Ender's Innocence In Creating The Innocent Killer

Few people have not read the science fiction novel, Ender’s Game, written by Orson Scott Card. Even fewer haven’t heard the title. Since it was written in 1985, over seven million copies have been sold. Although, not all attention has been positive. One particular man who did not approve of the novel, John Kessel, wrote an essay titled Creating the Innocent Killer which was originally published in Foundation, the International Review of Science Fiction Spring 2004. In this essay, Kessel criticizes the morality presented in the novel, particularly its main character, Ender, who committed mass genocide at only eleven years old. Though the novel presents Ender as an innocent and manipulated child, Kessel claims that this is an alarming view of morality

and that the actions he committed define Ender as a twisted child.

While many people share this view of Ender’s innocence, or the lack thereof, it is easy to see that Ender is in fact misinterpreted in this essay and is truly an innocent character because of how he had no choice or knowledge of his actions and his intentions were purely to protect and defend.

One can be easily led to share the same belief Kessel displays in his carefully crafted essay, as he states many convincing points. A point commonly made is that even though Ender killed the bugger race unknowingly, he had planned on exterminating them anyways. Otherwise, he would not have attended Battle School. However, this was one of many instances of manipulation. Ender, along with the rest of the human race currently on earth, were led to believe that the buggers were planning an attack. Humanity was at stake, and the buggers were to blame. The Third Invasion all of humanity was taught to dread was believed to be an attack of the buggers onto earth. When offered a spot at Battle School, Ender was told that this was the only reason he was born. His life had one purpose, to protect humanity. If he didn’t go, why was he even still alive? This is a lot of pressure to be placed on a six year old boy. In

addition to those heart wrenching words, Ender was reminded that if he didn’t agree to turn his life over to the I.F., to be turned into the commander meant to save the world, he was essentially giving the lives everything and everyone he had ever loved over to the buggers. He would be sealing their death. Graff, the man in charge of recruiting Ender, told him, “‘Billions of those connections between human beings. That’s what you’re fighting to keep alive’” (Ender’s Game, p. 224), which essentially ensures Ender will make the decision to leave his beloved sister and only true friend, Valentine, behind to go to Battle School. He meant to protect, and to defend. When he was in the spot of just before committing genocide, he was told what he was about to do was “a final examination in Command School”, that those people watching were “observers … here to evaluate what you have learned” (Ender’s Game 290). Like how a student cannot be judged by the way they perform on a meaningless task compared to the actual test, Ender’s actions while playing the game cannot be used to define how he would act during the real war.
As previously mentioned, Ender had seemingly no choice in the matters of what he was doing. Ender was exceptionally smart, a child genius. Yet that often makes him a target. Kessel claims that Orson Scott Card has created an “extreme situation” in which Ender is constantly faced with instances of abuse and manipulation in Ender’s path knowing it “guarantees our sympathy” as readers. While that fact is true, the sympathy of Ender is well earned. He is simply a puppet whose strings are held by the adults in the I.F. and is a victim of relentless abuse throughout his life. Ender is manipulated by those in charge which are “generally regarded as enemies by the students” (Doyle), and then abused by the other school children. That is not to say that the adults do not see the abuse and therefore cannot be blamed for its occurrence. Rather, they not only notice, but “deliberately increase his torment” (Kessel). In the situations of which Ender does commit a terrible crime, he doesn't know he ever did it. Ender has never been told of his strength, and he would never know he pushed too hard because nobody ever lets him in on the effect of his actions. You cannot be blamed for what you never knew. Ender’s actions were results of cruel manipulation and abuse.
Ender never tried to hurt anyone. To revisit a point formerly made, Ender only joined Battle School with the intent to defend. In the fights with two of his childhood bullies, Ender finds himself being in the situation of fight them or be fought. The adults often encourage, or at least don’t prevent, Ender from entering into these situations in which he is forced to either let himself be killed, and the chance of humanity’s survival with it, or to fight his opponent. As if it is not enough for this “warrior who hates fighting but must win” to have to bring pain enough to end this one battle, he must fight “in order to prevent further battles” (Blackmore). So, of course, he attacks in defense of his life. Then, soon after, he reflects on how he wishes he hadn’t been forced to fight and feels guilt. He compares himself to the worst person he knows, his abusive and murderous brother Peter, and begins to hate himself. If he had been given the choice, he would not have ever laid a finger on his opponents. Later on, when he is in the spot of training to wipe out the bugger race, he agreed to it in the mindset that it is his people or theirs. Had he been given more time to receive a greater understanding of the bugger’s motives and intentions to realize that they no longer desired to attack the human race, then one can quickly conclude that he would have refused to fight any longer. Ender desired peace, and would only fight to defend.
In the end, anyone can tell that Ender’s intentions were pure, even if the result of the actions he was manipulated into committing would imply otherwise. As John Kessel said, even with his opposing viewpoint of Ender’s character, “in [Ender’s] case, the image is not reality”. The wrongness of an action cannot define the morality or intentions of the person who is to blame for it. Kessel, and many others, have misinterpreted Ender’s morality as vicious and cruel, when really his intentions were pure and the effect was a result of manipulation.