I have re-read my anticipation guide and I am surprised to say that my views on some things have changed. When I first heard about this assignment I thought that I would go back and read mine and that my opinions would stay the same, but I can say it's quite the contrary. Enders Game has changed my views on many things now.
1) "Lying is justifiable for the greater good." When I first thought about this I didn't agree with it. I always thought lying caused more harm than good. But Enders Game has proved me wrong. For instance, when Mazer lies to Ender about the simulator games not being real. If Ender would have known he wouldn't have beat the buggers, for he feels to much empathy for his enemies. So lying proved to have helped the human race more than harm it."It had to be a trick or else you wouldn't have done it."(pg 298) Graff was explaining the adults reasoning for lying to Ender.
2)"Sometimes violence is the only solution to a problem." My first time on this guide I only gave it a 2. I thought that there was always a better solution than violence, but seeing the many positions that Ender has been in, violence may be the only solution that works. Like when Ender was giving mini battle room lessons to the ones who wanted to attend, and Bonzo and some of his goons didn't like that and tried to attack him. The only way Ender could get out of that was to throw a few punches. Also when Bonzo cornered Ender in the bathroom, talking obviously wasn't going to solve Enders dilemma. So in some cases violence may be the way to solve a problem." We didn't come to hear the little bastard talk"(209) Ender tried talking, and making Bonzo realize what he was doing wasn't honorable. But obviously he didn't want to let Ender walk out of their without fighting.
3)" It is okay to kill someone in self-defense." I'm sticking with the same answer I gave last time which was, I think it's okay to kill someone in self-defense. If your life is on the line you have to do what it takes to stay alive. Ender proves my point further when Stilson tried attacking him when he was six. He didn't know what he was doing, he just let his fighting instincts take over. All he wanted was to make sure that Stilson would never even think to bully him again. Bonzo was the same, he was in a life or death situation and he had no one to back him up."There are some boys who want to kill you."(pg 204) Petra was warning Ender about Bonzo and his goons wanting to kill him, so Ender knew it was actually serious and not just people spreading rumors.
4)"Words are stronger than fists." Instead of agreeing with this 100% I agree with this 70%. Words in my opinion are stronger than violence, but they may not always work. Some people can be thick headed and not listen to your reasoning. Sometimes not talking at all can also help a situation. If you don't have something nice to say then just bite your tongue because retaliating back will just make the situation 10 times worse. "Can't think of anything to answer. Anything I say will make it worse. So will say nothing."(pg 6) Ender was being smart when Stilson was first picking on him. He was trying to be the bigger person and not make the situation worse.
5)" Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nations leader." Having thought about this one for a while, I decided to rethink my original answer and give it a 4. Now everyone is entitled to have a decent education, but not everyone could withstand the stress, and endurance it takes to become a nations leader. Take Ender for instance, in command school he started to fall apart. He wasn't getting enough sleep, so much so that he couldn't tell the difference between reality and dreamland. He was the best student in the entire school and he was going a bit crazy. It even went to extremes when he woke up to the taste of blood and he had been gnawing on his hand. If Ender nearly couldn't handle it, then most wouldn't be able to.
6) "Bullies hurt others because of low self-esteem." I still agree with my first answer. Bullies can have bad lives at home, or have been treated like that before, so it's the only way they know how to deal with things. But also it has to do with self esteem. Take Bonzo for instance, Ender is better than him at almost everything, so he feels degraded and pissed that someone so much smaller and younger can achieve better things than he ever could.
7) "Revenge is never justified." This I still disagree with, people should be held accountable for things they do that harm others. But I've realized that may not be the best answer. See I don't think Ender got revenge on Bonzo or Stilson but I think it could look that way. He beat them while they were down, but he did it to protect himself. But he felt so guilty afterwards that I couldn't imagine what it would feel like if he did that out of cold blood and just for revenge since they bullied them. So maybe revenge isn't the smartest way to go about things.
