Revisiting the Anticipation Guide

Lying is justifiable if it's for the greater good.

This was the first statement in the anticipation guide that I took before reading the book, “Ender's Game.” I had to choose a bubble out of five, one being strongly disagree and five being strongly agree. For this statement, I chose a four when I still hadn’t read the book because though I know that lying is never good and doesn't often lead to a good thing, I have been in situations where lying is the best option.

Now, after I have read the book, I think of Colonel Graff and Mazer Rackham. Colonel Graff lied to Ender throughout the book about the consistency of his battles and what he was training him for. A specific time this was demonstrated was when Graff and Anderson made Ender the leader of the unused Dragon Army because, according to Graff, “We had a lot of extra uniforms to use up,” (156). This shows that Graff was only trying to push Ender his hardest and would do whatever he could do make him as worn out as possible. Mazer Rackham lied to Ender about the final test in his studies and how it was actually the final invasion (296, 297). Mazer lied to Ender because he probably weighed the options and knew that losing his trust from Ender wasn’t as important as saving the entire world. In that case, for Rackham, lying was justifiable because it was for the greater good. Also, at the beginning of the book, Ender was lied to about his monitor. By having it be taken off, Ender thought he didn’t pass the test to go to battle school, but it was actually the final test to see how he would react to having the monitor taken off. Graff told Ender, “The final step in your testing was to see what would happen when the monitor came off. We don’t always do it this way, but in your case-” (19) Graff probably thought that this test was more important than Ender having a fair, honest test.  I still believe that lying is never good no matter what the reason, and though I have been in situations where lying is the best option, I think that honesty counts more than anything. I now give this statement a two after reading the book.

Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem.

For this statement, I chose the second bubble before reading "Ender’s Game" because I disagreed. I reasoned, communication is the most important thing when there is a problem and violence just leads to something worse. I don't like it when violence is involved in fights and though I don't strongly feel that violence is the most horrible thing in the world, I avoid it when I can.

Now, after reading the book, I relate this theme to Ender accidentally killing Bonzo in the bathroom (210, 211).. When Ender was in there all alone, ganged up on by boys who were all stronger than him, he really had no other choice but try to get out alive. This was demonstrated when Ender thought, “If I’m to walk away from here, I have to win quickly, and permanently,” (209). I can also relate it to the situation in which Ender had beaten up Stilson. Ender did it because he had to show Stilson and his gang that they needed to stop picking on him. It wouldn’t have worked if Ender just asked them to stop, he needed to show them somehow. This was demonstrated when Ender told the gang, “You might be having some idea of ganging up on me. You could probably beat me up pretty bad. But just remember what I do to people who try to hurt me. From then on, you'd be wondering when I'd get you, and how bad it would be,” (7). These relate to the theme because in the situations, his only options were to beat up or be beaten up and possibly killed. I can also relate it to the main storyline: fighting with the buggers. The humans and the buggers had no means of communicating and that led to the two species fighting in a war. After reading this book, I realized that sometimes, there really is no way out of violence, even though I hate the thought of it. For some situations, it’s the only way to get the message across. After reading the book and thinking about the examples, I will give this statement a three.

It is okay to kill someone in self-defense.

Before reading the book, I stated: This was hard to choose, because I would hate to even be in a situation where I might need to kill someone in self defense. I chose the third bubble because if that is the only option, it's what needs to be done. Killing someone would be a horrible thing though, and it would be hard to live with myself if I ever did. I hope I never need to make the choice.

Now that I have read the book, I can relate this to Ender killing Bonzo and Stilson, just as I did for the last theme. Ender was cornered in the bathroom, and knew he was weaker than his opponent (208). Ender was also cornered by Stilson and his gang at school when he came to the conclusion of fighting back (7). I can relate the statement to the humans killing the buggers too. Ender and his friends killed the buggers because if they didn’t, the buggers would have killed them (295). These examples illustrate the fact that if what Ender did wasn’t done, he would have died or killed many others. It is a trade off, because killing someone ruined Ender’s life and changed him permanently, but if he didn’t, he would have died. One must ask themselves, “would I be better off living or dying in the end?” I think that it would be such a hard thing to do to kill someone, but sometimes it must be done and with that said, I will stay with the third bubble.

