Ender

Synopsis

The year is 2070, the world has been twice attacked by aliens called Buggers, and humanity almost perished. To prepare for the next battle, the world begins collecting and training military geniuses. They draft young children who pass a rigorous screening, and send the best of them to the orbiting Battle School, where they are trained from childhood to be ready for war in the outskirts of space. Enter Ender Wiggins who is a child prodigy. Born into a family of geniuses, Ender is hated by his older brother, Peter, who threatens to kill him and adored by his older sister, Valentine, who protects Ender from Peter's wrath. Ender is recruited into the army after passing tests, and quickly rises to the top of the talent pool. Resented by most other students at Battle School, Ender is slowly works his way through the ranks until he is given his own army. His main struggle in Battle School is with old commander, Bonzo Madrid. Bonzo always hated Ender, even when Ender was serving under him and is humiliated by Ender when the two armies clash. Embarrassed, Bonzo tries to kill Ender but losses to Ender once again and is killed himself. Colonel Graff, who found and trained Ender, takes Ender to Command School where he meets Mazer Rackham, hero of the second bugger invasion. Mazer sets Ender up with a new computer simulation, and this time Ender has his old Battle School friends acting as sub-commanders under him. They play the simulation and win the game but this simulation turns out to be real. Ender has killed the buggers in a very dramatic act of genocide. He feels sorrow and grief for them and vows to find a home for the remaining survivors.

Archetype

Ender is a unique character that does not meet all of the criteria of any one type of archetypal function. Ender is the protagonist of the novel and can be considered a hero. Ender endures all of the stages through a hero's journey. He is born unique in the case, that he is a “Third.” In a futuristic world where families are only allowed two children, the government gave Ender’s parents special permission to have a third child because their first two had shown such promise. He receives his call to adventure from Colonel Graff and is literally tested in Battle School. At the end of his time at Battle School, he suffers despair and sadness before his rebirth into Command School. Ender finally deals with the consequences of his actions when he helps build a new colony at the end of the novel. Ender is a hero but not any certain type of hero. The best relation Ender could have to any hero is to the Unwilling Hero. An Unwilling hero is a character who never wanted to be a hero in the first place often a subtype of the "Chosen One." Ender clearly shows he meets both these criteria in chapter 3 page 26 when Ender says "It was what I was born for, isn't it? If I don't go, why am I alive?' 'Not good enough,' Graff said. 'I don't want to go,' said Ender, 'but I will.'" Ender is forced into his role as a hero meeting the main requirement for an Unwilling Hero but he does not display all its characteristics. Ender never finds excuses and or ways to avoid his situation. Ender leads his troops into confident victories. Though Ender does return to Earth, he does it because he is mentally and physically drained from the battles. Throughout the book, Ender reminded me of River from the movie //Serenity//. Both characters are thrust into a world they never asked for but have the necessary tools needed for survival. Both even are parallel in which they have an older sibling who truly wants to protect their sibling however the circumstances of both the doctor and Valentine differ. Ender, though brilliant, is still a child. A child the represents the same innocence that a harmless albatross contains who River was compared to.

How to Speak like Ender: (It would help if you're a genius)

1. Calculate Everything.  Think of all possible scenarios and outcomes. Calculate how to achieve your goal with the best result possible and implement this scenario. If the best outcome is not possible achieve the next best outcome.  Ex. "This would not have a happy ending. So Ender decided he'd rather not be the unhappiest at the end." Page 6  Ex. Carn Carby left, and Ender mentally added him to his private list of people who also qualified as human beings. Page 184

2. Be complete. Ender does and says everything completely. He never misses a detail, and when fighting his enemies he completely erases them all. Ender can be ruthless in the fact he completes every task and rarely leaves survivors. This ruthlessness makes him comparably to his brother Peter. Ex. “This was supposed to be a game. Not a choice between his own grisly death and an even worse murder. I’m a murderer, even when I play. Peter would be proud of me.” Page 65 Ex. "I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again. I grind them and grind them until they don’t exist//.’”// p. 238

3. Ask questions. Ender is still a child and does not know everything yet. He still wonders the what ifs and is curious many times. This curiosity allows him to have a better overall view from different perspectives.  Ex. "But this isn't how it feels to be a bugger, thought Ender. They don't ware this face like a mask, it is their face. On their home worlds, do the buggers put on human masks, and play? Page 11  Ex. "We aren't just ordinary children, are we. None of us." "Don't you sometimes wish we were?" Page 240

4.Be compassionate. Ender is ruthless like Peter but he is also compassionate like Valentine. He cares about the ones he loves and knows. He truly cares about others with a proper childlike innocence. Ex. "But I’ll be watching you, more compassionately than you know, and when the time is right you’ll find that I’m your friend, and you are the soldier you want to be.” p. 168  Ex. "That's the problem with winning right from the start, thought Ender. You lose friends." Page 184

5. Be innocent Ender is a child who does what he is told. He is harmless when not directed at something and honestly a saint in his morals. Ender feels emotions and is not a heartless leader or killer. He believes in values and even carries them out. Ex. ‘I’ll carry you,’ said Ender, ‘I’ll go from world to world until I find a time and a place where you can come awake in safety. And I’ll tell your [|story] to my people, so that perhaps in time, they can forgive you, too. The way that you’ve forgiven me.’” p. 321 Ex. "I don't have to be your commander anymore, do I?" asked Ender. "I don't want to command anybody again." Page 303

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMTpyh70m7w&feature=related