Tuesday, February 17, 2009
True Evil Revealed
The real bad guy wasn’t any one person. Rather it is the ignorance of the human race. Was going to war with the buggers the only choice? What about trying to contact them and making some sort of treaty or even just to find out what’s up? But they didn’t do that. Instead they got children to fight the battles for them. In the end, it all worked out in favor of the humans, but is that the point? It seems like there is an ongoing theme of kill before you get killed. Though Ender thought it was a game that he was playing with Mazar, he still wiped out the bugger’s fleet before they got him. So, even Ender lived by that rule.
Ender Wiggin
Ender was put in quite the predicaments. The first struggle that he encountered was when he was born a third. When problems arose they were most of the time physical opposition for academics and such were not obstacles for him. When these problems arose, he always solved them to they wouldn’t happen again (except when he played buggers with Peter). Take for example his encounter with the group that confronted him at school. Clearly it would be an unfair fight, _?_ to one. Ender went right for the Achilles heel, the leader. Nailing him once was not enough because Ender knew they would be back. To prevent that from happening, he kicked him when he was down, though “it was forbidden to strike the opponent who lay helpless on the ground, only an animal would do that” (Card 7). He started with a kick to the ribs, then to the crotch, and then ending it with a good blow to the head that made blood splatter. “Geez. Look at him. He’s wasted” (Card 8). So Ender ended it “for all time” (Card 7). He won and he would never have to face this again.
Even though Ender got his man down, Ender broke “the unspoken rules of warfare” and made sure he stayed down (Card 7). Since Ender intentionally caused great harm, this could be defined as an evil act. Does this make Ender evil? Throughout the book we see Ender either harming or killing someone/something. These are just actions that happen to be classified as evil. Where evil lies for one to be truly evil is in the heart. Ender’s acts were from his mind. After he did something considered cruel, he broke his own heart. He was in fear of being like his brother, Peter, who he viewed as being truly heartless and evil. Like when he beat up that kid after school, “Ender leaned his head against the wall and cried till the bus came. I am just like Peter” (Card 8). His actions distressed him so much that he cried. He was in remorse. Yet there was always a purpose behind what he did, and it never included for the fun of it.
It is hard for me to classify someone as being truly evil because I always look for and find the good in people and try to make the best of bad situations. No one in the book Ender’s Game is truly evil for something always disproved it. Peter for example, he totally has his own gender and he even thought of ways to kill his own brother. Yet deep down he loved him and felt bad for the struggles that Ender had to go through. He uttered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know how it feels, I’m sorry, I’m your brother, I love you” (Card 15) when he came back from the bathroom in the middle of the night one night thinking that Ender was asleep.
Even though Ender got his man down, Ender broke “the unspoken rules of warfare” and made sure he stayed down (Card 7). Since Ender intentionally caused great harm, this could be defined as an evil act. Does this make Ender evil? Throughout the book we see Ender either harming or killing someone/something. These are just actions that happen to be classified as evil. Where evil lies for one to be truly evil is in the heart. Ender’s acts were from his mind. After he did something considered cruel, he broke his own heart. He was in fear of being like his brother, Peter, who he viewed as being truly heartless and evil. Like when he beat up that kid after school, “Ender leaned his head against the wall and cried till the bus came. I am just like Peter” (Card 8). His actions distressed him so much that he cried. He was in remorse. Yet there was always a purpose behind what he did, and it never included for the fun of it.
It is hard for me to classify someone as being truly evil because I always look for and find the good in people and try to make the best of bad situations. No one in the book Ender’s Game is truly evil for something always disproved it. Peter for example, he totally has his own gender and he even thought of ways to kill his own brother. Yet deep down he loved him and felt bad for the struggles that Ender had to go through. He uttered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know how it feels, I’m sorry, I’m your brother, I love you” (Card 15) when he came back from the bathroom in the middle of the night one night thinking that Ender was asleep.
