Ender’s Game Essay, Research Paper

Ender’s Game

1.

Andrew Wiggin is the main character in the novel, Ender’s Game. His nickname is Ender. Andrew got his nickname from his older sister Valentine when he was born because Valentine was unable to say the name “Andrew”, so she called him Ender. It has specific meaning in the book because of the fact that Ender is expected to be able to ‘end’ events that someone else had started before him.

One event that has been started before Ender that he is expected to finish is the war between the humans on the planet, and the alien “Buggers.” Ender is expected to be able to end this war because his older siblings tested out impossibly in the governments way of determining aptitude, or ability to become a general in the army that is preparing for a fight with the Buggers. Rarely is a third child born, but in this exceptional case, Ender was permitted to be born because of his siblings test results. As soon as ender is born, a monitor is placed in the base of his neck to analyze his thoughts and senses to determine whether he is Battleschool material or not.

Ender eventually goes to Battleschool and takes mass amounts of badgering and teasing from the other kids that are training too. Ender easily moves through the ranks and frustrates every instructor that he has. He becomes a commander and is given an army. He eventually goes to a planet called Eros, find the Buggers, and conclude that they are bugs, and that they have a queen like ants do. Ender finds an old man and finds that it is Mazer Rackham, his enemy. Ender finally finds that all the games he had been playing since Rackham became his enemy, was the real Third Invasion. Ender is a hero.

Another event that Ender had to finish that had been started before him was his conflict with Stilson on the bus to Battleschool. Stilson and his friends make fun of Ender by calling him a ‘Third’ and they do not let him get to his seat on the bus. Stilson calls Ender names and summons his friends to hold Ender back because he had tried to grab Stilson’s arm in defense of himself. Ender says, “You mean it takes this many people to fight one Third?” and Stilson’s friends let go of him.

As soon as Ender is free, he kicks Stilson in the breastbone and knocks him to the ground. Ender went over to him, thinking that he would have to end this now or never, and kicked Stilson in the ribs, hard. He then warned Stilson’s friends, and finally, kicked Stilson square in the face, making blood spurt everywhere. After the fight was over, Ender went around the corner, and cried until the bus came, thinking he was turning in to Peter. “ I am just like Peter. Take away my monitor, and I am just like Peter.”