It’s clear from Chapter 1 of Ender’s Game that Orson Scott Card’s novel takes place at a time when the governments of the world exercise harsh control over their own citizens.
One simple change that Ender goes through over the course of the book is a simple aging process. He is six years old when the book begins and eleven years old when he defeats the buggers.
Ender is now nine years old, and we see a growing distance between him and his friends. Just as Graff seems to have planned, Ender’s fame and prestige isolates him from his former peers: even if they like or respect him, they never consider him “one of them.” In his free time, Ender plays the Giant game.
Although Ender feels upset at being manipulated into doing something he never would have done on his own, he did save the human race and change the world ensuring that other children would not need to grow up as soldiers. Readers might infer from such a truth that manipulating others can be justified, even necessary, in certain circumstances.
Although there are many characters who undergo change in the novel, Ender's dynamic personality traits are more evident, being that he has a larger impact on readers. Due to being manipulated, Ender Wiggin changes from an ambitious young boy, to a subdued and wary character.
Compassion is the redeeming feature in Ender's Game. Compassion is the theme that runs through Ender's life. It is the defining feature of his existence. The reason that he plays the games so well is his ability to understand the enemy and to inspire loyalty.
According to the government, Ender exhibits the traits needed to assure that victory. At six years old he enters battle school and begins preparation for the bugger war. While in battle school Ender excels in simulation games of battles and is quickly promoted to higher levels in his training.
The two major conflicts are internal, being that of how Ender was mentally broken down, and external,being that of the “Bugger” Human war. Both of the conflicts make Ender question himself morally. There are many key figures that contributed in the conflict whether it sets the conflict or helps end it .
In Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card clearly shows that he has some strong views regarding ethics in the information age. Primarily, he shows his belief that when a large conflict happens, humanity loses all sight of ethics and tries to be as efficient and deadly as possible.
Through all four endings, Ender defeats or overcomes his old enemies: he defeats the adults by escaping to a new world, defeats the other kids by reconnecting with his sister, overcomes the buggers by realizing they're not enemies (which is a kind of defeat), and he defeats his brother by finally making peace with him.
13To say that Ender grows up over the course of the book is an understatement — the character starts the story at age 6 and ends it at 13.
climaxThe climax of the novel occurs when Ender fights what he thinks is his final test in Command School but what is actually the last battle of the Third Invasion. setting (place)The book starts on earth, and quickly moves into space, although earth plays a prominent role until the end.
Peter Arkady WigginPeter Arkady Wiggin is the main antagonist of the novel Ender's Game, and a supporting antagonist in the rest of the books in the Ender series.
During Ender's time at the Battle School, Ender, a child, is exposed to many adverse encounters in this dystopian setting. However, it is his internal conflicts involving his principles and the effect of his older brother, Peter, and Colonel Graff, that are the most disturbing and challenge the reader.
Resolution. Ender starts his final test of Command School. He is up against an army that is ten thousand times the size of his own fleet. He destroys the army's fleet and planet.
Why is he important to the Launchies? -Dap is the leader of the Launchies,He demands respect and endorses they watch their backs. What advice does Mick give Ender? Mick tells Ender to make friends and to become a leader.
Ender's Game may be a story about an apocalyptic invasion of buglike creatures from deep space, but it's also a story about video games. As such, it's a bizarrely fitting allegory for how we, in the real world where bugs are yet to be fully weaponized, fight modern wars.
Ender's Game is unique among alien vs. human science fiction novels in that it raises deep ethical questions about the nature of “the other.” The rest of the series continues the ethical questions, deepening and complicating them, challenging the reader to reflect on his or her own understanding of the other.
A Good Leader Builds Relationships Ender gets to know his people. He doesn't simply bark orders or lead though fear and intimidation. Instead, he develops relationships and gains respect from his soldiers. They trust their commander as a friend and respect him as their leader.
Learning Objectives for Ender's Game Discuss the isolation of the gifted child as it pertains to Ender and his peers. Explain how Ender redeems himself. Recognize and explain the danger of governmental or military control over Ender's life. Comment on the relationships Ender has with his peers.
Sure enough, less than 24 hours after the Buggers are defeated, war breaks out on Earth. If there is a problem with the governments in Orson Scott Card’s novel, it’s their lack of understanding of people (or Buggers) who are unlike them.
It’s not entirely clear what Orson Scott Card would put in their place, but it’s notable that his novel ends with Ender going off to found both a new world and a new religion —one that’s based on a sensitive understanding of other people.
The IF wrongly assumes that the Buggers will continue to wage war on humans, and it acts accordingly. When understood in this way, the tyranny of the IF (or, for that matter, the governments of Earth) doesn’t demonstrate mankind’s need to survive so much as mankind’s inexhaustible need to fight.
Ender wanted to undo his taunting of the boy, wanted to tell the others that the little one needed their help and friendship more than anyone else. But of course Ender couldn’t do that. Not on the first day. On the first day even his mistakes had to look like part of a brilliant plan.
In his new world, Ender hopes to pioneer a new kind of authority that rejects the fear, violence, and strict control of Earth’s rulers.
