Wyatt Simmons English 406 Mr.

Baum 10/14/13

Cruelty or Building character?

Enders game by Orson Scott Card is a story about survival. The Battle School is a place run by the governments military. It exists to test children, to break them or make them better. One student stands out above the rest: Ender Wiggin, brilliant, ruthless, tactical and strategic beyond belief. Upon entering Battle school the tables are turned against him immediately. There are no friends to help him, nothing but enemies, and no mercy. In a place that is meant to test every single person that comes through Ender is treated unfairly but comes out proving every one of them wrong. Some will argue that the actions and events towards the young Ender are cruel and unjust. This is true, but without these actions could it really have been possible for Ender to become a young commander with great integrity.

Ender Wiggin is a six year old boy by the time his story begins. The book begins with a pair of commanders watching Ender through a monitor. Children adorned with a monitor are destined to be one of two things, the best of the best or more likely the latter of not being good enough. Now as its removed and hes returned to school with everyone else he finds that theres more in store for him. Officers and a Teacher from the prestigious Battle School show up at his house to take him. The Battle School can be equated to an elementary version of West Point Military school. One of a couple events to happen to him is that on the shuttle ride to the orbiting space station that another young boy assaulted Ender and with only reflexes he manages to break

the other boys arm. The reason this boy assaulted Ender was that the Commander who was accompanying the shuttle boldly and blatantly announced that Ender, in the future, will be better than any one of them. Ender is brought into the School with the announcement and decree that he is already better than anyone at the School.

By this decree he is hated instantly by all the other boys that just came into the school. It also sets him up to the superiors as a boastful and arrogant child. Every child begins in an army as the equivalent of an infantry man. They start as parts of platoons of five to six boys with a "Toon" leader who give them orders. Then there's the commander who commands everyone and assigns everyone's roles. "Let them know that kindness comes from their leaders and harshness from their commander" -Ender says as a way to teach those of the chain of command and the individual roles they play. Only through Enders experience his toon leader and commander were his enemies. His commanding officer and senior, Bonzo, was a Hispanic tactician who despised Ender. He used Ender as fodder or didn't use him at all. By doing this Ender actually became the no. 1 cadet with his forced form of strategy causing him to be undefeated and the best shot. Ender neer meant to become the top cadet in virtually every category that was open with the exception of Army wins. By becoming the no. 1 cadet out of everyone, even those that had spent the years of effort, he is instantly hated and to some an inspiration but only to some.

Now hate and overcoming it is what makes us stronger. But there is two sides to it, there are those who can pull through it or those that cannot and regretfully dont come out of it. The biggest problem noticed for Ender is that he starts off with being hated and despised. Some say that it is unnecessary to push someone with such cruelty and that if its to be itll be because of destiny. The actions taken against a child of six is said to be cruel and unjust because hes

dealing with problems that he did not cause or even try to be apart of. There is a point where Enders life is threatened on more than one occasion. His first commanding officer, who inexplicitly gave Ender his fame, despised him and hated him to the point where he attempted to beat Ender to death or have him give up entirely. These actions and events can prove to be the end of the line for any child and even some adults. Ender is no ordinary child though. Theres no point to lessons that dont bring with them pain. People cant gain something without sacrificing something, after all. But once youve successfully endured that pain, you gain a heart that is stout enough not to be overcome by anything. Ender Wiggin is without a doubt a better person from the pain and experiences he had to endure.

Nothing good comes without sacrificing something. Ender gave up all ties to his family, his childhood, and his life. By giving up all these things Ender enrolled in Battle School, became the best to ever pass through the station, and then becoming a Commander of a fleet in less than a decade. Despite his accomplishments Ender had to endure a severe amount of turmoil, such as having to extend his armies limit by fighting rigged games and proving all those that doubted him wrong. Battle School held the greatest challenges between the Games and other cadets. First were his equals of the cadets of whom many despised Ender and even wanted him gone. Then the games presented another challenge to him, using a completely new army to fight veterans. Within weeks Ender had proven himself a worthy adversary to the veterans and the teachers who decided what happened. Truly what was supposed to happen was that a Computer with all the knowledge about the statistics of armies and intelligence to pair together suitable games. But the problem is that the teachers dont want the system to go easy on Ender so they personally tweak it to give Enders army the impossible and unwinnable battles. This is where Ender shines

through and against all odds he wins every game that is thrown at him and still manages to do it with minimal casualties to his own.

An army to Ender is but a family, the head of the family being the commander, the Platoon leaders who delegate to the youngest, and the infantry who truly make everything come together. The commander is seen as a harsh and hard ruled person and the platoon leaders as the caring and kind to their subordinates. Ender personally has learned more from his experiences than most can ever hope to learn in a lifetime. While the actions against Ender were unjust and wrong it produced a person who can grow to make a difference and even change the world. The greatest accomplishment Ender has made is that he singlehandedly destroyed an alien race that threatened Earths way of life. Then he himself is chosen as a delegate and leader of a new colony on the destroyed alien planet. Upon his arrival and colonization he comes upon something that he recognized from his Battle School days and manages to find the remnants of the alien race he destroyed. What he finds is extraordinary, a single egg that holds the last remaining life form and from this egg Ender learns of what use to exist on that world and feels an obligation to set things right. Ruthless as he became, Ender still has the compassion to set things right for an alien race that he himself helped exterminate.