Ender's Game

Ender's Game is a science fiction novel set in the fairly distant future, in a time when aliens have already attacked Earth twice and the population is so great that a worldwide birth limit has been imposed. While some of Ender's Game takes place in the peaceful North Carolina countryside, the greater part of the story is set in outer space, and at the very end, on an alien planet. The exotic time and place immediately heighten the sense of adventure in the story, but mainly the setting reflects the feelings of Ender Wiggen, the main character of the novel. The physical isolation of the battle and command schools parallels Ender's own feelings of isolation and helplessness. The novel is written from the omniscient point of view, although most of the story is concerned with the thoughts of Ender Wiggin, the main character of the novel. Through his eyes the mood is one of stifling helplessness mingled with a sense

of urgency until after the climax when it becomes one of hope.

Ender Wiggen is the indisputable hero of the story. He is the perfect man (or boy) for the job: independent, strong willed, mentally tough, creative and mature. While Ender shares the leadership abilities of his brother Peter, he is also sensitive and good-hearted like his sister Valentine. The compassionate side of Ender is not what interests his Machiavellian military instructors, however. They manipulate Ender's talent and try to forge him into a strong, ruthless leader. Colonel Graff, the head of the battle school, is especially merciless and unscrupulous. Graff isolates Ender from his peers, drives him to the point of exhaustion, and, on several occasions, sets Ender up for situations in which he must actually kill other students in self defense.

Probably the most important secondary characters in this story are Ender's brother and sister, Peter and Valentine. Even though the both are geniuses like Ender, they represent two opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Peter is a sadistic, persuasive, and conniving human being who wants to gain control of the world while Valentine is caring, compassionate and moral even though she eventually aids Peter in his quest to rule the world. Together they create a formidable and balance team, though neither truly trusts the other. Most of the other characters in this novel are other students at the battle school. There are basically three types of students: The intolerant, malignant students who continuously attack Ender both verbally and physically, the few caring, friendly students who help Ender along the way, and the submissive, compliant younger students that Ender 0commands. The only real exception is Bean, one of Ender's subordinates who in many ways is like a younger version of Ender, and who later becomes one of Ender's squadron commanders. One other unique character is Mazer Rackham, Ender's instructor in the last part of the book, a man who single-handedly