8)" Crying is evidence of weakness." I personally don't think crying is evidence of weakness, but after reading Enders Game I can see why some people think it is. At battle school if Ender would have cried and complained about how he missed his family, he would have been looked upon and treated very differently by teachers, and students. Some people might think that crying shows how you're not strong or capable of some things like others who don't cry. But I think it's fine to cry when needed. But being overly dramatic is a whole different story.
9)" Any action is acceptable in war." I'm sticking with my original answer on this one. When in battle you don't think about the greater outcome of what might happen by what you do. You think in the moment and in that moment all you're thinking about is winning. So you would do anything to win. When Ender was at the final simulator battle he put everything on the line. It was all or nothing, so having said that I think any action is acceptable in war.
10)"Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves." I have to admit I thought this question was a bit random and I didn't quite understand the purpose of it. But I'm answering anyways. I gave this a 3 like my original answer because of course we need rules and discipline, we're young we haven't gone through as many challenges as adults so we will make mistakes. But that doesn't mean we can't control ourselves. Take Valentine, she knows what she got herself into by helping Peter, but she can control herself and control what she wants to right and such on the nets. Also most of the kids at battle school are teenagers and they proved to control themselves just fine.
11)" Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change." I don't think that's the only way someone can create positive change but having read Enders Game it seemed that way. Ender sacrificed his childhood and the outcome was the survival of the human race. Actually many kids, Bean, Petra, Alia they all sacrificed their childhood for the sake of the human race. But that doesn't always have to be the cause. Someone could live a very satisfying life and still feel the need to give back."
12) "Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace." I agree with this. Having a feeling as to why your enemy does the things they do, or act the ways the act can give you a better perspective on them. It can change your feelings about them, maybe their not who you thought they were. I think Ender can prove my point fully. He needed empathy for the buggers in order to destroy them, because he needed to know how they think. But when he found the queen egg, he looked at them through a totally different perspective. He saw that they had innocence behind their reasoning, and he found a way to create peace with them, he was going to help them re-build their species. Creating passion between you and your enemies can help, maybe you aren't so different."I'll carry you. I'll go from world to world until I find a time and a place where you can come awake safely."(pg 320) Ender sees that the buggers forgive him for what he has done, and he hopes that one day the humans will forgive the buggers.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Enders Game Questions Chapters 12-15
Chapter 12
1) Ender provoked Bonzo by beating the Salamander army. Ender was better then Bonzo and that didn't sit well with him. He didn't like that Ender was advancing so much. Bonzo responded by trying to kill Ender. He got all of his friends and trapped Ender in the shower. The thing that saved Ender was Bonzo's honor. If Ender hadn't insulted Bonzo by saying he couldn't beat him alone so he had to bring all of his friends than Ender would have died.
2) Stilson was the first person Ender ever beat up. When he was six Stilson would bully Ender, and make Ender feel small and weak since he was a Third. But Ender didn't want to get bullied any longer and he wanted to make Stilson and his friends stay away for good. So he beat up Stilson, but he didn't stop when he was down he kept beating him up so he would be scared and never pick on Ender again. Ender was thinking of him because he always feels guilty after beating people up. But he wouldn't have to do it if people didn't pick on him in the first place.
3) Ender still expects help from the teachers because they are the ones who made him this amazing student in the first place. He thought that if they needed him so badly that they would come and help him out of a dangerous situation. He knows that he is the teachers best bet at success so shouldn't they help him live?
4) I had know idea that Stilson and Bonzo were dead. I knew that they were saverly injured, due to Ender. But I wouldn't have thought a six year old could kill someone. But I soon got a hunch after something Ender said,"It was like he was dead, standing there. And I kept on hurting him"(pg 222) He was talking about when he destroyed Bonzo in a fight. I realized that he very well could have killed him because he was capable of it. So after the Graff confirmed my suspicions I wasn't that surprised.
5) When Ender fights, he fights for a good reason. He's usually outnumbered and in a dangerous situation where he could very well die. So he takes out the leader of the bullies. He wants to make sure that they don't even think about picking on him again, because they know what's better for them. They don't tell Ender about their deaths because they don't want Ender to think he's like Peter. If he knew he killed them then he would back down from everything, and would break.
