What is Ender's game?
Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 2:41 pm
Feeling philosophical? I am.
So the book is called Ender's Game. Obviously the story is about a game associated with Ender. But what is Ender's game? I think most of us assume it's the battle room game, as that gets the most attention, is the most interesting, and seems to really develop his character and strategic/tactical skills. But in the short story that preceded the novel, the battle room gets about as much attention as the combat simulator. However, as we know, the simulator bears far more significance in the long run, and while it is called a game at the time, it is the fact that it is not genuinely a game that really gives it its meaning. Ender's deception through the "game" has a bigger impact on his character for the remainder of his inclusion in the Enderverse. Is the combat simulator the real Ender's game? Or what about the Fantasy Game? That game does a great deal to reveal Ender's psyche to the Battle School staff, and really reveal the internal workings of his mind, including his own internal struggles with his brother and sister. In a sense, no game really gets at the heart of who Ender is or is afraid of becoming more than the Fantasy Game? Is that the real Ender's game?
What did OSC have in mind? Any thoughts?
So the book is called Ender's Game. Obviously the story is about a game associated with Ender. But what is Ender's game? I think most of us assume it's the battle room game, as that gets the most attention, is the most interesting, and seems to really develop his character and strategic/tactical skills. But in the short story that preceded the novel, the battle room gets about as much attention as the combat simulator. However, as we know, the simulator bears far more significance in the long run, and while it is called a game at the time, it is the fact that it is not genuinely a game that really gives it its meaning. Ender's deception through the "game" has a bigger impact on his character for the remainder of his inclusion in the Enderverse. Is the combat simulator the real Ender's game? Or what about the Fantasy Game? That game does a great deal to reveal Ender's psyche to the Battle School staff, and really reveal the internal workings of his mind, including his own internal struggles with his brother and sister. In a sense, no game really gets at the heart of who Ender is or is afraid of becoming more than the Fantasy Game? Is that the real Ender's game?
What did OSC have in mind? Any thoughts?