reaction

Discuss all things pertaining to the EnderVerse milieu.
engel417
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reaction

Postby engel417 » Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:38 pm

I had read Ender’s game a long time ago and was really excited to read it again. I loved this book the first time and continue to love it after reading it a second time. What makes this book so special is how it deals with the idea of a “warrior”. We find a six year old boy has the fate of humanity in his hands and then we get to follow all his struggles and his coming of age into more of an adult. We see how he hates himself for his actions and doesn’t know how to be happy. In a way I think a lot of people can relate to this. We all say and do things that at the time we feel are right and then later we regret what we have done. Also I feel people with depression can really relate to this book because of how hopeless Ender is portrayed. However the end is perfect and gives a sense of overall hope.
Another great aspect is how Aliens are portrayed. We see Aliens as “the nice guys” rather than like the alien from the movie ALIEN which we watched first. Due to this we get the sense of peace in this world and outside.
One part I didn’t so much care for was the portrayal of Peter and the seemingly lack of strong love between the parents and Ender.

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Postby mathe187 » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:17 am

I agree with you in that I also really liked this book. In the opening for our Scyfi class our professor said this is the most liked book and I can see why now. It is so different from other Scyfi books in that you can actually understand this book page to page. There were parts I re-read but that was just because I was surprised at what just happened and wanted to make sure what I really read was true. I had never read this before so I was very surprised at a few events, and even kind of jumped when I read a few of them. The most obvious was when we found out that Ender, when playing his simulations, was actually controlling a real fleet. (Good thing his plan worked out in the end). I’m intrigued with what you say about how we all have things that in our past life we regret. I also feel like this book makes this very apparent, and almost revolves around it. Ender regrets kicking his classmates butt on the buss, but in the end if he wouldn’t have done that he might not have been picked to command the army and the fate of the world could have been extremely different. One aspect of the book I had a hard time wrapping my mind around was the political writings Peter and Valentine did and how they became so powerful. I understand that the book portrays them as geniuses, but they were so young. But then again Ender was only 11 when he saved the world, so I guess anything’s possible. Did anyone else have trouble with this? I liked this book a lot and look forward to reading the next three.

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reaction

Postby frie0371@d.umn.edu » Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:31 pm

I had not read this book previously however, I have heard about it and what a great book it is. After reading it I definitely agree. It was certainly a more ‘relaxing’ read I guess you could say, I understood what was going on the whole time. Where in compared to some of the previous novels we have read that has not been the case. I did like the story line as well, that of ‘warrior’ with a destiny to fulfill. In this sense it made it seem more like an action drama, however, in the context in which the story line was used it made it a science fiction one. I liked how Ender had compassion, and that he just was not some ruthless child, like his brother. Of course he was capable of killing two characters in the book, but at the same time he had a conscious and was sympathetic about it. One thing that I did not understand was why Ender, being this miracle child of geniusness, allow the adults, who he was clearly smarter than, manipulate him? I as well was a little confused about Peter and Valentine and there writings. How could a child come to rule the earth? As people age in this book do they get dumber? Are there no genius adults? This part just seemed a little implausible to me, just a little. Otherwise a good read, and will definitely be reading the next ones in the future.

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Postby montg159 » Fri Dec 10, 2010 8:04 pm

I LOVED this book, it was a really easy read compared to some other books we have read. It really flows well as a book. I want to respond to a few of the comments made above. I don't think Ender really told off the teachers, or challenged them further when he was more intelligent than them because he's a kid. I know that this is a simple answer but think about it, sometimes he didn't like what he was doing and changed things up a bit but he always knew that the adults were controlling the situation. Yes it was his choice to come to Battle School, or they made him think it was, but he is so young he really has no idea of what the world is or could be. We were shown that videos were censored in order to be shown on Earth, letters sent to him were never given to him and home was never talked about, what would he have done if he decided to completely rebel? He knew that they saw him as their hope to saving the world, he struggled with believing this but upon seeing his own success I think he accepted it. He did challenge the adults through the different ways he acted as a commander, and how he changed the traditional way of doing things, this is what made him perfect, he followed his instinct but still allowed them to teach him and himself to learn. You could have had his brother instead who would have pushed and shoved his way to the top and not used his intelligence but that is not what they needed. When they instilled their faith in Ender the adults showed how intelligent their were, they gave him the means to accomplish his mission, the weapons and starcrafts etc. So we know that they aren't stupid by any means.
The other thing I want to respond to is about Valentine and Peter's political writings. I think that Peter would have obtained power at any cost. Being a kid could he really just come out and assert his dominance, no. Using the nets was a perfect way to get his opinion out there. Valentine and Peter aren't dumb, who would accept the opinion of a child. Peter couldn't stand to be the lesser brother of Ender so he had to assert his power on Earth. He used the system to his advantage to get his dream of power. Usually things said on the net are talk, people using this system to express opinions, and gain followers to their opinion. Just think about it, anyone with a strong enough opinion and enough followers can rule what does it matter that it is someone who is younger, I don't think that this changes anything, since Peter had already gained trust and followers they can't exactly shut him down when they figure out he's a kid.

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Postby DerekUMD » Tue Dec 14, 2010 10:33 am

This is actually my second time reading this book as well. I definitely agree that out of all the books to read in this course, this book is by far the most enjoyable and understanding book to read. Reading 'Ender's Game' definitely cleared up some confusion that I had after reading it for the first time. Some points I am still confused about and not sure if explained in the book is how is it that such younger children such as the Wiggins could be geniuses at such a young age. It was mentioned that their mother was considered very smart yet their father was not. Were these children maybe a scientific experiment set up by the government? Of course there are other bright children displayed in this book such as Alai, Bean, Petra, and Dink who I would also consider to be highly intelligent given that they are so young.

Another scene that I was initially confused about was the last scene in the book where Ender realized that the buggers were trying to communicate to him through the fantasy game that he had played while at the academy. He realized the buggers realizations after the buggers First Invasion and how they forgave the humans for their extermination.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the way the author described the academy battles and the battles between Ender and his enemies (Stilson, Bernard, and Bonzo). He describes it so well that I feel that I can actually picture the battle in my head word for word while reading which makes this book evermore enjoyable. Once I get some free time I will surely get the other three sequels!

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Postby JohnLocke » Sat Dec 25, 2010 4:13 pm

Frie0371-To reply to your opinion about how their were so many children who were well above average capabilities, you have to remember how far into the future that this book is based.

The book takes place hundreds of years into the future. Let's say that the population was doubled, increasing the chance of geniuses being born. three hundred children out of 4 billion doesn't seem too unrealistic.

Mathe187- I understand where your coming from on the subject of these young adults controlling so much and having such a great amount of influence, but this is a time where children are the last ones left to ask for ideas. I had a little trouble with this at first but when you think about it, Ender goes to a SCHOOL for children who are gifted both mentally and strategically. You know that times have changed when their is an entire program dedicated to molding children into our future leaders. Plus, it isn't that hard to express your views online and be taken seriously when your young because no one knows how old you really are. Peter knew that and saw it as his only oppurtunity to become as revered as Ender.
"It was what I was born for, isn't it? If I don't go, why am I alive?"


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