Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow
“Ender’s Game” and “Ender’s Shadow”, both written by Orson Scott Card, are very interesting novels that allow the reader to interpret the books and characters more deeply than they normally would. The two books are of the same story, but from two different characters’ points of view.
The alien race known as Formic, or buggers in common use, have attacked Earth twice already and there is no doubt they will soon attack again. The world government has tested thousands of children and picked the few elite that will run the next war against the buggers. These children are not even teenagers, yet the future of all humans is put into their hands. One child named Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin is the most promising. He is brilliant at everything he does and seems like the only chance the humans have to survive.
“Ender’s Game” follows the life of Ender Wiggin as a younger sibling in school, a brilliant student in command training, and a master fighter in the war. Ender, coming from a violent and dangerous environment, has trouble fitting into the organized life in Battle School. He also needs to survive the teachers’ need to break him into an elite fighter. “Ender’s Game” is an inspiring page-turner, that is a must read for every science fiction lover.
“Ender’s Shadow” follows the exact same time-line and plot that “Ender’s Game” does, except it follows another character, Bean. Coming of the dangerous and deadly streets of Rotterdam, Bean’s only concern is survival. Then just as it seems like the end for Bean, he meets Sister Carlotta and she tests him and takes him to Battle School. Bean is not only the youngest student in the school and the smallest, but also the smartest. No one can come close to Bean’s test grades, not even the brilliant Ender. However, as Bean learns, Battle School means more than just his own survival; it means the survival of every human on Earth. Being the smallest but smartest in the school, Bean gets into a lot of physical trouble with bigger, stronger kids. He must help Ender survive, while keeping himself alive, and trying to save all humanity, all at the age of six.
“Ender’s Shadow” and “Ender’s Game” give perfect insight to the characters’ thoughts and feelings about themselves and other students. Getting the story from Bean and Ender’s perspective is a brilliant technique by Orson Scott Card. The reader sees Ender’s reasoning for his actions, which are then interpreted by Bean and vice versa. This allows for an interesting comparison between the two and how, while the reasoning for the actions seems intelligent, the interpretation makes it seem brainless. The reader gets the full story and is able to fill in gaps left by the book before it, and the best part is; they do not need to be read in any particular order.
The two books also give a perfect look into war and what it truly is; political and physical. While the story follows the super geniuses fighting the war, it also follows the political strategizing of the war and after it. After the war with the buggers is over, the war on Earth will begin. Each country is jockeying for power in the next war before the first war is even over. This makes “Ender’s Game” and “Ender’s Shadow” extremely intriguing and thought provoking.
What makes “Ender’s Game” and “Ender’s Shadow” as great as they are is the fact that it all seems plausible. The fight against an alien force for human survival doesn’t necessarily come across as too realistic, but the political strategizing and fact that the future may be run by prepubescent kids seems plausible. The kids were all genetically enhanced one way or another, which is what scientists are working on today. It seems likely that in a few hundred years, genetically enhanced geniuses will be running the world.
The pair of books is also very inspiring to the kids that read them. Reading about super geniuses fighting wars against aliens is very fun, but reading and understanding their reasons and feelings makes the reader feel hopeful that they aren’t really all that dumb. Many people have mentioned on how they feel this way towards the books, and it gives the reader that little hope that maybe the world won’t turn out to be filled with drooling idiots.
The books are so well written that the reader can imagine themselves as one of the characters, which makes the books so relatable. The books surround the topic of a kid’s difficulties with others, their surroundings, and the confusion of their future. The books constantly bring up either Ender’s or Bean’s fear of what will come, as is every kids fear. No one knows what will happen to them when they grow up, and it is frightening to think about what could be. The reader is able to relate to the character through this fear and sympathize for them. The book also contains the stereotypes any kid would encounter, like the big popular kid, the scary teachers, the smart kid, the threatening kid. Everyone knows someone like these people and is able to picture them in the story and make the book as close to their life as possible. Orson Scott Card does a perfect job symbolizing a child’s life into one big game and war, although in the book that takes a very literal meaning.
The most relatable person in this book is Ender. He is the perfect example of a troubled kid that can’t seem to catch a break. He’s constantly bullied and put down at home or in school, and when he tries to stop it, he gets into even bigger trouble. He is the smart kid that everyone loves to hate. With abusive peers and siblings, he has grown up to be cautious of everyone and not very trusting. He is the character I can relate to most because of these factors, and being able to relate to the main character is important in a book.
“Ender’s Shadow” and “Ender’s Game” are great books whether you like science fiction or not. It symbolizes a kid’s struggles and challenges in life and puts it into very literal terms. Any kid, whether in high school or middle school, should read these two books because it will show them that they are not alone and that others go through the same problems.
