As this book grows increasingly darker, so grows my like for it. So much happens in these chapters. We see Ender growing in his new army and facing challenges and moving forward as a soldier and leader. Personally, I think the emotional scene between Dink and Ender is interesting, mostly because this is the first time we have seen any character – especially Ender – outwardly express their emotions. Here both boys discuss their want for home and loved ones. I find this scene particularly interesting because Ender acts almost as though he believes it is not alright for him to feel things, much less talk about them. While Dink is willing to talk about his home and family, Ender is hesitant. In fact, the only people he opens up to about his emotions are Alai and Bean; both of these instances are several years apart. Surely his pent-up emotions are causing him some psychological harm? However, though he does not express his feelings very much, we do see how much he thinks about the pain he causes other people. It is saddening to watch Ender being pushed into being like Peter, especially because he hates the violence in Peter. Additionally, we learned more about Valentine and Peter and the events taking place at home. Peter develops further as an evil mastermind by tricking everyone into thinking he is a “new Peter.” Valentine sees right through this, of course, and so do we through her eyes. Though she does go along with his plan, I feel it is for Ender’s sake and not to gain power, unlike Peter’s reasons for his actions. By this point in the book, we have learned the names of the characters at the beginning – Major Anderson and Colonel Graff, who we have already become acquainted with in other parts of the book. It is slowly becoming clearer what they have planned for Ender – he is the one they believe will save the human race from the buggers. How they plan to go about that is still a little on the blurry side, but either way, Ender is on his way to becoming a very important commander. Even more than that, he is beginning to understand the significance of the game, and so are we.
As this book continues, Ender has grown so much. He is now a commander of the Dragon army. He leads other children now and seems to know what he's doing. He even stands up to Anderson when they have an unfair battle. I think he's beginning to resent the teachers so much because he doesn't fully understand why he's there. Especially after the talk with Dink, he seems to wonder if kids really are meant to be soldiers like this. It's interesting to me how much his family is still affecting him after he hasn't seen them in three years. Seeing Peter in his mirror in the mind game killed him. I wonder if Peter is that bad or if the author is just trying to make it seem like he is. Also, I think Valentine keeps Ender going. The thought of her makes him continue his hard work and reminds him of why he's there. I believe Valentine is the only one that actually cares about Ender anymore. The rest of the family seems to have moved on from him in these three years. Also, Bean seems to be helping Ender see why his training went the way it did. When he singles Bean out, he begins to realize that Graff did the same thing to him when he first started.
As I continue reading, I am finding the story more interesting and enjoyable. I feel sorry for Ender in these chapters because he is scared of himself. When he looks at himself he sees Peter and that is the last thing he wants. I feel like all young adults can feel this way sometimes. I see negative things in my character and attitude that remind me of my parents or peers, and it can make me upset. If we can learn from our parents/peers mistakes and character flaws, we can grow as people. The chapters we read tonight show Ender moving past Peter's reflection and finding a new confidence in himself. After losing Peter's reflection, Ender moved up to commander. With his new power he found himself acting like Bonzo and he recognized it and chose to be different. This shows young adult readers that it is better to act for yourself and on what you believe, rather than following the crowd and acting like everyone else. After all, if Ender acted like everyone else he wouldn't be special at all. MacKenzie Woods
The book gets more interesting as I keep reading. Ender goes through a lot internal of struggles. He deals with the fear that he is and will become like his brother Peter. He gets freaked out when he plays the game and sees his reflection is a crazed Peter looking back at him. He overcomes his internal issues and funds self-confidence. He also becomes a commander which adds stress but helps his confidence and ego. He becomes a better leader this way. Sadly he is under the impression that Petra and Dink areally no longer his friends and his friendships have to change. He was still being bullied by the older kids but beat them up and earned respect from many other launches and older boys. I can't wait to see how the book ends. Kaitlyn
I was very interested in how Ender treated Bean. If i were him, i would probably have acted the exact opposite way. i feel like most of us would have acted in the exact opposite way. I would not want others to suffer the same way i did. I feel like i wouldn't let him be teased or mocked or even beaten by the bigger kids. I feel like, as decent human beings, we don't want others to suffer what we have suffered ourselves. Our thought is to take the good qualities from every authority we've had and combine them, leaving out as many bad qualities as possible. But Ender actually recognized how Graff was right to isolate him. I feel like this book, unlike most YA novels, doesn't make adults off as a part of the problem (fully) or useless. Ender is recognizing that Graff really was helping him.
