Ethical Issues In Ender's Game

Ender’s Game, a fantastic novel by Orson Scott Card, is an intriguing and peculiar science fiction novel; however, numerous ethical dilemmas appear in practically every chapter. Especially chapter nine. Throughout this chapter, Ender becomes too stressed to perform at his peak physical and mental capacity. If his stressful life continues without alteration, then Ender will have a mental breakdown. Nevermind the fact that Ender is a mere nine year old boy, the worst portion is when the supposedly wondrous Battle School Commander, Graff, persuades Valentine, Ender’s beloved older sister, to encourage Ender so he has the willpower to accelerate through his studies. All of this is solely as Ender is becoming even more beneficial to humanity’s survival.

We can use your other letters to reconcile the writing styles.’” Pure evil - the only phrase to describe this cleverly presented manipulation. Unfortunately, Valentine drops her defenses too quickly because she loves her brother so much, perhaps too much. Divulging Graff with pleasure, Valentine writes a unique letter to Ender, one which only he would understand. Even though Valentine is an amazing genius, she’s still human, so for Graff to take advantage of the power Valentine, a young girl, has over a beloved relative solely for selfish reasons such as succeeding and being seen as a strong leader, is a shameful and unjustifiable action for Graff to perform. Maddeningly enough, this interaction occurs yet again on page 232 of the novel where Valentine is now forced to have a civil, dialogue-filled, conversation with Ender. “‘I won’t write another letter,’ she said. ‘I never should have written that one.’ ‘[we are going] To see a young soldier who is in Greensboro on leave… He skipped a few grades.’ ‘So he’s doing well?’ ‘Ask him when you see him… But you see, he doesn’t seem interested in going on with his education again.’ ‘Oh. So I’m therapy again.’” Although Graff isn’t as demanding in this situation, he’s still asking too much of a young