Words are stronger than fists.

I answered this statement before reading Ender’s Game with a four. I chose a four because there are certain words that can sting more than a punch. Some things that people say hurt very bad, and though it's in a different type of pain than physical, words can be just as bad if not worse. I didn't choose a five for this one because it isn't always true. Sometimes, being beaten up hurts more than a rude remark.

From the book, an example of words being stronger than fists is when Locke and Demosthenes wrote their columns. A specific time is when Valentine told Ender that Peter prevented a big war through Locke (311).  Without doing any physical harm, Peter’s disguise Locke spoke out and made quite a difference. Another time when words were used instead of violence is when Ender spoke for the buggers and made more of a difference with the interaction of the two species than when the war went on (322-324). This was illustrates how violence doesn’t do any good, but communicating actually solves problems. I think that words are extremely powerful and can do even more than fights. Before I read the book, I didn’t think about words being stronger in a good way, only bad, but now that I have read the book, I realize that words can not only do damage, but can also repair relationships and problems like the queen bugger’s words did. I’ll give this statement a four again, because sometimes words just can’t beat the physical power a person may have, but usually words are more significant.

Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem.

Before I read the book, I said, This statement I agree with for most cases and chose a four again. Bullies that I can think of usually have issues and need to take it out on others. It is something that I would want to feel bad about, but may not because of how they deal with their problems. Of course, there are people who simply feel the need to be mean and that is why I don't strongly agree.

In “Ender’s Game”, the bullies I think of are Peter, Stilson, and Bonzo. Peter bullied Ender before Ender went to battle school by teasing, threatening and hurting him. A specific example is when Ender wanted to stop playing a game with Peter, but Peter didn’t want him to stop. “Peter pressed with his foot. Pain shot through Ender; he doubled up,” (12). I think Peter bullied Ender because he was jealous. Ender, a very intelligent boy, got to keep his monitor on for a longer time than Peter and it made Peter feel like he wasn’t good enough. His brother was always better than him and that gave Peter low self esteem. Stilson was a bully at Ender’s school with a gang that made him feel more powerful. He taunted Ender about being a third and made fun of him because he was bigger than Ender. When Stilson noticed that Ender had his monitor taken off, he said, “...Thought you were better than us, but you lost your little birdie, Thirdie, got a bandaid on your neck,” (6). When Stilson said this, it showed how he, along with Peter, was jealous of Ender being smarter than him. Stilson also had low self esteem and needed to make himself feel better by trying to put Ender down. Bonzo Madrid was the commander of Salamander Army. He was mean to Ender the minute they met and at first, it was because Bonzo was upset about having an untrained member of his army. After he realized that Ender was a good soldier though, Bonzo gained even more resentment towards him. An example of a time Bonzo bullied Ender is when Bonzo refused to let Ender play in the battle room with his friends until Ender finally threatened to get Bonzo iced (87). Bonzo was a mean boy, but didn’t have much of a reason to be mean besides the fact that Ender was a fast-learning soldier making Bonzo feel intimidated. Not all bullies have low self esteem I’m sure, but a lot do. The bullies from “Ender’s Game” mostly do have low self esteem and the bullies I can think of do too, so I will stay with a four.  

 
Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders.

For this statement, I answered with a two before I read the book because if someone tries very hard, their level of intelligence doesn't matter. To be a leader, one needs to be at least a little smart, but they may have better leader skills than math or science. Also, they could have changed since they were a kid and became much more knowledgeable.