On another note, i have been really able to connect to Valentine. when i was younger, i always thought that they only way i could be respected was if people read what i said instead of heard me say it. I knew that my writing was better and had more authority behind it than my physical words. And that has been most useful as well as a blessing and a curse.
Some of these new things in these chapters are catching me by surprise. Mainly Peter because he is acting really sincere and to a certain extent I find myself kind of believing that he is not a bad person but I know better after I think about it. I do like the strategy he comes up with though to make himself heard because it actually makes a lot of sense. Enders being promoted to a commander was something I had always anticipated happening and not because I had seen the movie before I read the book but because of the way ender thinks. He is very strategic and looks for the bigger picture and that is what wins him battles even though he is starting to get cocky which is a bad thing in my opinion
Ender has changed and grown a lot in these last few chapters. He is no longer observing, he can take action and has the ability to lead others.After Ender has an important discussion with Dink, the book says: "it made Ender listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said." This shows how Ender is growing as a person and not just in battle; he is wiser and learning how to understand others. I think it's interesting that when Ender finally achieves all the respect he could possibly ask for and everything seems to be going successfully for him, it is when he is most lonely. It's sad that he doesn't even get to share a laugh with his friends, because they all respect him too much. He definitely struggles with the fact that he has been forced to grow up all too quickly. This is also something we see with Valentine, who wants to hold on to her childhood but doesn't know how.
This book just keeps getting more and more interesting. Ender has really stepped up even though he is under a lot of stress. He is even practicing extra with some of the other kids so that they can get better. Some of the other commanders are getting very irritated with him because he is doing their job. Ender is becoming really smart and he is finally starting to realize what the commanders are really doing. He is also finding flaws in their attack techniques.
If you're reading Ender's Game "hard enough" you start to get into his frame of mind rather quickly. You start to side with him and his point of view. Bonzo, frankly, is evil. He's stupid, arrogant, destructively prideful, an incompetent commander, and, quite simply, a bully. So when he comes after Ender personally, one often finds that it's easy to cheer for Ender's retaliation and even be glad for Bonzo's death. It's a terrifying effect because the whole scene makes the reader forget that these are CHILDREN. Being a largely prophetic text, one has to wonder: is this what we're turning youth into? By inundating the younger generations with displays of violence, are we turning them into hardened killers?
As this book grows increasingly darker, so grows my like for it. So much happens in these chapters. We see Ender growing in his new army and facing challenges and moving forward as a soldier and leader.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the emotional scene between Dink and Ender is interesting, mostly because this is the first time we have seen any character – especially Ender – outwardly express their emotions. Here both boys discuss their want for home and loved ones. I find this scene particularly interesting because Ender acts almost as though he believes it is not alright for him to feel things, much less talk about them. While Dink is willing to talk about his home and family, Ender is hesitant. In fact, the only people he opens up to about his emotions are Alai and Bean; both of these instances are several years apart. Surely his pent-up emotions are causing him some psychological harm? However, though he does not express his feelings very much, we do see how much he thinks about the pain he causes other people. It is saddening to watch Ender being pushed into being like Peter, especially because he hates the violence in Peter.
Additionally, we learned more about Valentine and Peter and the events taking place at home. Peter develops further as an evil mastermind by tricking everyone into thinking he is a “new Peter.” Valentine sees right through this, of course, and so do we through her eyes. Though she does go along with his plan, I feel it is for Ender’s sake and not to gain power, unlike Peter’s reasons for his actions.
By this point in the book, we have learned the names of the characters at the beginning – Major Anderson and Colonel Graff, who we have already become acquainted with in other parts of the book. It is slowly becoming clearer what they have planned for Ender – he is the one they believe will save the human race from the buggers. How they plan to go about that is still a little on the blurry side, but either way, Ender is on his way to becoming a very important commander. Even more than that, he is beginning to understand the significance of the game, and so are we.
~Sheridan
As this book continues, Ender has grown so much. He is now a commander of the Dragon army. He leads other children now and seems to know what he's doing. He even stands up to Anderson when they have an unfair battle. I think he's beginning to resent the teachers so much because he doesn't fully understand why he's there. Especially after the talk with Dink, he seems to wonder if kids really are meant to be soldiers like this.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me how much his family is still affecting him after he hasn't seen them in three years. Seeing Peter in his mirror in the mind game killed him. I wonder if Peter is that bad or if the author is just trying to make it seem like he is. Also, I think Valentine keeps Ender going. The thought of her makes him continue his hard work and reminds him of why he's there. I believe Valentine is the only one that actually cares about Ender anymore. The rest of the family seems to have moved on from him in these three years.
