Literary Elements In Ender's Game By Orson Scott Card

According to Alexander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, “Literature transmits incontrovertible condensed experience…from generation to generation. In this way, literature becomes the living memory of a nation.” In the United States of America there are a plethora of authors who contribute to the living memory of the nation although one prominent author in the science fiction genre stands out more than the rest. This author is Orson Scott Card. Card has contributed to the living memory of the nation with a countless number of works. One of these works being Ender’s Game. In Ender’s Game Card utilizes conflict, characterization, and bildungsroman in order to portray the idea that growing up isn’t easy and that some children have a more difficult

time growing up than others. In this way, the author conveys his belief regarding the importance of his religion, and how life experiences lead to growth of character. Ender’s Shadow embodies growing up in poverty as a street urchin, experiencing a childhood death, and a lack of human connection. Some might argue that Catcher in the Rye better embodies this yet the book better illustrates the taxing effects of mental illnesses due to a death of a family member and that even though the family is wealthy bad things can still happen to them.
Orson Scott Card’s works are greatly affected by his religion. “Card takes his place beside C.S. Lewis, who is one of the rare writers in Science Fiction and Fantasy who used the genre to give shape to his deepest religious beliefs… this does not mean that he must or even should be seen as a religious writer, in spite of the fact that he describes himself as a Mormon writer dabbling in science fiction” (Nicol 128). This quote helps to establish merit behind the claim that Card’s writing is greatly influenced by his religion. Card is quoted saying, "I knew that if I could write a story that would illuminate some hitherto dark corner in someone's soul and live on in them forever, then it hardly mattered whether writing made me rich or kept me poor, put my name before the public, or left me forgotten, for I would have bent the world's path just a little, yet all would be different from then on because I had done it" (Porschet 1998). This shows that Card believed in the fact that one action, life can make a difference.
From the Gods of old from the sky to launching of Sputnik by the Russians to putting the first man on the moon to retrieving geckos that were launched into space, people all around the world, throughout time, have been fascinated by space and the stars. The Mayans were a great ancient civilization that studied the stars and believed that “sky people” have visited them. The Mayans were not the only ancient civilization who claimed to be visited by beings not of this world. Even today there are numerous sightings of unidentified flying object. Whether this is by overactive imagination or if it actually happened, the world may never know. Yet, one thing is for certain, the unknown plays a massive role in our society today. So naturally this would appear in modern literature. H. G. Wells was the first writer of Science fiction integrating what he learned from T.H. Huxley in to his writing (Britannica 1). After this the genre grew exponentially including futuristic technologies, unrealistic abilities, and extraterrestrial beings. “Science fiction is the literature of the human species encountering change, whether it arrives via scientific discoveries, technological innovations, natural events, or societal shifts” (sfcenter 1). There is a plethora of other and more in depth descriptions of the science fiction genre due to the fact that it is a complex topic in which there is debate as to what science fiction is for some topics. This is a rather simplified definition of what science fiction is.
Ender’s Shadow contributed to being a living memory of the nation in numerous ways. One way was to show the difficulty of growing up in poverty around the world in big cities. When the main character in the book, Bean, was talking to Sister Carlotta, he said, “One time a big kid got so mad at me for eating that he put a stick down my throat and made me throw up what I just ate, right on the street. He even tried to eat it but he couldn’t, it made him try to throw up, too” (Card 61). This incident occurred on the streets of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Bean was only about two or three years old at the time. This quote also illustrates to the reader that poverty is a very real problem in the world and that even though it may not affect the reader it affects other people in the world. Card in this quote could have changed the reader’s lives maybe even a little bit but it still was just enough to change the course of history of the world. Another very real scene from the book is when the person who gave Bean life and a name died. This affects Bean greatly throughout the course of this novel. This shows the nation that every life has meaning and that every life is special.
Ender’s Shadow is a work of science fiction. Science fiction is the literature of the human species encountering change, whether it arrives via scientific discoveries, technological innovations, natural events, or societal shifts (sfcenter 1). Ender’s Shadow is a book about a space school and fighting aliens called buggers. Science fiction also explores possibilities and pushes boundaries. This is seen by the setting because it illustrates what would happen if intelligence was on the streets. The novel also pushes the boundaries of reality. A school in space for extremely intelligent children to fight a war against aliens. The hostility of children and the extremes they go to. This all pushes the reader to become more imaginative and to illustrate a new light to view circumstances under.
Orson Scott Card utilizes a plethora of literary elements in the novel Ender’s Shadow.

One of those elements being conflict. The conflict between man and nature is illustrated when Bean is starving on the streets of Rotterdam. Another conflict which can be seen through the entire novel is man verses man. Whether it be Bean trying to outsmart Achilles on the streets of Rotterdam or Ender facing Bronzo Madrid in the bathroom, man verses man is sprinkled throughout the book like a lightly seasoned voluptuous steak. This add a hooking factor to the novel making it an excellent page turner and contributing to the claim that this novel contributes to the living memory of the nation. This novel illustrates a Lord of the Flies ideology, meaning that when left unattended children turn into demons. Man versus society is also used when Bean rebels against the teachers in numerous ways. One way was spying on them through the air ducts to gain access to the teacher’s log on in the school data base. Another way was listening in on private conversations among the teachers again while in the air ducts of the school. The reason why Bean was doing this was because the teachers had a monopoly on power in the school and secrets, and Bean wanted to learn the inner workings of the school. Card also utilized bildungsroman in order to convey his idea that growing up has a superfluity of challenges. Card illustrates that by magnifying the problems one-hundred fold with killing the person

that gave Bean food, life, and a name. He also has Bean have an enemy who is smart and patiently waiting for the perfect time to kill Bean. Naturally not many children in the nation are suffering from this amount of danger but it illustrates the difficulties of growing up whether it be in the streets or in a home.
Card uses allusions to the Holy Bible in his writing. One example of this is that one of the major secondary characters in the novel is a nun, Sister Carlotta. Another example is the plethora of biblical allusions and the use of the term “God” and “Him” numerous times throughout the text. “’Our bodies could live forever, you know. We don’t have to wear out. Our cells are all alive; they can maintain and repair themselves, or be replaced by fresh ones. There are even mechanisms to keep replenishing our bones. Menopause need not stop a woman from bearing children. Our brains need not decay, shedding memories or failing to absorb new ones. But God made us with death inside’” (Card 170). This was when Anton, a genetic scientist was talking to Sister Carlotta about his research. He was referencing the tree of life and the tree of knowledge in this quote. This is just one scene of many in which God or the Catholic religion is mentioned.
It may be said that Catcher in the Rye by J.

D. Salinger is a better representation of bildungsroman than Ender’s Shadow therefore it is more representative of the living memory of the nation. This claim has only some degree of truth. Catcher in the Rye a semi-relatable main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden went to many different prep schools without seeing much of his parents. The reason why Holden went to numerous different prep schools was because he was failing out of each one. The reason why Holden is semi-relatable is because his brother died and that death held a heavy toll on Holden to the point where he ended up in a mental hospital. Due to the fact that the character is more relatable and is going through difficult times some believe that that is what makes Catcher in the Rye a living memory of the nation. This is not true the extremes used by Card in Ender’s Shadow showed the reader a different life style and how life isn’t always fair so they just need to keep moving. Catcher in the Rye illustrates to the reader what would happen if when life knocks them down hard and they don’t get back

up.
In short Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card contributes to the claim that Card’s work helped contribute to the living memory of the nation. Through the use of conflict, allusions, characterization, and bildungsroman Card has contributed to the living memory of the nation.