Now that I have read “Ender’s Game”, I relate this theme to Ender and Peter mainly. Ender chose to be one of his nation’s leaders and he did have the best education possible for what he was training for. The battle school was a hard place to be, but it was made to train kids to fight. This was specifically illustrated when Colonel Graff told Ender, “Maybe you'll break down under the pressure, maybe it’ll ruin your life...”(25). Since Ender was a very smart child, the battle school did help him, but other kids there may have not learned as well, and didn’t get to be leaders. This shows how some children who weren't the best and brightest students still got the best education. Peter, who didn’t have any training or help besides his sister, became very successful though, and he was definitely one of the nation’s leaders by the end of the book. From his own clever plan, Peter made a peace treaty to prevent a big war and made the Hegemon’s Council do whatever he wanted (311). Both of the boys were very smart and both became leaders of the world, but only one had the training. Because of this, it seems appropriate to choose the third bubble because half of the examples from the book had the best education.  

Revenge is never justified.

I answered this with the third bubble at first because I know that forgiveness is a great personality trait, but I have definitely felt the need to give back what I've taken. It is bad to feel this way, but I can't help that I do and that's who I am! Since I understand both sides of the statement, I decided to be in the middle.

In the book, this theme relates to the time when Ender got revenge on Bernard by sending embarrassing messages out to the rest of the “launchy” group. The trick worked for Ender when “Bernard went red with anger,” (50, 51). Another example of revenge in “Ender’s Game” is when Bonzo tried to get revenge on Ender for beating his army in a battle (210, 211). When Bonzo came with a gang to beat up Ender, it wasn’t justified because it was much worse than what Ender did to him. When Ender got revenge on Bernard, it wasn’t justified either because, though Bernard was rude to him, Ender didn’t receive enough of a threat to humiliate Bernard. Revenge is a sign of immaturity most of the time and is unnecessary. However, sometimes people need to realize how it feels to be hurt or embarrassed. I will give this theme a two because revenge is just another reason for the person to want to be mean.

Crying is evidence of weakness.

Before I read the book, I said: I strongly disagree with this statement and decided to give it a one. Crying can be really helpful when stress builds up inside and shows strength in my opinion that one isn't too afraid to let out the bad feelings inside. Sometimes, after a good cry, one will be ready to take on more because of letting go of their past problems.

In the book, Ender cried on his first few days of battle school because he was homesick (43, 44). “He felt a sob rise in his throat and swallowed it down; he could not see his plate,” (43). Throughout his stay at battle school, Ender also cried during moments where he was simply frustrated. Ender cried on Eros, after he had killed the buggers (298). Crying can be a hard thing to do at times when it will make a person vulnerable, but it doesn’t show weakness, it shows that the person has dealt with too much and needs to let out their feelings. Ender didn’t like to cry because he felt that it showed weakness, but Ender was obviously a very strong person. The strongest people in the world have all cried at least once in their lives, and it takes strength to admit it. Those who cry more than others just can’t handle as much as others. I still think that it doesn’t show weakness and give it a one again.

Any action is acceptable in war.

When I took the anticipation guide before reading the book I said, For this statement, I wasn't really sure what to put, so I went with the third bubble. I think that when something drastic needs to be done, it just needs to be done and there is nothing that can be done about it. I don't have any experience in war, so I wouldn't know when something is acceptable and when something isn't.

After reading the book, I can relate this to Ender beating up Stilson. Ender was trying to figure out how to keep the gang from giving him revenge the next day. “Ender knew the unspoken rules of manly warfare, even though he was only six. It was forbidden to strike the opponent who lay helpless on the ground; only an animal would do that,” (7) From this, I can see that to Ender, there are certain rules in war. The rule mentioned about not striking the opponent who lay on the ground seems reasonable and I can understand why that would be a good thing to go by. An action that Ender made for his battles in battle school that was drastic was making five toons instead of four (175). I didn’t know about unspoken rules in war before reading the book, but know that I know, I will give this theme a two.

Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves.

