Enders game anticapation guide revisions

Emily

Enders game anticipation guide

    Lying is justifiable if it's for the greater good.   Before I read Ender’s game I gave this statement a 2 “I disagree with that statement for the most part but I think its ok to tell a few white lies a couple times in your life.” My opinion has mostly stayed the same but I think I would give it a 1 this time.  After seeing how lies ruined Enders life, lying is never justified for  the greater good.  When Graff and Anderson didn’t tell Ender he was killing the buggers I think that was going too far with the lies.  “Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets...There were no games, the battles were real, and the only enemy you fought was the buggers.  You won every battle, and today you finally fought them at their home world, where the queen was, all the queens from all their colonies, they all were there and you destroyed them completely.  They will never attack us again...”(296)The fact that you let a person kill a race without telling them  that is just wrong.  I think you have something seriously wrong with you to be able to do that.  In the end of the book Ender did discover that they didn’t need to kill the buggers(321) to me that shows that a lie could ruin someones life or in Enders case it could kill a race.  When Ender killed Stilson and Bonzo I can see why the teachers didn't want to tell him because they knew how much he feared being like Peter and they didn’t want him to think of himself as a killer so in a way that was for the greater good.  They were just trying to protect Ender but mostly themselves so that he would agree to keep training.  
    Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem.  I originally gave that statement a 1. “I believe that there is always other ways to solve problems like talking it out.”  After reading Ender's game I realized that isn’t always possible, but it is usually ideal but that doesn't always work out that way.  I would definitely give that statement a 2.5. Because I think it is best to talk things out if the other person is listening.  When the buggers first attacked the humans they had to fight back unless they wanted our whole race to die off.  They had no choice but to fight.  As for the second time when there was an attack on the buggers it wasn’t the buggers attacking us it was us attacking them.(296)  What I got from the book is the only reason that the humans attacked the buggers is they didn’t know how to communicate so how could they talk it out.  “Ender believe me, there’s a century discussion on this very subject.  Nobody knows the answer.  When it comes down to it, though, the real decision is inevitable: If one of us is destroyed, let’s make damn sure we’re the ones alive at the end”(253). Mostly they attacked them out of fear of someday making an encounter with them.  When Graff was explaining the  war that is going on between the humans and the buggers he basically told him if anyone has to die  lets make sure it’s not us it’s them.  They killed because they couldn’t communicate and because they were all cowards.   
    It is okay to kill someone in self-defense.   I originally gave that statement a 3.”we do have the right to bear arms if we are truly in danger but I would try to avoid that option if I could.”  After reading the book I think I would still give that statement a 3.  If your life is being threatened I think you could protect yourself at all costs.  Ender had sometimes when he did have to fight for his life.   When Bonzo attacked him in the shower  Bonzo truly wanted to kill him because he was so full of hate.  I don’t think it was best for Ender to antagonize him because it made matters worse.  “Be proud Bonito, pretty boy.  You can go home and tell your father, yes, I beat up Ender wiggin, who was barely ten years old, and I was thirteen. And I had only six of my friends to help me, and somehow we managed to defeat him, even though he was naked and wet and alone- Ender Wiggin is so dangerous and terrifying it was all we could do not to bring two hundred.”(208)   I think it was kind of an accident what happen to Bonzo  but after all he only brought it upon himself.  Ender didn’t mean to kill but that’s what had to happen and Ender couldn’t help it.  

Words are stronger than fists.  I originally gave that statement a 5.  “I'm sure talking would get you farther than hitting someone.” I think that words would get you farther than hurting someone.  After reading Ender’s game I realized there are some anger people out there who you simply can’t reason with.  So I think I would give that statement a 4 now because most of the time words are stronger but not always.  Like when Bonzo attracted Ender I don’t think Ender could have tried to talk to him or  reason with he was so angry and hateful that he was set on killing Ender.  “...You've killed him...he meant to kill me.”(212)But in some situations most the time words would be stronger but if you were being attacked I think fist would be stronger.  When Ender killed the buggers it would have been better for the humans and buggers to communicate before they went and killed them all.  Because then they would of know that they were never going to kill the humans or try to hurt them.  “We are like you...we didn’t mean to murder...we thought we were the only thinking human beings in the universe, until we met you.”(321)

    Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem.  I originally gave that statement a 4.  “Most of the time that is true but that probably isn't the case always.”  My opinion hasn’t changed since I read Ender’s game.  When Bonzo attacked Ender he was only doing it because Ender was winning all the battle’s.  He was upset that a ten year old was that much better than him.  He wanted to win not Ender.  Instead of trying to improve he tried to get rid of what was in his way.  To me that shows he had low self esteem.  He was picking on someone younger and smaller than him.  

Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders.  I gave that statement a 3 originally.  “Smart people should received a good education and maybe become a nation's leader but also not so smart students should receive a good education as well.”  My opinion has stayed the same I would still give that statement a 3.  Bright students should receive a good education.  I also think the students who aren’t so bright should receive a good education.  An order for our society to work everyone needs to have a good education.  Some people may have a better education than others but that still doesn't mean  only certain people can become a national leader but most of the time it will be the bright students but if you apply yourself than anyone can do it.  Most of the time in our world it will be the kids who went to harvard and had a 4.5 there whole life.  The battle school choose Ender because he was exactly what they wanted.  Ender was like Peter and Valentine.  He knew how to fight and he knew where to draw the line in violence. When Ender killed stilson they knew he would be perfect.  He killed stilson without meaning to and he didn’t want to fight.  He would have been very upset at the time if he knew that he killed him because he was compassionate.   When Ender defeated the buggers he became a national leader because he saved the world.  Ender was very bright and good at what he does so he is more likely to a become a national leader than a student how isn’t very bright.  

    Revenge is never justified.  I originally gave that statement  a 3 because I was undecided about this topic.  After reading  the book I would give the statement a 1.  Revenge ruined Ender’s life.  It was revenge when he killed the buggers.  The humans killed them for payback.  They killed them for security. Revenge is never justified it gets you back into a cycle of revenge.  It doesn't help it only destroys.       

Crying is evidence of weakness.  I originally gave that statement a 3. “Crying does show your weak but that is not always a bad thing I think its ok to cry sometimes.”  When Ender was in battle school I don’t it was ok to cry because you don't want to show your weak there.  You need to show them how tough you are.   Ender did cry at times in  battle school but in the privacy of his blankets and so did the other boys at first but after that you need to show you are strong not weak.  In the real world I think it is ok to cry sometimes but not all the time but I think it’s best if you try not to cry in public.

    Any action is acceptable in war.  I originally gave that statement a 3.  “Many things are expectable in war like killing people but I wouldn't say anything is expectable in war.”  I would give that statement a 3.5 or 4.  After reading the book I realized how much the government can away with without anyone knowing.  Ender murdered stilson when he was six and got away with it.  Then he killed Bonzo.  He got away with all of it and yes some of it was self defense but since he was an asset to the war with the buggers he was able to get away with it.  They also killed the buggers for fear of them coming back.  That wouldn’t be acceptable anywhere else but in war.  They tricked a young boy into doing it because they believed that they were at war.  That was almost like saying anything goes if you're at war.     

Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves.  I originally gave that statement a 2.  “I do disagree but a suppose a couple teenagers do need some guidance but I'm pretty sure I could control myself perfectly fine.”  My opinion has changed because I realized that if  there was no rules then probably no one would go to school or do anything but have fun.  I think I would give this statement a 3 now.   If there were no teachers in battle school enforcing rules then they would have probably ended up killing each other.  

    Only through personal sacrifice can someone create positive change.   I gave that statement a 3.  “Sometimes to change something you do have to make a sacrifice depending on how great the change is.”  My opinion still hasn't changed for the most part.     Ender made a positive change when he wrote that book about the hive queen.  He sacrificed a  lot of time to write the book and he sacrificed his pride because he was the one who killed all the buggers and then he comes and says it was all for no reason.  Sacrificing your pride is a personal sacrifice.  Ender included in the book that if they would have communicated with the buggers they would've known that they weren’t trying to hurt them.  “If only we could of talked to you, the hive-queen said in Enders words.  But since it could not be, we ask only this: that you remember us, not as enemies but as tragic sisters, changed into a foul shape by the fate or god or evolution.”(322)
    Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace.   I gave that statement a 3.  “That can be true but sometimes an enemy is an enemy and you can't really change that.”  I would still give that statement a 3.  I think that if you understand someone that could go a long way but Ender never really tried to do that with any of his enemies so he never got a chance to see how that works.  Ender in the end had peace with the buggers because he had compassion for them.  He understood them.  Unfortunately it was too late though.  He already killed most them.  But with his luck he was able to find a cocoon with 10,000 baby buggers who would soon be born.  After he realized it was an accident when the buggers attacked his home he was able to generate peace with them.  They forgave the humans and Ender for gave them.