Ender's Game Answers to Questions Chapters 1-5

Ender's Game Questions Chapters 1 - 5

Chapter 1 – Third

1. Question: What attitude motivates the adults to lie to Ender?

  Answer: When Ender had his monitor taken off, he thought it meant that he was not accepted to battle school, but it was actually the adults final test to see what he would do without the monitor on. They wanted to make sure he was qualified because they knew he was a genius already. The adults wanted Ender at Battle School very badly, and knew that it was the only way to figure out for sure if he would be a good soldier.

2. Question: Explain what it seems to mean for Ender to be born a "Third". Show whether this is

a negative or positive fact to:

- his parents,

- his brother, Peter,

- his sister, Valentine, and

- his classmates.

  Answer: Ender being a "Third" means that he is the third child of his family.

  For his parents, having a third child was negative. They had both come from very religious families and were embarrased and ashamed as children. They both moved away and started a normal family with two children, but the government asked them to have a third child. That ruined everything they worked towards.

 This is a negative thing to his brother, Peter, because it made Peter feel like he wasn't good enough when his parents were asked to "try again." Peter doesn't like Ender because it seems like he is the best out of the three of them.

  To his sister, Valentine, it was a positive thing because Valentine and Ender have a strong, loving relationship. Valentine would do anything for Ender and she is glad to have him as a brother.

  Ender being a third is a mostly positive thing to Ender's classmates. It gives them someone to bully and an excuse to do it. They like having him there as someone to push around when they feel like it.

Chapter 2 – Peter

1. Question: Was Peter joking when he threatened Ender and Valentine?  Support your answer with evidence from the novel.

  Answer: Though his previous speech on killing Ender might indicate otherwise, Peter said in the chapter that it was all a game and that he could make Valentine and Ender do or believe anything. This makes me believe he was joking. 

2. Question: Why is Peter’s behaviour at the end of the chapter so completely different from the rest of the chapter?

  Answer: The parents came home and both talked with Ender about him not being accepted to Battle School because he had his monitor taken off. Ender felt frustrated at them because now there was no reason for him to be a third child. Peter must have noticed the frustration on his face and felt empathetic towards Ender. Peter wanted to tell him that he also knew what it felt like to be rejected.

3. Question: How do you feel about each of these characters (Ender, Valentine, Peter)?  What did the author do to help create these feelings?  Give examples.

  Answer: I feel that Ender is a brilliant little boy who has the ability to hurt people, but hates to do so because it makes him feel like his brother, Peter who he hates. I think this because Ender does things in a mature way. An example could be when Stilson began to bully him, but instead saying anything that could get him into more trouble, he didn't speak. I know he has the ability to hurt people because he beat up Stilson, but know he hates to do so because afterwards, he cried about it. 

  Valentine seems like a gentle girl who is very protective of her brother, Ender. I learned this when she came to Ender's defense when Peter stepped on him. 
  I feel like Peter is a strong boy with a low self esteem and uses his strength in bad ways. My feelings come from the part of the book when Peter forced Ender to play Bugger and Astronaut, then stepped on him and threatened to kill him. I think he has low self esteem because when he noticed that Ender got his monitor taken off, he boasted about how he got his taken off at a younger age, trying to made Ender feel bad and trying to make himself feel better.

Chapter 3 – Graff

1. Question: What did Graff mean about evolution working against girls?

  Answer: When Graff said, "..They don't often pass tests to get it. Too many centuries of evolution are working against them..." he was saying how over the years, girls were becoming less focused on fighting and more into girly things that would make them less eager to fight in a war.

2. Question: Ender is leaving to learn how to fight a war, yet he takes Graff’s hand. Why does Orson Scott Card (OSC) include this action?

  Answer: By leaving to fight in the war, Ender is letting go of all that he has and is bringing no possessions with him. Holding Graff's hand is used as a metaphor to show that he needs something to hold onto.

Chapter 4 – Launch

1. Question: Explain the meaning of the following statement: “Individual human beings are tools that the others use to help us all survive.”
  Answer: Certain people are needed to do things to help us live that others can't. For example, certain people grow food on crops that we eat, others make clothes that keep us warm, and we all depend on each other. Graff said this because he was trying to persuade Ender to join the battle school, and was telling him that people needed him to help them all survive.

2. Question: Explain the following quote: "Isolate him enough that he remains creative - otherwise he'll adopt the system here and we'll lose him." Your answer should include the terms: isolation, creative, adopt, lose.
  Answer: The isolation of Ender will make him believe that no one will be there to help him and he will have to be creative to find ways to fix his problems. If he were to adopt the system and think that someone will help him, he will lose the feeling of having to fend for himself.

3. Question: Did Ender mean to break the other boy’s arm?  What does this incident tell us about Ender?  Is it acceptable to do despicable things for survival?  Why or why not?
  Answer: Ender didn't mean to break the boys arm, but in the null gravity he was flung back and landed on his arm. This tells that Ender has more strength than he thinks and can settle his own problems. I think that in most cases, it is acceptable to do despicable things because if it is a matter of life and death than what must be done is done, but if it is something so despicable that living after it would be worse, than it isn't acceptable. It also depends on what it is and who it is done to. 

Chapter 5 – Games

1. Question: Ender works hard to express his feelings in private and not show homesickness in front of any other person. Is it healthy for him or not?   What is positive and what is negative about showing feelings? What is positive and what is negative about not showing feelings?

  Answer: It isn't healthy for him to not show homesickness in front of any other person because he is keeping his feelings bottled up inside. It's positive to show feelings because it can give others a sense of who you are and it releases stress that has built up inside of you, or releases a good feeling. It can be negative to show feelings because it could make others feel bad or make you embarrassed  For example, if someone did well on a test and let it show, others might feel bad or, if someone was sad and started crying, others might make fun of them. A positive thing about not showing feelings is that it could get a person out of a situation they don't want to be in and could teach a person how to control them self.  It is negative to not show feelings because it could eventually make someone immune to feelings and become emotionless. 

2. Question: How did Ender beat Bernard? Is this an unusual solution to his problem?

  Answer: Ender beat Bernard by creating a fake file on the messenger under the name GOD. He wrote to all of the students an embarrassing message about Bernard and then wrote another one under Bernard's name. I think it's unusual, but clever because Ender did it without physically touching Bernard or speaking to Bernard an he did it anonymously. 

3.Question: List the different coping mechanisms (ways of dealing with difficulties) Ender shows. For each one describe whether the overall result of each is helpful or harmful to Ender.

  Answer: When Ender came into his room and noticed that the only remaining bunk was the lower one by the door,he thanked them for leaving it for him instead of showing that he was upset about it. The overall result of his reaction was helpful because he later found out that the lower bunk by the door is normally for the chief officer.  
  When Ender felt homesick, he began to count doubles and that turned out positive because after getting to as high a number as possible, his sadness was gone.
  At night, Ender was homesick again and began to silently weep. This turned out positive because by the time Dap came over, his eyes were dry and he didn't look as if he had just been crying.
  When Bernard started to do things like kick Ender's bed and tripping Ender on the ladders, Ender learned to be quick on his feet, not leave his belongings outside of his lockers and to catch himself. This turned out to be positive because in the end, Ender beat Bernard.