Ender's Game Quotes About War

How does war affect humans? Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, is about how the war between humans and buggers forcefully changed Ender Wiggin from a genius, who was isolated in school, into a brilliant military commander. He thought the child that the International Fleet wanted was Peter Wiggin, which is Ender’s brother, and not him. Ender's Game is about anti-war because it shows how did Ender's life changed in a bad way, and how the war make him break down and how people did not have a choice to pick who they wanted to be and what to do.
One reason that shows that this book is anti-war is how Ender’s life changed in a bad way. For example, when Ender found out that he was not playing a game, but he was really commanding armies to fighting the bugger, he cried “I didn’t want to kill them all. I didn’t want to kill anybody! I’m not a killer! You didn’t want me, you bastard, you wanted Peter, but you made me do it, you tricked me into it!” (Card, 297). This quote explains that after killing the buggers Ender is somehow showing that he is not himself anymore. The war has forced him to kill the buggers or anyone without knowing. Even though he found out in the end, but he still can not control the shockness and guiltiness of killing anyone since he never wanted to kill anyone but he did, and he had to, in order to go back to his

normal life before. He wanted to go back to where Valentine ( his older sister) was but he cannot, and the only way was to let the International Fleet does not want him anymore, so then he chose the one and the most freaking way, which is either the army that he command died or the buggers died. That has made people from his army and the buggers to die, which also destroy him since he cannot forgive himself for killing the buggers and humans.
Another reason that shows how this book is anti-war is how the war make Ender break down. For example, when Ender decided to just not care about the battle games anymore and Bean says “......Everybody knows you’re the best. They can’t break you down, no matter what they----” Ender answered “ They already have” (221). The teachers try to make Ender the smartest military commander so he will be able to defeat the buggers, they start to force Ender’s army which is the dragon army to fight two armies everyday and now forcing them to play against two army at once just after Ender won against the battle with Bronzo which have killed him. After this battle, Ender was too tired to do anything so he decided to do no more practice and no more battle since he does not care about it anymore. Another example is when Ender fainted during a practice and he banged his head toward the control. Colonel Graff says “How long can he go on? He’s breaking down” (288). The war or the practices and the battle in the Command school is too much stress for Ender that he is starting to bite his own hands and having terrifying nightmares that his friends all became his enemies. He is not feeling well and he is starting to break down. He is also unable to sleep because of the nightmares. The war had made Ender not himself anymore, he started to have nightmares and decided to just stop everything he is doing like practices and playing games. Also, the war could destroy him if he won’t be able to stand up again.
Last reason that shows how this book is anti-war is how people did not have a choice to pick who they wanted to be and what to do. For example, when Ender was leaving for the battle school, he talked to Colonel Graff, and said “It’s what I born for, isn’t it? If I don’t go, why am I alive” (26). The war had made people to produce children to be a soldier in the war and they don’t have the choice to say they don’t want to produce it, they need to for the saint of war. Ender was born for the saint of war, because his brother was too violent and his sister was too nice. The war has limited that people can not have a peaceful life but need to fight for saint of human. Another example, when Ender leaves to go to Command school , Bean is in his room thinking to himself. “He was a soldier, and if anyone had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he wouldn’t have known what they meant” (224). The war between the buggers and human had made children to be chosen if they are going to be a soldier or not and will not be able to decide by themselves whether they want to be one or not. The children was born to be soldiers and they do not have any rights or choice to pick.
To sum up, this book is about anti-war since the way how Ender’s entire life changed, how Ender break down, and how people do not have any options.

This book is anti-war since it shows how war could advance someone’s life into a huge disaster, how anyone can break down from the stress that others impose on them, just to be able to produce someone who can save humanity, and how someone’s life was controlled by someone else since they were born and can not be able to change and let themselves hold on to their own life, fate, and future. War destroys everything but Ender’s Game shows how war had affected and destroyed Ender’s whole entire

life.