Peter Wiggin
Peter Wiggin, good or evil? Many would argue that he is very much so evil. When playing buggers and astronauts with Ender, Peter would cause great harm to Ender. Did this bother Peter’s conscience? There was one instance where Peter had his knee pressed high in Ender’s abdomen and Peter said, “I could kill you like this. Just press and press until you’re dead… You’d be dead. Everything would be fine” (Card 12). Obviously his intentions were for Ender to get hurt. That, though, was just a temporary goal for Peter.
What he really wanted to do was world domination. His tactic was not as straight forward and the outcome was not as immediate yet he found himself just as successful. By using a pseudo name, Locke, he was able to create quite the following on the nets. With his crafty typing and immense knowledge of the Warsaw Pact, he captivated an audience with great number. Later, it was revealed to some that he was a mere fourteen year old, yet it didn’t seem to matter for his ideas were far superior to the issue of his age. Valentine told Ender even though that Peter was not publically known; those in high places knew who Locke was. “He has too much power for them to worry about his age” (Card 311) With the hegemony still intact he was able to conquer the world in one fell swoop. So, Peter was able to subjugate the life bearing sphere as he always wanted, yet the aftermath is far more beneficial for all than Peter could have imagined. “‘Funny, isn’t it? That Peter would save millions of lives.’ ‘While I killed billions.’” (Card 312). The roles appeared to have reversed for Peter and Ender at the end. Ender despised Peter for his ruthless ways when they were younger, yet it was Ender that showed no mercy towards the buggers like Peter did to Ender when they played buggers and astronauts. When Peter was a child, he was definitely going through an evil stage of his life. In the end, he out grew it.
Card, O. S. (1977). Ender's Game. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
What he really wanted to do was world domination. His tactic was not as straight forward and the outcome was not as immediate yet he found himself just as successful. By using a pseudo name, Locke, he was able to create quite the following on the nets. With his crafty typing and immense knowledge of the Warsaw Pact, he captivated an audience with great number. Later, it was revealed to some that he was a mere fourteen year old, yet it didn’t seem to matter for his ideas were far superior to the issue of his age. Valentine told Ender even though that Peter was not publically known; those in high places knew who Locke was. “He has too much power for them to worry about his age” (Card 311) With the hegemony still intact he was able to conquer the world in one fell swoop. So, Peter was able to subjugate the life bearing sphere as he always wanted, yet the aftermath is far more beneficial for all than Peter could have imagined. “‘Funny, isn’t it? That Peter would save millions of lives.’ ‘While I killed billions.’” (Card 312). The roles appeared to have reversed for Peter and Ender at the end. Ender despised Peter for his ruthless ways when they were younger, yet it was Ender that showed no mercy towards the buggers like Peter did to Ender when they played buggers and astronauts. When Peter was a child, he was definitely going through an evil stage of his life. In the end, he out grew it.
Card, O. S. (1977). Ender's Game. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
What is Evil?
In fairy tales it seems as if the basic plot is always good versus evil and the good guys always win. Is this the case in Ender’s Game, written by Orson Scott Card? Who though is the bad guy and what makes them that way? Well, first we need to find out what evil really is. The Random House Dictionary defines evil as being “the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin” also it stated that evil is “anything causing injury or harm” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/evil). In fairy tales the bad guys, or evil, were normally out to get the princess and rip her of her happiness for their personal gain. Take for example Snow White. Her step mother would ask her mirror, “mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” The mirror would reply, “you, my queen, are fairest of them all.” This satisfied her for she knew that mirrors could not tell a lie.
http://www.sharebook.co.kr/disney/a/백설공주.files/image002.jpg
But when Snow White came into the picture, the mirror no longer appeased the queen for Snow White became fairer than her. The queen hated this so she went out of her way so as to make sure that she was out of the picture, so that the queen could once again be the fairest of them all. When the huntsman failed to do his job, the queen went out to do her own bidding. Finally on the third visit, she stayed and watched her victory. The queen was evil because she sought to cause harm to the point of death. Truly an evil act. What about those in Ender’s Game written by Orson Scott Card? Who in the book could be classified as pure evil?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
To Get Things Started
Just to start off my blog I want to point out something I have just noticed in the reading. At the beginning of every chapter the font is slightly bolded and is a conversation between the battle school's teachers/authorities/ whoever they are. Did anybody else notice that?
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