Monday, November 23, 2009
Manipulation
I finished Ender's Game last night. Overall, I really liked the book, althoug I felt like it dragged a little bit in the middle. The theme that stood out to me, was manipulation. Ender's entire life was manipulated; the fact that he was born at all as a third child, his confrontation with Stilson, getting him to go to Battle School, shaping his relationship with his peers, and the list could go on and on. The interesting thing was that Ender was always very aware that he was being manipulated and that everything that was happening to him was part of the adults' plan for him, yet he continued to play their games. I think he didn't resist because he didn't know what kind of life he'd be living if he wasn't at battle school; he didn't know any other life. Part of me is disgusted with the adults in the book for being so manipulative and partially taking away Ender's agency, but the other part of me is impressed that they were so successful at predicting his actions and where they could lead him. In the end, I felt sad for Ender. His life was not his own for the first eleven years of his life and then once the final battle was over, he still couldn't live a normal life, he was just left hanging. Good pick Randi! I've always wanted to read this book.
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I totally agree with everything you said. I felt really sad for Ender. His life was chosen for him, like you said. He was chosen to save the earth. Wow, no pressure. And even at the end, he's living in a hollow shell of a planet and he's not really happy. I wanted him to get married and have a family and all the loose strings to be tied up like that so I could for a normal life for him, but it didn't happen. I don't normally care TOO much about happy endings in books, but this one needed it and I felt sad that we didn't get it.
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