Ender's Game Analysis

The novel, “Ender’s Game”, illustrates the life in a technology-based society. At a young age, monitors are implanted into children’s necks. These monitors are able to see and hear what the child can see and hear. After watching over the children, the instructors at Battle School determine whether the child is a good fit. Ender, Andrew, is a “third”; the third child. The government has placed a regulation that limited families to having only two children. Ender’s siblings, Peter and Valentine, were extremely close to being accepted into Battle School. However, Peter was too violent towards others, and Valentine did not know when the time was right to use power against the enemy. Due to this, the government believed that, based on his siblings, Ender may be the best fit.

By doing this, at some points Card “plays” around with the reader’s mind to allow the reader to predict the course that the story will take. A prime example of this was the battle between Ender and Bonzo. As Ender gave the final blow of the fight, Card used a mixture of [both] vague and explicit detail. Later in the chapter, the reader learned that at that time, Bonzo was unconscious. Another moment in the story where Card was able to illustrate well was in the game that Ender played on the team of Petra and Bonzo. Although Ender was given strict orders to stay out of the way, Ender disobeyed those orders to attempt to benefit the team. As he mocked as a disabled soldier floating through the arena, he was able to get around their defenses and make it through the gate. This shows that in a given situation, Ender will attempt to respond in a way that would, ultimately, attempt to resolve a challenge that the team faces. Card uses this, single, game to reveal a characteristic of Ender. By choosing to use this game to reveal a “larger” picture, the reader is able to better understand the character