game, Ender is sent to Battle School to learn how to fight and destroy the buggers. He is chosen because his characteristics are perfect to be a commander. Some traits that are very important in making Ender who he is are his calculating judgments, creativity, and compassion.