In chapter 15, we learn what happens to all the characters after Ender defeated the Buggers. Graff is the new Minister of Colonization for the Hegemony and Anderson is offered a job as the commissioner of the football league. Demosthenes leaves the internet and the population laws are revoked so thirds, fourths, and even fifths can be born without special permission. Ender is forced to stay on Eros so Peter can't use his influence to gain power and rule the world. Ender is also awarded the rank of Admiral and is now allowed to watch the videos of him fighting Stilson and Bonzo and is also allowed to see their corpses. All Ender's friends from battle school eventually leave for Earth, leaving Ender alone once again. However, soon after, Valentine shows up. She convinced Ender to travel with her and together they go to a new colony to be the first to start the colonization effort. Years later, Ender finds a fertilized bugger egg filled with larva waiting to hatch. Ender searches and searches to find a place to let them hatch so they can have a second chance. Because, just like the Ender, the buggers didn't know what they were doing and they did not mean to murder anyone. Ender then goes on the write a book about the lives of the buggers signed "Speaker for the Dead" because he believes that he should be their voice since he killed them all. Ender continues his search for a place to reawaken the queen until the end. The novel ends saying "he looked a long time."
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I think that almost all wars are started because of the lack of communication. Every side thinks that they are right, so they won't communicate with anyone else because they don't have the same thoughts or views. When other nation's threaten one another, it is usually either out of fear or they hate a specific value that the opposite nation has. When we have situations like this, the only thing we can do is try to make the other nation understand our side of things and try to compromise so we don't go into a major war. Just like with the buggers, the entire world needs to band together to reason with them. This way Ender won't even need to be a great commander because the buggers won't attack. We all need to work together for a common good or else we will all eventually fall.
(B) I think that Ender has become stronger and smarter. Unlike Peter, Ender does these violent things to protect himself and to prevent further violence. Peter is violent because he enjoys it. If I were Ender I think I would feel badly for being so ruthless and harsh, but deep down I would know that I'm doing it out of self defense, not because I want to hurt someone. Ender is not mean and he is certainly not evil. He just wants to stay safe and doesn't want to be hurt anymore. He wants to stop violence and I think that is truly what sets him apart from his brother, Peter.
I think this creative thinking can help Ender's army get ahead even more in the future. Ender knows he won't be able to stay ahead for long. With Bean's creative thinking and smart tactics, Ender will be able to continue as the top scoring team. A smart idea may be to attack the army from above instead of head on that way they literally can't see it coming. It will also be harder for the enemy to fire back because they will be looking up instead of down.
I think a good example of when people don't want to come to terms with a change is when old people don't want to learn how to use technology and they are slowed down when they must use it. They get angry that everything is digitized and that they must conform to a new way of life. If you come to terms with the fact that you must learn new ways of doing things, I think you can start to see that these new ways were invented to make life easier and that they can help you in the long run. Just like when Ender was forced to do things a certain way, he learned that there are other ways of doing things besides the way he wants to do it and it may be an easier or better way after all.
During this chapter, Ender has stalled in his progress. Even though he's the best soldier Battle School has ever seen, Ender feels depressed and stops trying to improve. Why do you think Ender feels this way? Do you think this is realistic? Why might someone feel depressed even when things in his or her life seems to be going great?
Ender in a sense, is alone. Graff has made it so that he has no friends, no family, and no one to rely on. He has nobody and this makes him sad. He thinks of Val and how much he misses her and loves her. I think the feelings he has are realistic because someone can have all the money and power in the world, but if they are alone and unloved, what does it matter. Ender has talent and power, but no one cares about him no one wants to be his friend and for a nine-year-old that is very stressful and straining. Peter's pseudonym is Locke. This is named after John Locke, the philosopher who had confidence in human nature. However the name Locke suggests a mild persona with a positive outlook on life and merciful, but Peter is malicious and power hungry.
Valentine's pseudonym is after Demosthenes, the Greek philosopher who is known for speeches which led Athens into war with Macedonia. Just like Peter's pseudonym, valentine's manner is very different from her character's. Her character is more ruthless and troublesome, unlike she, who is kind and peaceful. Graff is angry and confused as to how the Fairyland game got a picture of Peter and put it into the mirror in the game. He is upset because he doesn't want Ender being distracted by memories of home. He also doesn't like the fact that he doesn't know what the game is trying to reveal about Ender. We also learn more about Peter and Valentine. We see how Peter wants to take over the world and wants Val to help him do it. This truly shows val that she's safe from Peter trying to kill her because it gives proof to her belief that he thinks he needs her. Peter and valentine are also give pseudonyms. Peter is named Locke and Val is named Demosthenes. This chapter shows us the true difference between Peter and Ender: Ender does the wrong things for the right reasons; Peter does the wrong things for the wrong reasons.
"I'm going to rule, Val... But I want it to be something worth ruling." -Peter
"They were leaving the only place he [Ender] knew to find them" -Valentine's thoughts
Dink succeeds to do so because he said the buggers were gone and that it is all just a control scheme. Ender believes Dink but he also thinks about the situation logically and says to himself how the buggers could come back. That it can't all be for nothing. There is definitely a chance they could come back. But Ender wasn't positive, no one could be until it happens. He was able to acquire wisdom from this because he had to think about it from many perspectives and it also showed him another side to the story that may not have been told as much as it should have been. Because while the rest of the world thinks the buggers are coming back, Ender now knows that there is a chance that the most likely won't ever come back.
"The enemy's gate isn't down" reminds Ender of the tactic that he used in a battle that was ruled illegal immediately after. When Ender is taking his final exam it makes him think that he can "win by losing" because he would get kicked out for cheating. This way he would never be allowed to be commander because it would be too dangerous.
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AuthorOrson Scott Card ArchivesCategories |