Ender's Game

Orson Scott Card's novel, Ender's Game, is one of my favorite books to give to students. Ender, a young boy who leaves his family to join the group on another planet, becomes the leader of the...

It is important to keep in mind that an allusionis a reference in literature to something that is well known from other literature, science, history, or pop culture. In chapter 9 of Ender's Game,...

Chapters 6–12 in Ender’s Game follow Ender’s time being transferred between armies and being unwanted by those around him. Initially placed in Bonzo Madrid’s army, he is relegated to the back of...

Readers have gone through an entire book filled with chapters that have an introductory dialogue between characters. A typical topic of conversation has been Ender and how he is doing; however,...

Toward the end of the book, Ender is moved out of Battle School for his final "training." Mazer informs Ender that instead of toon leaders Ender will now be working with squadron leaders. As you...

When Ender first sees the the brilliant, undersized youngster Bean included in his army, he treats him very much like Graff treats Ender. He tells the other soldiers that Bean is the only...

This quote is particularly true of the way in which the children in this novel are used to help combat the threat from the buggers. When you think about what is done to children like Ender, and how...

Peter learns the value of language from Hitler. In Chapter 9, Peter is trying to explain why he has to make changes at the age of 12 instead of waiting until he's older. He explains that he can't...

The answer to this question can be found near the start of Chapter 15. As with many chapters in this book, it starts with adults talking. Chapter 15 begins with Anderson and Graff discussing the...

As Ender gets a little ways into his Battle School education, he and other soldiers begin taking advantage of extra Battle Room practice time. Ender definitely begins changing the way that he and...

This question refers to Graff's conversation with Valentine in Chapter 9. Valentine does not really give a direct answer to Graff's question of why Ender keeps seeing Peter's face in the mirror....

The Buggers are a powerful race of space-faring insectoid aliens, who have been warring with Earth for a long time. Humans and Buggers have not been able to communicate effectively, and were unable...

Chapter 5 marks the begining of Ender's acceptance into his launch group, when he discovers who to hack into the computers ("desks") and launches his attack against Bernard and his gang who have...

The training school is just the mise-en-scene for the gradual maturing of Ender. The theme of the book has more to do with looking with fresh eyes at our opponents--the reason for his success in...

In Ender's Game, Valentine both fears and loves Peter. She cannot help but recall to her memories of the skinned squirrel and fears Peter's sadistic, violent nature rises to the surface with his...

In Ender's Game, to be iced means to be kicked out of the Battle School in which Ender has been enrolled and is learning to fight in combat. The school exists to prepare students to fight the...

At first, the Giant's game is an unwinnable game designed to teach the recruits how to think through different scenarios, even if the endgame is always failure. However, as Ender's Game goes on, it...

The theme of isolation is definitely explored in this book. Regarding "the gifted child," the world that Card has created has two exceptionally gifted and isolated children. Ender is the isolated...

Ender, who was the second boy to be chosen from his family, is aware that his big brother Peter was kicked out of the program because he was too violent. Even at the beginning of the book, when...

A gift? Like a present? From whom? The thing Peter seems to want most in the novel is power. He is a genius, he doesn't really need any material possessions (at least it isn't mentioned that...

Several things happen after Ender destroys the bugger world. First, he finds out that he was not involved in a simulation at all. He was fighting a real war against the buggers. Because of him, the...

The weakest part of this novel is the attempt to show "humanity" through the underlying brother-sister relationship, because Card did not know how to deal with Valentine's character in relation to...

Ender's parents were indicated for smart children, and so the military monitored their children, looking for a specific blend of ruthlessness and compassion. Their first two children were on the...

I'll try to be as convincing as possible without much exact textual back up. I do not have the book in front of me, but I think I can give you enough to help you understand. The answer starts...

Graff approaches Valentine in chapter 9 because Ender has come to place in his training, emotionally speaking, where he cannot (or refuses to) move forward. After feeling completely ignored by...

While that answer is a good synopsis of the novel's plot, the question has to do with "the "main idea" of the book, a much more abstract and analytical inquiry. The author is novelizing several...

Ender is a classic dynamic character in that he changes very much from the beginning of the story to the end. Life in Battle School and Command School hardens him. At the beginning of the story he...

“Should” is a judgment call. The effects of government control over individual can be discussed. In Ender’s case, the government is controlling population size by restricting families to two...

Ironically, the significant quote at the beginning of the book comes from the unnamed government official: “We promise gingerbread, but we eat the little bastards alive.” This establishes the...

In the novel, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Ender is initially nervous or scared to be assigned to an army as a brand new "launchie", but he begins to get excited about the opportunity. As he...

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite books, and yes, I believe the characters in the novel are realistic. Who has not had an older brother bully you or a sister take your side?...

After proving that he is too smart to be a mere soldier, Ender is given command of an army for himself. It is designated Dragon Army, a name that carries many negative connotations: "There hasn't...

In the beginning of the novel, Ender is just a “third”—the socially undesirable third child in the extreme intelligent Wiggins family. He is the victim of his older brother’s violence, and has...

Ender’s Game is the first book in Orson Scott Card’s Ender Wiggins series. The story follows Ender, a pre-teen boy who has been tapped as a future commander for Earth’s space army fighting against...

I believe she is referring to Graff as the king who forgets the dream. Graff took Ender from his family to make him into a heroic commander that would save mankind by shaping the good Ender into an...

From the beginning of Ender’s Game, it is well established that Peter is dangerous. Even when he was only ten years old, Peter was feared by his siblings. Valentine and Ender both knew that he “was...

Peter's apology to Ender after tormenting him (Peter had been rejected by the government, in large part because of this cruel streak in him), and in his jealousy makes Ender and his sister...

Orson Scott Card has created for his novel, Ender’s Game a complicated and intriguing plot with multiple stories within a story. One of these stories involves the computer game. To understand why...

Ender changes constantly throughout the book. His changing isn't a nice, smooth, continual path of positive change either. He sometimes reverts back to how he was before, or changes to be like the...

Ender spent much of his private study time playing a game called "Free Play." He had worked his way through the obstales to the part of the game where he had to choose one of the two Giant's...

In Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game," the children spent the majority of their time at Battle School, an isolated space station designed to educate them and train them in the art of war. This...

I would argue that Ender is made a hero. Here are three simple examples of why. 1: His decision to defend himself from bullies in school Graff and the others force Ender to be bullied so that he...

The relationship between these two siblings (Valentine is older) is expressed in the book in three ways: In the prelude to Ender’s training, we see that they are close, and both are victims of...

"Personalities" implies social responses and one's view of one's own worth. Ender has grown up knowing that his birth order puts him in a socially distasteful and precarious position and as a young...

A lot of futuristic technology shows up in Ender's Game. Four specific examples are seen in the laptop-like computers the students use, the "Giant" mind game, the fight simulators, and...

The word prejudice naturally holds a negative connotation and most often brings to mind racial or gender bias first. Ironically, though there are racial and gender differences presented between...

The first encounter between Ender and Mazer Rackham is a strange one because it is, essentially, a violent one. Mazer met Ender when the boy was sent to the Command School on Eros, and Mazer was...

The future society in Ender's Game has been attacked by the Buggers, intelligent space-faring insectoid aliens. They managed, through luck, to defeat two attacks, but because of the enormous number...

The question asks, How do Peter and Ender relate to good and evil? It's a simple question, seemingly, with a more complicated answer.We could construct a Venn diagram to explore ways in which...

In chaper 14 Ender is the leader of a group of fighters. His team includes Petra. She is smart, strong, and as Ender characterizes her "brilliant. He had depended too much on Petra and pushed...