A life without conflicts, although appealing, is not possible to maintain.Whether the conflict is internal or external, resolving the problem or making a final decision can be very difficult to achieve. Likewise, throughout Orson Scott Card’s novel, Ender’s Game, his character, Ender, is presented with two conflicting forces. One being his desire for a childhood and two being his obligation to save humanity from buggers. As he unknowingly gets himself into this problem, he is forced to think more like an adult and less like a child. Because of this internal conflict, alienation from peers is constantly brought up in the novel as well as the topic of societal pressure. Childhood is a stage that numerous people neglect or belittle for the sake …show more content…
Societal pressure can at times be very difficult to subdue, so many people tend to give in. Unfortunately, Ender faced societal pressure throughout the novel so he could win the fight for mankind. Colonel Graff, a constant influencer in Ender’s life, tells him,”We need the best we can get, and we need them fast. Maybe you’re not going to work out for us, and maybe you are...But if there’s a chance that because you’re with the fleet, mankind might survive and the buggers might leave us alone forever.”(25). Colonel Graff pressures Ender to go into Battle School, with the notion that mankind might die if he does not join. When General Pace and Colonel Graff conversed, Colonel Graff made the claim that, “Ender Wiggin must believe that no matter what happens, no adult will ever, ever step in to help him in any way. He must believe, to the core of his soul, that he can only do what he and the other children work out for themselves. If he does not believe that, then he will never reach the peak of his abilities.” (202). Colonel Graff wants to alienate Ender so he learns to not rely on anyone but himself. With this societal pressure and alienation from others, Ender’s desire for a childhood is undermined by his obligation to save