Chapter 13
1) "Perhaps it is impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be." This quote means that when you pretend to be someone for so long, then eventually you might end up being like them in reality. Like if you pretend to like someone to be nice, you might become friends because you've been pretending for so long.
2) I have mixed emotions about this. I don't think it's necessarily a "good" instinct, but I think its better than not having it at all. In order to survive you might need to end up hurting someone else. I think if it's for the better of your life, than that instinct can come in handy. Like Ender with Bonzo, Ender knew his life was in danger so he went with his fighting instincts.
3) Ender reveals his problems while Valentine explains her new identity on the nets. Ender talks about how he hates what he's becoming, he knows that he's a puppet but he can't do anything about it. He talks about how he doesn't just beat his enemies but "destroys" them. He understands what there feeling and thinking and figures out what their going to do. He beats them, by understanding them. Valentine talks about how she's helping Peter and how he's changed, but not fully.
4) Her conflicting thoughts are she loves them both, but they both have changed. Peter has became less violent and harmful, he's trying to do the right thing. While Ender has become the opposite, the teachers have turned him into a killer. But she knows Ender and she knows he hates what he's became, she's not scared of him and she still loves him.
5) Graffs views on the bugger war is simple. He doesn't know what the buggers are thinking and they did start the first invasion so the humans must protect themselves and finish the buggers before they can destroy them. They don't know if the buggers are planning on attacking and killing them all. The same happened to Ender. Bonzo initiated the first move into destroying them, so Ender had to put a stop to it.
Chapter 14
1) Ender knew there was something different about Eros. He didn't feel right about being there, the ceilings were to low and just the whole vibe felt off. Ender found out he was right when he asked Mazer, and he told him that the place was made and meant to house buggers.
2) Mazer is going to be Enders only teacher because he is the only one who is better than him. Mazer is the only one Ender can actually learn from. He has valuable information and knowledge since he fought the buggers first hand. But Mazer also tells the truth. He explains how he is the enemy to Ender and that he is going to push Ender to were he will never be the same again. The other teachers told him that they were his friends and the enemy was only the buggers. But not only that he can relate to Mazer. Mazer also got taken away from his family and know has to stay on Eros to teach.
3) Mazer was dishonest to Ender because he told him that all the battles he fought on the simulators were fake but in reality he was actually killing buggers. I don't think Ender could have handled the truth, it was smart of Mazer to be dishonest because Ender has to much empathy for his enemies. He understands them, and feels for them to much. If he would have known that he was killing buggers he wouldn't have done it, he would have started comparing himself to Peter.
4) I think that the teachers pushed the commander kids to far but it was for the better good. They needed to win this war and in order to do so the kids needed to be ready. Ender had always been a bit sad and depressed but all of the simulator games pushed him above and beyond. But it didn't matter in the end because they had won. After Ender wasn't completely broken but he wouldn't be the same again.
5) In a way the humans did what they thought was best. They were scared of the buggers and in order to dismiss there feelings they killed all of the buggers. I however don't think they should have done that. Killing a whole race is unnecessary, they could have just let the buggers know that they were the stronger race and to not bug them anymore. But that's not how things worked out.
Chapter 15
1) I think that Ender agrees with what Valentine is saying because that's what has happened his whole life. The adults are the ones who decide what happens not Ender. But I don't think he minds that much anymore because the people in control are ones he can trust. He has Mazer and Graff, the adults who can decide what he does. Alia, Bean and Petra has friends he will always have. And Valentine, the family member that has always loved him no matter what. He has people he can relate too and make him happy and that is enough for him.
2) Enders opinions on the deaths of Stilson and Bonzo is that it's bad, but he has done so many bad things that it doesn't make a difference.. He has killed the whole bugger race all he needs to do is had two more human deaths. He feels guilty and sad that he has caused so much harm to others.