Before reading the book, I said: I agree that teenagers need discipline and rules, but I don't agree that all teenagers can't control themselves and that is why. Rules are there for organization and so that things stay in order, but without rules, there are many teenagers who would do just fine without strict discipline. Because of my agreeing to the first part of the statement, but not the second, I chose the second bubble.

In “Ender’s Game,” some of the teenagers I think of are Valentine, Peter, and Bonzo in their later years. Valentine was an organized character who would do just fine without rules because she made the right decisions. This was demonstrated when Valentine said, “Ender, you wouldn’t be happy spending the rest of your life as Peter’s pawn,” (312). She was being responsible and trying to help her brother without needing to be guided to do so. Peter turned out to be a very smart, clever boy and practically ruled the world by fourteen. He had no boundaries while doing that and started his plan before he even was a teenager. This demonstrates that when teenagers don’t have discipline, they can do crazy things like be the leader of the world. Peter was not only in control over himself, but many other people. Bonzo, who was a strong boy, made bad choices like trying to beat up a younger child (211, 212). Without rules, he could very easily do damage and make bad decisions. Even with rules, he didn’t listen to what his conscience may have been telling him. These three examples are all different and shows that some teenagers do need discipline because they can’t control themselves, but it always depends on the person. I will give this statement a three because it can go both ways and I can’t decide whether I agree or not.

Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change.

When I answered this statement before reading “Ender’s Game,” I answered the statement with the third bubble. I reasoned: Though there can be sacrifices made, there doesn't have to be. Positive change can be as big as starting an organization which will often take some sacrifice, but can also be as little as sitting with someone new for lunch which wouldn't usually take sacrifice. Since it may or may not take sacrifice, I chose the middle one meaning I agree and disagree.

A positive change made in the book could be the time when Peter made a treaty preventing the war. Valentine told Ender, “That was his breakthrough. He proposed it through his friends from the public policy nets, and then Demosthenes got behind it, too. It was the moment he had been waiting for, to use Demosthenes’ influence with the mob and Locke’s influence with the intelligentsia to accomplish something noteworthy. It forestalled a really vicious war that could have lasted for decades,” (311). This plan accomplished by Peter demonstrated hard work and he sacrificed Locke and Demosthenes’ characters he made. Fortunately for Peter, he knew this would happen and that is why he made the disguises for him and his sister. Another time sacrifice was made was when Mazer Rackham lied to Ender about his final test to get out of his training and fight actually being the bugger’s invasion (296, 297). Mazar sacrificed the trust Ender had for him, but did it for what he thought was a positive change. Now that I think about it, almost all changes involve a little sacrifice. Even when the change is little, some sacrifice is usually made. I will give the theme a four.

Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace.

For this statement, I chose the fourth bubble when I still hadn’t read the book because I mostly agree with this statement. When someone wants to fix a problem or fight, they must communicate with the enemy in a calm way and sometimes, the only way to do that is to surrender to the enemy and be mature about forgiving them. In certain cases, the problem can be fixed in other ways that aren't as nice like finding a way to get rid of them. I think that creating peace would be the best way, or at least pretending to create peace.

After reading “Ender’s Game,” an example of a time when someone had to generate compassion for their enemy was when the queen bugger communicated with Ender and let him know that she forgave him (321). This created peace between the two species. Another time someone had to generate compassion for their enemy was when Ender played a game with Bernard (61). This wasn’t necessarily compassion, but he took a step in the direction of friendship and was civil to Bernard. With enough time, it can turn into compassion. I think that it is very hard to be nice to someone that I don’t like, but it is definitely the better thing to do. When Ender played with Bernard, he didn’t automatically become best friends with him, but they didn’t fight and that’s a start. I think the bugger queen was very forgiving which special people can be too, but I know I could improve on my tolerance skills. I will give this statement a four again, because I agree that being kind or at least patient and not rude will guide any relationship in the right direction.