For over 30 years, Orson Scott Card has captivated readers with his Award-winning novel, Ender’s Game. The novel was such a hit, it was made into a motion picture. “While the picture loses some plot tension by assuring the viewer that Ender is basically an okay kid, it gains by showing the growth of the boy into his destiny as the One”, says Richard Corliss from TIME magazine. The unlikely hero, Ender Wiggin, is the perfect mix between his compassionate and kind sister, Violet and his strong willed, somewhat monstrous, brother, Peter. In a futuristic world where families are only allowed to have two children, Ender’s family is granted an exception in hopes that he will be the perfect person to save the world. At the beginning of his journey, Ender is only six years old, yet he must leave his family to begin training for battle against an alien group called the “buggers.” Ender faces multiple physical and emotional battles in this futuristic science fiction novel. Containing the top three components of a fantastic read, Ender’s Game will have examples of perseverance, entertainment, and so many plot-changes that readers stay engaged and constantly think “one more chapter.” This novel is by far one of the best ones written (Corliss 1).
From the beginning, Ender captivates readers with the amount of perseverance he has. In his world, he is an outcast because he is the third child. Hearts of readers go out to him throughout the entire novel. After getting his government monitor removed, Stilson, a schoolyard bully, threatens to beat Ender up. Insistent that Stilson will pick on him forever, Ender defends himself and beats Stilson to a pulp. When asked why he fought the way he did, Ender said, “Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too, right then so they’d leave me alone” (Card 15).
Later, Ender is picked on at battle school when teachers praise him in front of other students to purposely make them hate him. The teachers want to keep him focused and do not want him to rely on anyone because they see how capable he is. Since Ender is so focused, he can adjust to the assignments and pick up on things that other students easily miss.
Lastly, Ender pushes through and promotes into an army several years earlier than anyone else in history. Bonzo, his new commander, immediately dislikes Ender because he is much younger and smaller, thus perceived as being weak. Bonzo ostracizes Ender from the very beginning by telling him he cannot participate in battles, he must enter at the last minute and not fire under any circumstance. Ender agrees to follow Bonzo’s instruction, yet he pays close attention to other students and begins to practice in free time with other groups. Bonzo is humiliated when Ender outsmarts him by being the only one on his team unfrozen in battle, essentially gaining the highest score, and letting the underdog get the best of the situation, yet again.
Another component is the entertainment value Ender’s Game has. Readers constantly have entertainment with this book. Gerald Jonas, from the New York Times says, “I am aware that this sounds like the synopsis of a…science-fiction-rip off movie. But Mr. Card has shaped this unpromising material into an affecting novel full of surprises that seem inevitable once they are explained” (Jonas 3). Early on, during free play, Ender retries a videogame that has left everyone baffled. Students, including Ender, have played time and time again. They always get stuck at the part where the giant gives the player two drinks, one cup is poison and regardless of which cup is taken, it always results in the player dying. Lost in frustration, Ender determines there is not a way to drink either cup and decides to attack the giant, killing him and becomes the first to enter the next level. The whole book seems as though every time Ender gets comfortable, he is pushed to another level. In another challenge, Ender is promoted into a commander position. Unfortunately for him, his team has been reinvented and all his people are new. Shockingly, Ender’s team annihilates all their opponents, causing battles to get more and more challenging. The teachers begin making battles unfair to Ender, trying to make him break. Later in the story, Bonzo is so enraged and has so much hatred towards Ender, that he gets most of the school to turn against him. He eventually plots to try and kill Ender in the shower. Ender’s Game is full of excitement leaving the readers feeling like they are part of the story.
The final component enticing readers, are the plot changes. The initial change in plot comes as Ender is entering school. Graff, the school principle, speaks of Ender highly in the narration. He realizes that Ender is the only one that can save the Earth. Readers are left feeling like Graff is going to be a kind father-figure. The perception is that Ender is going to be treated like gold upon his arrival. After getting into the first few chapters, readers realize Graff is terrific at manipulation and his goal is to push him in every direction to make him feel completely alienated. Every time he makes a friend, he is moved. Ender is often left feeling sad and alone.
Another change in plot comes when Ender goes to the planet Eros to begin simulation training. Ender begins to command an entire fleet made up of his friends from battle school. One of his instructors begins to tell Ender that he is creating new simulations daily to try and train them on harder situations. The truth was, the simulations were actual fights against the buggers. The instructors did not tell him the truth as they did not want him to be empathetic towards the buggers.
The final plot twist comes just after the final battle, when readers think the story is over. Valentine comes to be with Ender and they retreat to another planet together. Although Ender is viewed as a hero, he feels guilty for killing all the buggers. As he is walking through the new planet, he comes across an area that closely resembles the video game he played in school. He began to follow the path of different levels to find a living bugger Queen that he plans to save, resulting in the ultimate plot twist.
In brief, for 30 years, readers finish the novel believing that Ender is in fact the perfect mix between his two siblings to save the world. He stands his ground and stays strong, yet he is also kind and compassionate when he needs to be. Readers leave being inspired, feeling entertained, and in shock of all the plot changes. Ender’s Game should definitely be on every reading fan’s book list.