3) Valentine made sure that Ender could never return to Earth for Enders own good. She knew that he was tired of being a puppet and that's exactly what would have happened. Any army on Earth would want Ender has there command leader. Peter would use Ender to his own advantage to become stronger. She wanted to protect Ender.
4) The ironic thing was that when they were younger all Peter did was cause harm and threaten them with death. But when older he ended up saving millions of lives. While Ender was always the quiet one, who never did anything wrong, but when he grew he ended up killing millions.
5) He learns from the egg the buggers left behind. He sees the war and other things through their perspective. He sees that they never meant to kill them, and that when they did, they weren't planning on coming again. He sees the innocence that the buggers posses. They want Ender to help rebuild there species and to take care of their new queen.
6) He authored it using "Speaker of the Dead" because he has had enough attention for a lifetime. He knows that if people knew he wrote it they would read it differently, since he was the one to kill the bugger race in the first place. He just wants people to see things from a new perspective, he doesn't care about the fame. This kind of reminded me off Card. If I would have read Enders Game knowing how Card felt about gay marriage I probably would have judged the book and read it in a different way. How ironic that Card decides to make Ender do that too.
1) Ender provoked Bonzo by beating the Salamander army. Ender was better then Bonzo and that didn't sit well with him. He didn't like that Ender was advancing so much. Bonzo responded by trying to kill Ender. He got all of his friends and trapped Ender in the shower. The thing that saved Ender was Bonzo's honor. If Ender hadn't insulted Bonzo by saying he couldn't beat him alone so he had to bring all of his friends than Ender would have died.
2) Stilson was the first person Ender ever beat up. When he was six Stilson would bully Ender, and make Ender feel small and weak since he was a Third. But Ender didn't want to get bullied any longer and he wanted to make Stilson and his friends stay away for good. So he beat up Stilson, but he didn't stop when he was down he kept beating him up so he would be scared and never pick on Ender again. Ender was thinking of him because he always feels guilty after beating people up. But he wouldn't have to do it if people didn't pick on him in the first place.
3) Ender still expects help from the teachers because they are the ones who made him this amazing student in the first place. He thought that if they needed him so badly that they would come and help him out of a dangerous situation. He knows that he is the teachers best bet at success so shouldn't they help him live?
4) I had know idea that Stilson and Bonzo were dead. I knew that they were saverly injured, due to Ender. But I wouldn't have thought a six year old could kill someone. But I soon got a hunch after something Ender said,"It was like he was dead, standing there. And I kept on hurting him"(pg 222) He was talking about when he destroyed Bonzo in a fight. I realized that he very well could have killed him because he was capable of it. So after the Graff confirmed my suspicions I wasn't that surprised.
5) When Ender fights, he fights for a good reason. He's usually outnumbered and in a dangerous situation where he could very well die. So he takes out the leader of the bullies. He wants to make sure that they don't even think about picking on him again, because they know what's better for them. They don't tell Ender about their deaths because they don't want Ender to think he's like Peter. If he knew he killed them then he would back down from everything, and would break.
Chapter 13
1) "Perhaps it is impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be." This quote means that when you pretend to be someone for so long, then eventually you might end up being like them in reality. Like if you pretend to like someone to be nice, you might become friends because you've been pretending for so long.
2) I have mixed emotions about this. I don't think it's necessarily a "good" instinct, but I think its better than not having it at all. In order to survive you might need to end up hurting someone else. I think if it's for the better of your life, than that instinct can come in handy. Like Ender with Bonzo, Ender knew his life was in danger so he went with his fighting instincts.
3) Ender reveals his problems while Valentine explains her new identity on the nets. Ender talks about how he hates what he's becoming, he knows that he's a puppet but he can't do anything about it. He talks about how he doesn't just beat his enemies but "destroys" them. He understands what there feeling and thinking and figures out what their going to do. He beats them, by understanding them. Valentine talks about how she's helping Peter and how he's changed, but not fully.
