Orson Scott Card Research Paper

Orson Scott Card is an American Science-Fiction author known for both his short stories and novels. One of his most popular novels, Enders Game, will be the focus of this research paper. Ender’s Game is one of Orson Scott Card’s first science fiction works; it was originally written as a short story and was later developed into a novel. His family, his life experiences and his religious and moral beliefs influence the writings of Orson Scott Card, such as Enders Game, heavily.

Orson Scott Card was born in Richland, Washington in 1951 to Willard Richards Card and Peggy Jane Park. He was the third of six children. Orson grew up in a Mormon household. He was only two generations removed from Mormon pioneers and his family was very religious.

Shortly before his graduation Card left BYU and went on a two-year long mission to Brazil for the Mormon Church. Card fell in love with Brazilian culture and became fluent in Portuguese during his time in Brazil. When he returned home he finished his bachelors in theatre and began a production company that produced plays at “The Castle”, an outdoor theatre in Orem. The production company eventually failed. Card needed to pay back the debt from the theater company and he found a job at the BYU Press. It was during this time that Card started writing science fiction stories, including a short story that would eventually become Enders Game. The short story eventually saw a profit and Orson became employed at the official magazine of the Mormon Church called “The Ensign”. Card fell in love with Kristine Allen; and they married in May 1977. In 1978 their first child, Michael Geoffrey, was born followed by a daughter, Emily Janice. Orson and Kristine moved around often until they ended up in Greensboro, North Carolina. The last of their 3 children - Charles Benjamin, Zina Margaret, and Erin Lousisa - were born in Greensboro. Orson named his children after the authors that he admired such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens. Two of their children passed away, Erin Lousia died shortly after her birth, and Charles Benjamin died when he was 17 of symptoms related to cerebral palsy. Kristine and Orson currently live in Greensboro. (Bliss, Green, Gump, Walley