Ender's Manipulation Analysis

The Manipulation of Ender The book, Ender’s Game, is a book full of interesting events. A six year old boy named Ender Wiggin goes to Battle School, where he is continually tested and trained to become an elite commander. He succeeds at Battle School and eventually goes to Command School, where he leads his army to victory over the bugger troops. Because of this, the world is safe from being destroyed by the buggers. Even though Ender and his fleet are successful in defeating the buggers, Ender’s intelligence and skill is taken advantage of throughout the book. The I.F. takes away most of the freedom that Ender is entitled to and they manipulate him to do what they want him to do. This manipulation is quite evident throughout Ender’s Game.

This starts from the very beginning of the book. At the beginning of the book, Ender is given the choice by Colonel Graff, whether or not he wants to attend Battle School. Even though he is given a choice, because the I.F. continually monitored Ender for three years, they know how he is likely to react under most circumstances, as seen in this quote, “You live inside somebody for a few years, you get used to it...I’m not used to seeing his facial expressions. I’m used to feeling them (Card 39). This quote comes directly from Colonel Graff, who ultimately monitored Ender the most. Thus, they knew that he would most likely agree to going to battle school. Another example of manipulation from early in the book is when Ender beats up Stilson, who bullies him. Unbeknownst to Ender, Ender actually beat Stilson to his death. The I.F. selectively does not tell Ender this information. Later on in the book, Ender beats up somebody else to the point of death; his name is Bonzo. Like before, the I.F. also does not tell Ender this information, as seen in this quote, “At least they had the good sense not to tell Ender that the boy died” (266). The reason for this is because after monitoring Ender for three years, the I.F. knows that Ender has compassion. Thus, if they told him that he had committed murder twice, it would devastate Ender. This would not be good for the I.F., because Ender

For example, in chapter twelve, Ender and his Dragon Army battle against, not just one army, but two. Those armies are the Griffin Army and the Tiger Army. This is out of the customary, because in a normal battle, one army would face off against another, instead of one army versus two. Not only that, but Ender and his army enter the battle tired and exhausted, because they had just battled other armies every previous day of the week. This too, is out of the customary, because usually there is time for recovery and rest between each battle. Ender says, “I can’t do this” (252). Despite this, Ender and his army win the battle, which is exactly what the I.F. desired. The I.F. are more concerned about Ender receiving all of the training that he possibly can, so that he could be ready to fight the buggers sooner than later. This form of manipulation comes at a cost to the physical health of Ender. It leaves Ender continually exhausted, which is not good for a growing boy, like Ender. Another prime example of manipulation late in the book is when Ender defeated the buggers. Ender is deceived into thinking that he is playing a simulated war, instead of the actual war. Ender is quite mad when he finds out after the fact, as seen in this quote, “You never asked me! You never told me the truth about anything!” (342). Although Ender is mad that he is not told that he is