The supposed reason for these restrictions of people’s freedom is population control —it’s implied that there’s not enough food to go around, meaning that the only way for the human race to survive is to limit human reproduction. Much the same is true of Ender ’s education under the IF at Battle School.
Much the same is true of Ender ’s education under the IF at Battle School. Ender’s freedom to communicate with his family or to make friends is taken away from him, always with the stated purpose of making Ender a superior soldier and defeating the Buggers, thereby saving the human race from destruction.
Learning that some latent Buggers survived in egg form, he shows compassion for their species and plans to atone for his deeds.
He’s young, he’s small, he’s the third child in a family, and so on. For those reasons, Ender is the target of bullies at his Earth school and the Battle School. In the beginning, Ender is a fearful child and afraid of retaliating and defending himself because he fears that he would be similar to his sadistic brother, Peter. As Ender encounters more and more bullying, he begins to understand that in order to not be a target, he needs to stand up for himself. He first does this with Stilson, and Ender ends up killing him. By chapter twelve, Ender fully understands the importance of standing up for himself and pressing any advantage over an enemy.
Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.
He refused to feel weak because he was wet and cold and unclothed. He stood strongly, facing them, his arms at his sides. He fastened his gaze on Bonzo.
Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team.
Ender’s Game is primarily a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist develops as he works through a series of challenges.
The standard dictionary definition of jealousy is something like this:
In Guides. Jealousy is one of those “icky” emotions where it feels gross or wrong simply to feel it in the first place. Unfortunately, this sense of disgust or shame we feel about feeling jealous is exactly the thing that makes jealousy such a difficult emotion to manage effectively. In the rest of this guide, I’m going to walk you through ...
2. Look for other emotions “behind” your jealousy.
Or sometimes our avoidance and suppression of jealousy allows bad behavior to go unchecked because of our own anxiety and lack of assertiveness. Whatever the case may be, the real secret to managing your jealous well is this: Stop trying to manage your jealousy itself and get better at managing your reaction to it.
Without a doubt, the biggest reason people struggle with their jealousy is because they ruminate on it.
What really gets people into trouble with jealousy is that their starting assumption is that it’s not okay for them to feel jealous.
Jealousy is a natural reaction to real or threatened loss.
Although Ender feels upset at being manipulated into doing something he never would have done on his own, he did save the human race and change the world ensuring that other children would not need to grow up as soldiers.
In the end, Graff persuades him to attend Battle School by pointing out that Ender and his parents won’t miss each other once he leaves home. This moment represents one of many instances when Graff and other adults use such manipulation tactics to get children to do what they want.
As Ender and Graff travel to the Command School, Ender considers his own power and what Peter would do with such power. He reflects on how his acquisition of power seems different from everyone else’s. Unlike Graff, Peter, or Valentine, Ender didn’t have to manipulate anyone to earn his power and gain respect from others.
After Ender destroys all the buggers, he cries that the other tricked him into completing the action, that they turned him into a killer. Here, Graff explains why they could not tell Ender the truth about his actions.
As Graff tries to convince Ender to attend Battle School, he uses the awkward relationship between Ender and his parents to make him think his parents don’t care about him. As a “Third,” people consider Ender an embarrassment in society, though he at least seems to experience an affectionate relationship with his mother.
Unlike Graff, Peter, or Valentine, Ender didn’t have to manipulate anyone to earn his power and gain respect from others. Rather, he operated as a smart and talented commander and trained his army well.
While sharing some friendly moments with Graff on a trip to Command School, Ender reminds himself that he cannot trust Graff to be his friend. Even though Ender knows that Graff aims to manipulate him, Ender acknowledges that he willingly chooses to become the tool Graff wants.
He talks them into letting go of him and then kicks Stilson in the chest. It occurs to Ender that he must stop their bullying once and for all. So, even though he knows not to strike an opponent who is on the ground, he kicks Stilson brutally several more times to stop anyone from messing with him in the future.
He is teased about being a "Third", and Ender thinks that it is the government's fault that he is a Third, since they authorized his birth. After school Ender is cornered and held by a group of bullies led by Stilson. Ender realizes that the situation does not look good for him and decides to do something about it.
The fact that Ender cries because he believes he has become just like Peter shows that he is wrong. He is still a good human being who does not want to do any harm to anyone. However, if forced, he will stand up for himself, and it is clear that standing in Ender's way is not a good idea.
He is also singled out because he is a Third, a third child, something so rare that it took government authorization to make it possible. Ender has the ability to survive on his own, but there is a great personal risk. His brother Peter needs no one, and yet Ender fears nothing more than becoming his brother.
Summary. The first chapter of Ender's Game begins with a conversation between two unnamed people, discussing a boy and his two siblings. They decide that the boy is the one they need to save the world from the buggers, although they have doubts, just as they did about the brother and sister. The story begins to describe the life ...
The idea of adults as higher powers controlling every aspect of a child's life brings up the question of whether or not everyone's life is controlled by another. On the other hand, this conversation shows the humanity and the desperation of the people talking.
Analysis. The beginning of the book introduces two major themes. First, the conversation between the two unknown adults demonstrates the amount of manipulation that is involved in Ender's life. At every step there are people watching him, and, although he is a mere six years old, they are already preparing for him to be the savior of the human race.