Hemingway once said, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” This belief in self-improvement is prevalent throughout Wonderful Fool by Shusaku Endo where many of the characters are full of traits that were crafted apt for development. In many novels, the development of a character comes about in their own time and through no other outside character influencing them. However, Wonderful Fool is different. The characters are developed specifically by how the actions of others impact them mentally and emotionally. This is seen well with Endo, the supposed villain of the story. He is greatly impacted by the characters in the story and their actions, which are able to in …show more content…
With this in mind, the first character that is able to have a great effect on Endo is his brother. Although that the reader never gets to meet him, they are able to get to know him through Endo’s depiction of him, which is primarily written through flashbacks. Through this vision, the reader can infer that Endo’s brother was an idol to him and that he held him as an example. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when Endo’s brother is wrongfully executed Endo would transform into a bitter and vengeful man, seeking to make even with his brother’s murderers. Endo’s brother not only served as an example for Endo, but he also was meant to provide the companionship Endo needed when he was “beset by loneliness in the absence of any near relative” (126). Endo’s brother was much more than just a relative to Endo, he was the only person he had left that he felt he could relate to and share emotions with. Furthermore, when Endo tells Gaston, the protagonist, about what a righteous man his brother was, he is only able to do so with a tearful tone, showing the love that Endo had for him. Therefore it is not a …show more content…
Their very existence forces him to spend day and night looking for them and finding the perfect opportunity to be able to execute an effective assault on them. It is evident that Endo has dedicated much of his time searching for both Kobayashi and Kanai when he states, ‘It took me half a year, but I finally discovered the facts...now I have their addresses” (pg 128). Endo’s obsession with these 2 men grew out of the injustice he felt his brother suffered in his final days, and the fact that Kobayashi and Kanai are still living after committing a crime convinces Endo that crimes during this period of Japanese history will not be severely punished. Therefore it would be fair if he were to also commit a crime. Endo is so dedicated to both Kobayashi and Kanai’s demises that he is not thrown off in the slightest of failure that he suffers when attempting to kill Kanai, instead, Endo focuses on “going to get the other guy that framed my brother” (pg 157). This emphasizes that the existence of Kanai and Kobayashi means that Endo cannot have a peaceful life, he will be haunted by the injustice that he knows his brother suffered in the last days and Kobayashi and Kanai are only reminders of that. In order to get rid of the reminders, Endo has to get rid of the 2 men, by whatever means necessary. Endo’s obsession with Kanai and Kobayashi is further seen when Gaston removes
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 […]
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
...not allow him to leave. Lastly, Ender was lied to and forced through battle simulations which ended up killing an entire race without his knowledge.
In Orson Scott Card’s novel, “Ender’s Game”, you have a story about a young man who is called out to fulfill the needs of many. Ender has a respective set of skills that make him stand out among the others. One of them is that he has the knowledge and the compassion to understand the enemy. This wonderful skill that Ender has is the motivating force that drives him to complete his journey from the beginning to the end. On the other hand, you have Ender having the ability to be Christ, or otherwise, a Christ Figure. The leading key ideas are that “Ender, like Christ, […] acts as a mediator between mankind and the higher beings”. He is also “playing a sacrificial role to save
In Orson Scott Cards Ender’s game, the main character Ender does not have a normal childhood compared to other children. He is destined for a hard life ahead of him from the moment he was born. Through Ender and the characters around him Card draws us a picture about the world around us. One’s past does not shape their future or the kind of person they will be. A different choice can be made at any time.
This Chapter begins with two mysterious characters having a conversation describing Ender and his two siblings. They decide that the Ender is the one they need to save the world from the buggers they say they have doubts about him just as they did about his brother and sister. The story begins with Ender a six year old boy having his monitor removed that device allows the authorities to see what he is thinking and his emotions his brother peter hates him because ender had the moni...
I related to Ender with many of the decisions that he was forced to make. I agree with his philosophy about ending the fight so that no more fights can grow from it, finishing your opponent, but only in self defense, and standing up too bully's. Ender's game reminded me of countries that expect to much for their children, and that would give everything for them to succeed, almost like overprotective parents.
