Ender’s Manipulation In Orson Scott Card’s novel, Enders Game, at the age of six, Ender is chosen by Colonel Graff and the International Fleet to help save mankind from the buggers. However, through his journey, he experiences manipulation and deception from significant figures that surround his life. This deceit from Colonel Graff, Valentine, and Mazor Rackham is focused on defeating the buggers in the Third Invasion. In this book, Ender is most particularly manipulated by Graff, the I.F. soldier who watches over him. Even though Graff is secretly Ender’s friend, Colonel Graff is the recipient of a lot of doubt and negativity coming from Ender. The constant belief that Graff is supposedly deceitful pushes Ender to perform better. Now away …show more content…
When Ender leaves to Battle School, not only does he face other “Peters” but he experiences fatigue and loneliness from the severe program he is going through. Valentine will begrudgingly be used to motivate Ender in continuing in the program. Ender has improved at Battle School within a year- the youngest toon leader yet and was highest in the ranks. Everyone respected him as a teacher- not as a friend. This made Ender feel utterly depressed. Nobody saw him as a young child- just a respectable commander and that surely made him agitated. Graff and the other adults began to worry about Ender’s health. So, they called in reinforcements and had Valentine write a letter, “She’d written before, and they didn’t let any of those letters through. Those might have been real, but this was asked for, this was part of their manipulation” (Card-107). The IF uses the person Ender as ever truly cared for, Valentine, to motivate him and give him some kind of shrivel of hope to persevere through the program. They believed that Ender would do anything for his sister Valentine because of his unconditional love for his sibling. Even though this manipulation strategy was transparent and quite frustrating for Ender, he was determined not to play by the adults’ rules and he continued to be the best soldier yet. Later, when Ender was promoted to Commander, he stayed on Earth for two months- never wanting to go to space. Valentine is brought to meet him and convince him to go to Eros,” She walked back up the hill, savagely angry at them for making her come to Ender like this. For she had, after all, done just what they wanted. She had talked Ender into going back into his training, and he wouldn’t soon forgive her for that” (Card-170). Valentine knew the consequences of manipulating her brother- that Ender would think
Introduction: Ender is one of the main characters in this book, Ender is intelligent on and off the battlefield he is the youngest in the salamander army but he is more skillful than anyone else in the army. The book Ender’s game is written by Dr son Scott Card, This book was the Hugo and Nebula winner.
The Enders Game written by Orson Scott Card provides understanding of the characters and their relationships with others through indirect characterization and diction. Orson Scott Card uses literacy devices and specific word choice to let the reader draw conclusions about the characters and the relationships between Peter and Ender, the symbolism of the bugger mask/bugger-astronaut game, and the foreshadowing of Peter and Valentines death. The author reveals the relationship between Peter and Ender through Peter’s perception of Ender and the astronaut-bugger game. “Ender did not see Peter as […]
“Ender’s Game”, by Orson Scott Card, is a military science fiction novel that narrates the story of a boy named Andrew “Ender” Wiggin and his predetermined life to save humanity. Set in the future, humans are at war with an alien insect race dubbed the “buggers.” The buggers have already invaded Earth two times previously and did not succeed because of Mazer Rackham, the general that won the second invasion. Expecting a third invasion of the buggers, the International Fleet (I.F.) has trained child geniuses at very young ages through games that gradually increase in difficulty including the zero gravity battle rooms in preparation for them to become commanders of the Third Invasion.
They wanted Ender to see that it was a game because this would insure that the humans would be victorious over the buggers. Because of this, Ender has suffered a great ordeal of losses in everything such as life, love, family, and friendship. At this point of my explanation, we can clearly see that Ender does suffice enough to be a Christ Figure because he began his journey with a full heart and now he is ending his journey with nothing left but a new world to live in with Valentine, while trying to find a safe place for the Queen Bugger to live. This is his last and most important mission of all. It looks like as if Ender is beginning a whole new journey. Truth be told, Ender is done, but he has that final step to go before he can call out to home and finally live the rest of days free of
Leading up to that he faces enemies and obstacles in the form of bigger kids and the games that he wins thoroughly, to the point where he cannot be beat. He always is one set ahead of whatever is thrown at him. Until Ender finds the Bugger Queen pupa.” Reached into the cavity and took out the cocoon.” (Card 321) Here in this scene Ender is going against what we have come to see as part of who he is. He has the intent to allow the Buggers to rebuild and try to live along side of humans. Normally he destroys something so thoroughly that it can never hurt him or the people he is fighting for again. This is perhaps one of the very best examples of the theme that one’s past does not define them or their
Ender’s game is a science fiction novel written by Orson Scott card it was published in 1985. This book is in the future when in the story earth has been invaded by an alien race and is almost destroyed by the invasion but wins the battle and to prevent earth from being destroyed if they return they create the International fleet which recruits kids an teaches them to be commanders. The chapter that I am going to analyze is chapter one which is called Third. This chapter shows how Ender is being manipulated since the start and how he has to deal with being different by being a third.
