Character Development In Ender's Game

Ender’s Game: Valentine’s Character Development

Compassionate, empathetic, and witty. It was obvious from the moment Valentine Wiggin first appeared in Ender’s Game that she possessed these traits. These three traits, as well as her ability to be protective, are showcased very early on in the story. By the end of the book, Valentine has become a powerful, mature, and fearless young woman.

Valentine’s compassionate and empathetic nature was the gateway to her rise to power. Her ability to empathise with and understand people, and her genius, made it easy for her to formulate sentences that she knew people wanted to hear. If she decided to, Valentine could placate, persuade, and even manipulate a person without them even knowing it. The narrator revealed this skill of hers when they said, “Val could always see what other people liked best about themselves, and flatter them. Valentine could persuade other people to her point of view--she could convince them that they wanted what she wanted them to want” (127). Valentine’s realization and usage of this skill is quite a contrast from the

As the story progresses, those traits help pave the way for new ones like power, maturity, and fearlessness. Her compassion, empathy, and influence as Demosthenes helped bring her power. Her wit, among other things, like her close proximity to Peter and loss of Ender, made her mature. Her writing as Demosthenes helped her become more mature and fearless, as well as her acceptance of her own change in character. Do you know what Peter used to do to Valentine because she stopped him from hurting Ender? Orson Scott never answers the question, but it is safe to add Valentine’s endurance of whatever Peter did to her to the list of reasons why she is fearless. Valentine showed that a person can be compassionate, kind, incredibly smart, and still be powerful, mature, and fearless