4) Her conflicting thoughts are she loves them both, but they both have changed. Peter has became less violent and harmful, he's trying to do the right thing. While Ender has become the opposite, the teachers have turned him into a killer. But she knows Ender and she knows he hates what he's became, she's not scared of him and she still loves him.
5) Graffs views on the bugger war is simple. He doesn't know what the buggers are thinking and they did start the first invasion so the humans must protect themselves and finish the buggers before they can destroy them. They don't know if the buggers are planning on attacking and killing them all. The same happened to Ender. Bonzo initiated the first move into destroying them, so Ender had to put a stop to it.
Chapter 14
1) Ender knew there was something different about Eros. He didn't feel right about being there, the ceilings were to low and just the whole vibe felt off. Ender found out he was right when he asked Mazer, and he told him that the place was made and meant to house buggers.
2) Mazer is going to be Enders only teacher because he is the only one who is better than him. Mazer is the only one Ender can actually learn from. He has valuable information and knowledge since he fought the buggers first hand. But Mazer also tells the truth. He explains how he is the enemy to Ender and that he is going to push Ender to were he will never be the same again. The other teachers told him that they were his friends and the enemy was only the buggers. But not only that he can relate to Mazer. Mazer also got taken away from his family and know has to stay on Eros to teach.
3) Mazer was dishonest to Ender because he told him that all the battles he fought on the simulators were fake but in reality he was actually killing buggers. I don't think Ender could have handled the truth, it was smart of Mazer to be dishonest because Ender has to much empathy for his enemies. He understands them, and feels for them to much. If he would have known that he was killing buggers he wouldn't have done it, he would have started comparing himself to Peter.
4) I think that the teachers pushed the commander kids to far but it was for the better good. They needed to win this war and in order to do so the kids needed to be ready. Ender had always been a bit sad and depressed but all of the simulator games pushed him above and beyond. But it didn't matter in the end because they had won. After Ender wasn't completely broken but he wouldn't be the same again.
5) In a way the humans did what they thought was best. They were scared of the buggers and in order to dismiss there feelings they killed all of the buggers. I however don't think they should have done that. Killing a whole race is unnecessary, they could have just let the buggers know that they were the stronger race and to not bug them anymore. But that's not how things worked out.
Chapter 15
1) I think that Ender agrees with what Valentine is saying because that's what has happened his whole life. The adults are the ones who decide what happens not Ender. But I don't think he minds that much anymore because the people in control are ones he can trust. He has Mazer and Graff, the adults who can decide what he does. Alia, Bean and Petra has friends he will always have. And Valentine, the family member that has always loved him no matter what. He has people he can relate too and make him happy and that is enough for him.
2) Enders opinions on the deaths of Stilson and Bonzo is that it's bad, but he has done so many bad things that it doesn't make a difference.. He has killed the whole bugger race all he needs to do is had two more human deaths. He feels guilty and sad that he has caused so much harm to others.
3) Valentine made sure that Ender could never return to Earth for Enders own good. She knew that he was tired of being a puppet and that's exactly what would have happened. Any army on Earth would want Ender has there command leader. Peter would use Ender to his own advantage to become stronger. She wanted to protect Ender.
4) The ironic thing was that when they were younger all Peter did was cause harm and threaten them with death. But when older he ended up saving millions of lives. While Ender was always the quiet one, who never did anything wrong, but when he grew he ended up killing millions.
5) He learns from the egg the buggers left behind. He sees the war and other things through their perspective. He sees that they never meant to kill them, and that when they did, they weren't planning on coming again. He sees the innocence that the buggers posses. They want Ender to help rebuild there species and to take care of their new queen.
6) He authored it using "Speaker of the Dead" because he has had enough attention for a lifetime. He knows that if people knew he wrote it they would read it differently, since he was the one to kill the bugger race in the first place. He just wants people to see things from a new perspective, he doesn't care about the fame. This kind of reminded me off Card. If I would have read Enders Game knowing how Card felt about gay marriage I probably would have judged the book and read it in a different way. How ironic that Card decides to make Ender do that too.
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