After years of being monitored by government officials, Ender Wiggins, the main character of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, finds himself completely alone. The loneliness set's in as he finds himself in a new school, away from the watchful eyes of the government and bared to the world. He is a Third. This feeling of being a third makes Ender feel even more isolated, "It was not his fault he was a Third. It was the government's idea, they were the ones who authorized it - how else could a Third like Ender have got into school?" (Card 5). There was no one there to keep the bullies away now. Although he never really liked the monitor, he now found himself alone and missing the advent ages of having it on and knowing that someone, somewhere was always with him and watching him. At battle school, Ender knows that he will be isolated from the other students. Colonel Graff tells the other students of Ender and how superior his talents and intelligence is compared to the rest of the group. The other students don't like Ender and don't trust him. Throughout battle school, Ender is kept from his family and isolated from other children.
Most of the children know about the web of deceit and the manipulation, including Ender who works around it because of his own beliefs of his own purpose. Although he is needed in the mission to save the world, from Ender's point of view he needs to do this for Valentine. Or is he just tricking himself into thinking this? Ender realizes there is deceit by the IF and teachers. They deceived Ender into thinking that Valentine's letter was sincerely written by her. Ender realizes that he is being deceived and manipulated, his thoughts were, "It isn't the real thing because they made her write it. She's written before and they didn't let any of those letters through. Those might have been real, but this was asked fo...
In Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, we see the life, struggles, and choices of Ender Wiggin. After reading the book, we as the readers can interpret what we believe the book was meant to accomplish in terms of the moral questions it raises. Some believe that Card wrote the book as a self-serving justification of Enders actions. However, I believe that the story is not a justification of Enders actions, but instead an illustration of the abuse and mistreatment of a young child.
He uses a combination of Peter’s ruthlessness with Valentine’s compassion. “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves” (Card 238). Ender reveals this to Valentine because it is the main reason why he despises himself. Ender first uses his method against Stilson after getting his chip removed. He realizes that with the way Stilson is, the only way to stop him is to cause enough pain to deter retaliation. Learning from his enemies does not only occur on Earth. While being rejected in Salamander Army, Ender studies the good and bad techniques in the battle room. Given that, Ender ultimately beats Bonso once he is in command of his own army. He continues to do this with every person and battle he comes into contact with, making him the best commander at
One key component that is produced through Ender’s struggles at his young age is self-reliance. Ender is born unto a family where he is seen as an outcast; he’s a “third.” In a world where population control is major concern, a third-born child is looked upon in disgust. He is isolated even before he is brought into the world. John Kessel reveals his insights into Card’s interpretation of Ender’s exploitation when he says,” Orson Scott Card presents a harrowing tale of abuse. Ender’s parents and older brother (. . .) either ignore the abuse of Ender or participate in it” (Kessel 1). No one contributes more to this abuse than his older brother, Peter. Along with his birth, jealousy and hatred are especially common towards Ender. This disapproving outlook is particularly apparent from Peter. Peter let’s Ender know hi...
One of the elements of isolation that leads to the loss of childhood is the hostile characters at the battle school, particularly Graff and Bonzo. Graff stands behind the action and makes things happen, while Bonzo is too rigid to see opportunities in front of him. Isolation towards Ender starts in the shuttle before they reach the Battle School. To prove this, Graff says “’I’ll have him completely separated from the rest of the boys by the time we get to school’” (Card, page 27). Ender expects Graff to be tough and pick on him, but instead he sets him up as the best by continuously bragging about him. This causes hatred of the other soldiers to grow towards Ender. Graff means to do that to make Ender stand out from the others and to make him into the best soldier. Ender’s isolation does not stop there, but it continues as he finally begins to get along with the Launchies and make friends: “’So as soon as he can cope with a situation, you move him to one he can’t cope with,’” (Card, page 66) says General Levy when he finds out Graff is transferring Ender to Salamander Army. This declares that Graff does not want Ender to get used to where he is and that he wants Ender to be able to handle everything that is thrown at him, which is a form of isolation. I...
The story Ender’s Game is about a boy named Ender who was chosen to leave earth to go to battle school to pass many test, and win many games commanding a team to become the commander of the last bugger war. Ender spends his whole life playing games and passing tests when he might not even know it. The main theme in Ender’s Game is about how Ender has a hard time realizing games from reality.
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
During the time he thought he was training, he was actually commanding his friends in combat against these aliens and eventually committing xenocide against them. Throughout the end of his trip through battle school and especially in command school, Ender is constantly down and almost what seems to be in a deep depression or some sort of mental disorder, like Colonel Graff predicted would happen. Ender did not enjoy the fights, day after day, and so when he realized that he had actually killed all the buggers, he was not happy in the slightest. “Ender’s mind was too tired to cope with it all. They weren’t just point of light in the air, they were real ships that he had fought with and real ships he had destroyed. And a real world that he had blasted into oblivion. He walked through the crows, dodging their congratulations, ignoring their hands, their words, their rejoicing. When he got to his own room he stripped off his clothes, climbed into bed and slept (Card 108).” Ender never would have acted so violently if he knew that it was real, like his fights. He never would’ve acted so violently if he had known his strength or if he knew what was being presented upon him. (“’Ender grabbed Mazer’s uniform and hung onto it, pulling him down so they were face to face. ‘I didn’t want to kill them