A potential argument is that the theme of friends/enemies is very similar. In both books, the protagonist is countered by at least two enemies who would like nothing more than for them to not exist. “A Harvard Medical School study of 5,000 people over 20 years found that one person’s happiness spreads through their social group even up to three degrees of separation, and that the effect lasts as long as a year.” (Happify.com, page two). As shown in the study, having friends makes one very happy and is overall beneficial for everyone. Whereas having enemies is not. “ A friend of yours wanted me to warn you. There are some boys who want to kill you.” (Card, 204). Throughout these chapters, the authors do a good job describing just how extreme the theme of friends and enemies is. The ruthlessness that is portrayed in this quote is astonishing, and goes to show that the protagonist (Ender) is truly involved in a love hate war. Just like Matt in The House of Scorpion. “All those years Celia had told him not to think of her as his mother fell away. No one else cared for him the way she did. No one protected him or loved him so much, except, perhaps, Tam Lin. And Tam Lin was like his father,” (Farmer 315). Here, Matt realizes that he really does have a family, even if it is not the most normal in the world. He’s more than just
He is still constantly comparing himself to Peter. In a game Ender played, he had to kill a snake in order to progress which haunts him with thoughts of killing. “‘This game tells filthy lies. I am not like Peter. I don’t have murder in my heart.’ And then a worse fear, that he was the killer, only better at it than Peter ever was.” (Card 115). He is starting to believe that he is not like Peter, however the thought of being no better and maybe even worse than his brother is still in the back of his mind. At this time in the book, Ender seems very opinionated when he compares himself to Peter, and stays that way for quite a while. In chapter eight, Ender is battling a group of boys and ends up hurting them to protect himself. He is later seen questioning why he keeps harming other boys. “I’m doing it again, thought Ender. I’m hurting people again just to save myself. Why don’t they leave me alone, so I don’t have to hurt them.” (Card 115). Now Ender is wondering as to why these people keep attacking him. This causes him to breach his morals and fight back harder so they do not think about coming at him again. Ender’s shame for compromising his morals is starting to turn into
Another event that Ender had to finish that had been started before him was his conflict with Stilson on the bus to Battleschool. Stilson and his friends make fun of Ender by calling him a ‘Third’ and they do not let him get to his seat on the bus. Stilson calls Ender names and summons his friends to hold Ender back because he had tried to grab Stilson’s arm in defense of himself.
Ender is first shown as intelligent and skillful, and Peter shows the same attributes throughout the story. Ender uses his intellect to triumph over his bullies, and this translates to his experience in the Battle Room. He has to outsmart the enemy, rather than beat them physically, and it worked in his favor the majority of the time. Ender understands when he has to use his physicality to beat a bully, but also knows when he has to strategize to avoid a certain situation. When Ender is encountered by Bonzo after he won the battle by disobeying Bonzo’s orders, he has to use his judgement rather than his fists to get what he wants. Ender argued with Bonzo, “‘... I’ll pretend that you won this argument. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind.’ ‘I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’ ‘I don’t want the other guys to think you backed down. You wouldn’t be able to command as well’” (Card 87). Ender understands what his enemy, in this case Bonzo, wants, and knows how he can make both of them get what they want. He doesn’t resolve to violence when he knows that he can use a different method that benefits him. Ender’s intelligence and strategizing helps him overcome the difficulty he approaches throughout his life. Peter also uses his intellect to benefit himself throughout the events that happen.
Therefore, Ender shows the reader that he takes responsibility as an adult for just waking up early and on time for his battles. Therefor, Ender taking that responsibility must be hard since he's just a kid and has to be responsible for
Throughout the novel, Ender gradually begins to realize that he is not so different from his brother Peter. Ender grew up being punished and beaten up just for being a third who was smarter than Peter. This explains why Ender wants nothing to do with him when he leaves home. The mind game periodically reminds Ender that he is not completely different from him through certain levels. On the first obstacle that proved difficult, he brutally
After much internal debate Ender decides to go to battle school and leave home. He knows he won’t see his family until he is at least 12 but most likely he will have to wait until he is 16. When Ender is inside the ship on the way to battle school, the adults start their manipulation game. Graff calls out Ender as the only one who will save mankind, making the other kids hate Ender and become envious. Ender already lost the chance at having a normal childhood when he was born a third, but he was also considered to be the chosen one to save mankind from the very beginning. The manipulation of Ender is shown through the book and the children at the school either take part in his abuse or ignore the adults who cause it. Through this abusive training tactic Ender becomes the skilled fighter and leader the government wants. Ender gets moved through the program fast. He gets to the command school at age 9, a school no one can go to until they are sixteen. The adults tell him he will be doing simulations to practice the attacks on the buggers, but after the last simulation he finds out he killed the entire bugger species. The novel shows Ender to be morally innocent throughout his story, but he takes on the guilt of xenocide of the buggers. He is shocked at what he did, even when he didn’t know what he’s doing. Ender loses his innocence at this moment. He knew he was being manipulated by the adults throughout his career at the battle schools, but he had no idea he was being manipulated into exterminating a whole race. When he realizes what he did he goes into another depression slump and does not come out of his room for days. He doesn’t understand why he was manipulated into what he
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...