Also, Bean seems to be helping Ender see why his training went the way it did. When he singles Bean out, he begins to realize that Graff did the same thing to him when he first started.
As I continue reading, I am finding the story more interesting and enjoyable. I feel sorry for Ender in these chapters because he is scared of himself. When he looks at himself he sees Peter and that is the last thing he wants. I feel like all young adults can feel this way sometimes. I see negative things in my character and attitude that remind me of my parents or peers, and it can make me upset. If we can learn from our parents/peers mistakes and character flaws, we can grow as people. The chapters we read tonight show Ender moving past Peter's reflection and finding a new confidence in himself. After losing Peter's reflection, Ender moved up to commander. With his new power he found himself acting like Bonzo and he recognized it and chose to be different. This shows young adult readers that it is better to act for yourself and on what you believe, rather than following the crowd and acting like everyone else. After all, if Ender acted like everyone else he wouldn't be special at all.
ReplyDeleteMacKenzie Woods
The book gets more interesting as I keep reading. Ender goes through a lot internal of struggles. He deals with the fear that he is and will become like his brother Peter. He gets freaked out when he plays the game and sees his reflection is a crazed Peter looking back at him. He overcomes his internal issues and funds self-confidence. He also becomes a commander which adds stress but helps his confidence and ego. He becomes a better leader this way. Sadly he is under the impression that Petra and Dink areally no longer his friends and his friendships have to change. He was still being bullied by the older kids but beat them up and earned respect from many other launches and older boys. I can't wait to see how the book ends.
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn
I was very interested in how Ender treated Bean. If i were him, i would probably have acted the exact opposite way. i feel like most of us would have acted in the exact opposite way. I would not want others to suffer the same way i did. I feel like i wouldn't let him be teased or mocked or even beaten by the bigger kids. I feel like, as decent human beings, we don't want others to suffer what we have suffered ourselves. Our thought is to take the good qualities from every authority we've had and combine them, leaving out as many bad qualities as possible. But Ender actually recognized how Graff was right to isolate him. I feel like this book, unlike most YA novels, doesn't make adults off as a part of the problem (fully) or useless. Ender is recognizing that Graff really was helping him.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, i have been really able to connect to Valentine. when i was younger, i always thought that they only way i could be respected was if people read what i said instead of heard me say it. I knew that my writing was better and had more authority behind it than my physical words. And that has been most useful as well as a blessing and a curse.
Jacob Poettker
Some of these new things in these chapters are catching me by surprise. Mainly Peter because he is acting really sincere and to a certain extent I find myself kind of believing that he is not a bad person but I know better after I think about it. I do like the strategy he comes up with though to make himself heard because it actually makes a lot of sense. Enders being promoted to a commander was something I had always anticipated happening and not because I had seen the movie before I read the book but because of the way ender thinks. He is very strategic and looks for the bigger picture and that is what wins him battles even though he is starting to get cocky which is a bad thing in my opinion
ReplyDeleteEnder has changed and grown a lot in these last few chapters. He is no longer observing, he can take action and has the ability to lead others.After Ender has an important discussion with Dink, the book says: "it made Ender listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said." This shows how Ender is growing as a person and not just in battle; he is wiser and learning how to understand others.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that when Ender finally achieves all the respect he could possibly ask for and everything seems to be going successfully for him, it is when he is most lonely. It's sad that he doesn't even get to share a laugh with his friends, because they all respect him too much. He definitely struggles with the fact that he has been forced to grow up all too quickly. This is also something we see with Valentine, who wants to hold on to her childhood but doesn't know how.
Marianna Mercer
This book just keeps getting more and more interesting. Ender has really stepped up even though he is under a lot of stress. He is even practicing extra with some of the other kids so that they can get better. Some of the other commanders are getting very irritated with him because he is doing their job. Ender is becoming really smart and he is finally starting to realize what the commanders are really doing. He is also finding flaws in their attack techniques.
ReplyDeleteAh, the death of Bonzo.
ReplyDeleteIf you're reading Ender's Game "hard enough" you start to get into his frame of mind rather quickly. You start to side with him and his point of view. Bonzo, frankly, is evil. He's stupid, arrogant, destructively prideful, an incompetent commander, and, quite simply, a bully. So when he comes after Ender personally, one often finds that it's easy to cheer for Ender's retaliation and even be glad for Bonzo's death. It's a terrifying effect because the whole scene makes the reader forget that these are CHILDREN. Being a largely prophetic text, one has to wonder: is this what we're turning youth into? By inundating the younger generations with displays of violence, are we turning them into hardened killers?
Mason Trupe