Ender's Game Essay

“Individual human beings are all tools, that the others use to help us all survive”

The Ender’s Game is a thrilling science fiction novel focusing on a boy named Ender Wiggin, whom exhibits both compassion and ruthlessness while also showing humanity through a child’s perspective. Ender Wiggin is a child genius, the third in his family, who was chosen by the international military forces to essentially save the world. In order to decide which of the three children will help save the world, each child has to wear a special monitor that enables the military leaders to see the world through the eyes of each child. As Peter, Ender’s brother, was not chosen goes on to hate his brother, as do all of Ender’s classmates. Valentine is Ender’s sister, and the only one that tries to protect him from their brother Peter. Eventually, Colonel

The buggers from Orson Scott Cards Enders game and subsequent novels, at first appear to be bug eyed monsters, a science fiction cliché. However as the story develops it becomes apparent that the buggers are much more than just a cliché, they develop as a sentient species, they undergo a transformation from varelse, “the true alien” (speaker 34) into raman “the stranger that we recognise as human but of another species”. (34) As this transformation occurs Ender learns a great deal from the buggers, in this manner card illustrates that there is much one can learn from the transformation of varelse to raman.

The protagonist, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, begins as a six-year-old boy who is always terrorized by his brother. Ender never gives up, even when it seems like everyone is trying to make him fail. He is young, however, which leaves him susceptible to bullies who detest his quick mind. Although Ender proves that he has the ability to be a killer like Peter, he hates himself for that. “And then a worse fear, that he was a killer, only better at it than Peter ever was; that it was this very trait that pleased the

The story of Ender’s Game acts as a foundational element in describing how empathy can lead to a true and more real understanding of alterity.

This novel is about a brilliant military strategist, Ender Wiggin, whose story takes place in the future where there is a constant threat of an invasion from aliens who have been given the slanderous nickname, Bugger. Ender’s childhood is not an easy one considering he gets teased at school for being a “third” only to come home to an abusive brother who is always harassing Ender and his sister Valentine and he has the weight of the world on his shoulders because they believe that he is the last hope for mankind to fight off the Buggers. After many years of monitoring Ender the International Fleet decides they want to recruit Ender into Battle

which and so Orson Scott Card's perspective of how we might react is with conflict and violence. This lack of knowledge and understanding on how we might react and the consequences of that is why ender's game is such a strong example of the science fiction genre. Although these reasons outline the science fiction principles in the elements of the novel, what makes ender's game such an outstanding representation of science fiction is that Ender's game represents a comprehensive study on morality, in particular the morality of how authority abuses their power. Ender, throughout his training in battle school and command school encounters a number of different ‘games’ from the previously mentioned zero-gravity laser tag to the final simulation against, which seem like games to ender yet he is too young and naive to see how his life has been planned out from his birth to his final fight with the aliens by the adults in his life, colonel graff especially.

“You won’t fail, Ender. Not this early in the course. You’ve had some tight ones, but you’ve always won. You don’t know what your limits are yet, but if you’ve reached them already you’re a good deal feebler than I thought.” (Card 286). Ender’s Game is a dystopian novel by Orson Scott Card that follows the training and thoughts of the protagonist, Ender, ultimately ending with the destruction of an alien race, the buggers. Ender’s militaristic and desperate society forces him to unwillingly commit genocide to an extent where Ender’s withering and empathetic mind begins to question the consequences of his actions.

“It’s not intentions that matter, it’s actions. We re what we do and say, not what we intend to do.” (Unknown)

However, According to Freud, the super-ego exists as a way to level out the ego, and, in a way, keep it in check. Therefore, the super-ego is responsible for an individual’s conscience, or, their ability to feel guilt. Freud continues his explanation of these concepts by asserting the idea that the super-ego calls our attention to our own failures and misconducts, and attempts to assist us in learning from them in order to avoid making similar mistakes in the future. Furthermore, the conscience is the form in which the super-ego controls our actions and thoughts, and creates guilt within us. Therefore, the ego is the decision-making, acting part of an individual, while the super-ego acts as the ego’s voice of authority and control (Freud).

     The novel Ender’s Game is written by Orson Schott Card. It is about a young boy who is sent to battle school. He meets friends and makes adversaries. In battle school, out in space, Ender, the young boy is a genius and is taught many tactics to destroy their prime enemy the buggers. He excels in school and battles his way into command school before the required age. There he is told he is battling buggers in simulations or is he? Throughout the novel, Ender is manipulated, bullied, and isolated, which creates many themes and messages. In this novel Ender’s Game the main theme is life is a game. Three characters that best prove this are Ender, Peter, and Bonzo.

The Super Ego aims for perfection, it works in contradiction to the Id. It controls our sense of right and wrong.

The Ego serves as the mediator between the Id and the Super-Ego and takes into account external factors to derive a clear view of reality. The theory has spurred much discussion in the scientific community, but the concept is firmly seated in college psychology

Psychological Egoism is a descriptive claim that humans by nature are selfish and their actions are motivated by some kind of selfish desire (Kay, 1997) .

The ego is the part of the mind that represents consciousness. It employs reason, common sense, and the power to delay immediate responses to external stimuli (Storr). When making a decision, the ego balances out both needs of the id and the superego. In Freud’s own words, “It performs that task by gaining control over the demands of the instincts, by deciding whether they are to be allowed satisfaction, by postponing that satisfaction or suppressing their excitations entirely,” (Freud). Being a stereotypical earnest