"'No. Of course not. So I'll put it bluntly. Human beings are free except when humanity needs them. Maybe humanity needs you. To do something. Maybe humanity needs me - to find out what you're good for. We might both do despicable things, Ender, but if humankind survives, then we were good tools.'
'Is that all? Just tools?'
'Individual human beings are all tools, that the others use to help us all survive.'
'That's a lie.'
'No. It's just a half truth. You can worry about the other half after we win this war'"
(Card 35).
I keep forgetting that Ender is a six-year-old child. He might as well be 26. This is such a deep and serious conversation to have with a kid. It makes you think about how serious life must be in the setting of this book.I like this conversation because it foreshadows a lot. "We might both do despicable things" sounds to me a lot like foreshadowing. It makes me wonder what sort of dilemma Ender and Graff might get into. It also enforces the motif that Ender is a tool to be used by these people - whoever they are - that talk at the beginning of each chapter. I think that's an effective tool in itself to establish this whole "tool" or "puppet" idea.
“I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse”
(Card 7).
Ender’s theory when fighting, which drives him to kill Stilson and Bonzo, as well as to fight brutally against the older boys in the battleroom, the Giant, and the buggers. He will not follow the traditional rules of combat, whether it is by fighting beyond the normal point, striking an opponent in a new way, or going against what he sees as the teachers’ rules for a game.
'Is that all? Just tools?'
'Individual human beings are all tools, that the others use to help us all survive.'
'That's a lie.'
'No. It's just a half truth. You can worry about the other half after we win this war'"
(Card 35).
I keep forgetting that Ender is a six-year-old child. He might as well be 26. This is such a deep and serious conversation to have with a kid. It makes you think about how serious life must be in the setting of this book.I like this conversation because it foreshadows a lot. "We might both do despicable things" sounds to me a lot like foreshadowing. It makes me wonder what sort of dilemma Ender and Graff might get into. It also enforces the motif that Ender is a tool to be used by these people - whoever they are - that talk at the beginning of each chapter. I think that's an effective tool in itself to establish this whole "tool" or "puppet" idea.
“I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse”
(Card 7).
Ender’s theory when fighting, which drives him to kill Stilson and Bonzo, as well as to fight brutally against the older boys in the battleroom, the Giant, and the buggers. He will not follow the traditional rules of combat, whether it is by fighting beyond the normal point, striking an opponent in a new way, or going against what he sees as the teachers’ rules for a game.
Roy this is really good. I see you are connecting to the book and you are enjoying it, well very much :D
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about how it's hard to keep in mind that Ender is a little kid. Especially after you find out that he killed Stilson and Bonzo (not intentionally, but still). It's amazing to think that in the book, humanity depended on the capabilities of a 6-year-old kid.
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