John Woods: "To Vina Jie-Min Prasad: Ender's Game's Ender"

Ender’s Game’s Ender

by John Woods 

            I believe that Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is the best science fiction novel ever written. My affection for it began when I first read it at the tender age of 9, but my opinion of the novel has only improved after reading it as I got older. It’s got something for every age group: crazy space-fight action for the youngest audience, edgy brooding character development for young adults, and reflections on the harms of too much responsibility for stressed high school students ( :’( ). However, what’s most interesting about Ender’s Game as a work of fiction is its outstanding ending; an ending made possible by the development of the titular character. For a majority of the novel, Ender is cool, calm, and collected… on the outside. However, we as the readers get to see the truth: while he may be a child prodigy, he is still, undoubtably, a child.

Let me elaborate a bit. While Ender is wrecking shop in the battle room, kicking Bonzo (pronounced BONE-SO)’s bones in, and developing new strategies to establish his chain of command, he’s also immeasurably lonely. He pines for his sister Valentine nearly daily and yearns for a time where he can be a friend to his army rather than a commander. The dichotomy between the Ender that most of the other characters see and the Ender that we see arises from the traumas that Ender experienced in his youth; namely, the torments of his older brother Peter. As Ender thinks to himself while hiding his tears on page 35, “Thank you for this, Peter. For dry eyes and silent weeping. You taught me how to hide anything I felt. More than ever, I need that now.” Ender endures many trials and tribulations during his time at the academy, but somehow, everything seems to come back to Peter and his torment. Yet, the feelings Ender has for his brother aren’t malicious. In fact, he says to Valentine on page 187, “I don't want to beat Peter… I want him to love me.” Ender’s desire to obtain his brother’s affection is so core to his character that when he plays the Mind Game and reaches the “End of the World,” the thing that the computer presents to him as the center of his psyche is Peter. When I read this scene as a kid, I tried to skip through it because I didn’t want to learn about Ender’s dumb brother; I wanted to hear more about Exciting Space Battles^TM. Now, however, I recognize this scene as one of the most important moments in Ender’s game, as it reveals to us just how important Peter is to Ender. This revelation and the various other points that build on this theme throughout the novel lead into an ending that completely smashes anything else that would dare compete for the title of “best ending.”

            After Ender’s destruction of the buggers, Peter takes complete control of the world’s politics, and becomes the new hegemon, using his prowess in intrigue to unite the various nations. Ender, meanwhile, is traumatized by his actions; he’s been tricked into killing an entire species and has been forced to sacrifice thousands of humans in doing so. All he wants to do now is save the buggers, but they were doomed because of the lack of communication. Similarly, after Ender becomes the leader of a new religion, Peter wants to make up with Ender on his deathbed but feels trapped due to the events of the past. Card draws a parallel between the communication issues of two brothers and two species, but while the issue of the buggers is left unresolved, he relieves the familial tensions. Peter sends a message to Ender asking him to speak for him once he dies symbolizing a truce between them after all these years. This resolution is where the genius of the ending works in to the story; as the first issue is resolved despite the horrible events that have transpired, it is strongly implied that the issue of finding a new home for the buggers will be resolved as well. This ending is a masterpiece because it inseparably binds the plot of the story to the development of the characters; by doing this, Card reminds readers that while this story is about invading aliens and interspecies conflict, it is equally a story about people, and how they change over time.

(Please buy Ender’s game if you haven’t already at https://www.amazon.com/Enders-Ender-Quintet-Orson-Scott/dp/0765337541/ref=dp_ob_title_bk)