~ Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card Part II
Ender’s Game is a military science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, first published in 1985. Although initially targeted at a young adult audience, I found the book rich with philosophical themes that merit deeper exploration. There was so much to discuss that I split my analysis into two parts. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, I recommend reading the first part of my blog, where I cover the plot.
In the first part, I focused on Ender’s moral conflicts, leadership dynamics, and their impact on him. In this blog, I want to delve into the moral fabric of the society depicted in the book, the critical decisions made by humanity, and Ender’s deep compassion for the buggers, which drives his quest for redemption as he seeks to undo the harm he caused.
Humanity’s Desperate Gamble
The Earth was attacked by the buggers long ago, with the last victory against them achieved by Mazer Rackham in a battle that took place 70 years prior. No adult since then had been able to outmaneuver the buggers. As humanity prepared for the third and possibly final confrontation, they realized they needed someone who could think differently—someone who could finish the buggers once and for all. Shockingly, they decided that this someone had to be a child. From our perspective, this seems both horrifying and insane, but humanity was desperate to survive the impending bugger invasion.
Ender’s strategic brilliance reminded me of Hannibal during the Second Punic War. Under challenging conditions, Hannibal devised innovative tactics to defeat the Roman forces by marching through Spain, Gaul, and across the Alps with elephants—strategies that caught the Romans entirely off guard (Britannica, n.d.). Hannibal’s success was fueled by his deep understanding of Roman tactics and his desire for revenge, leading him to create entirely new approaches to warfare. Similarly, Ender’s creativity and unconventional thinking were crucial in developing new strategies against the buggers. While I’ve never found the original study by George Land often cited to suggest that children are more creative than adults, I must admit that children’s imagination can sometimes be astonishing. If Hannibal’s “surprise” tactics were effective, perhaps a child’s imaginative approach could similarly work in battle.
Graff likely saw someone who could be easily manipulated to accomplish the adults’ objectives in Ender. The battle training was introduced to the children as a game, like playing soccer, and combat exercises were presented to Ender as a computer simulation. This approach was a deliberate attempt by the adults to desensitize the children, blurring the lines between real war and games.
Ultimately, using children as tools in the war against the buggers was successful. However, this method raises significant ethical questions about the societal values depicted in the world of this book. It reveals deep moral compromises made to ensure human survival, leaving us to ponder the actual cost of such decisions.
The Critical Decision Made by Humanity
While it’s true that the buggers initiated the conflict by attacking humanity, I believe there are two primary reasons why humans ultimately decided to exterminate them: xenophobia and misunderstanding.
The buggers are fundamentally different from humans. They resemble ants despite having evolved beyond an exoskeleton. This stark difference triggers a common human tendency to discriminate against or dehumanize those who are not like us. The concept of the “Other” often emerges in such scenarios—a behavior known as xenophobia. Derived from the Greek words meaning “fear of strangers,” xenophobia is a fear or distrust of those perceived as outsiders. According to Faulkner et al.(2004), xenophobia may be an evolved survival mechanism in humans, initially to avoid disease (as cited in Wagner, Ryan, 2017, Apr 1).
The entire narrative of Ender’s Game revolves around this conflict between humans and the buggers. The insect-like appearance of the buggers, combined with their perceived threat to human existence, led humanity to see them as “Others” that must be exterminated. Wagner suggests that when faced with those perceived as “strangers,” humans often dehumanize them, leading to justifications for extreme actions like extermination (Wagner, 2017, Apr 1).
Humanity’s response to the buggers was driven by xenophobia, primarily due to their alien physiology. However, when Ender later encounters the bugger queen, he learns that the conflict is rooted in a tragic misunderstanding. The buggers, upon first contact, did not intend to kill humans; they simply didn’t realize that another sentient species existed in the universe. The queen emphasizes this by saying, “We are like you,” which reflects the parallel between Ender’s actions—exterminating the buggers without understanding what he was doing.
If the buggers had appeared more human-like, would humanity have chosen to eradicate them? It’s a question we can’t definitively answer. Perhaps if there had been some form of communication possible—despite the buggers’ telepathic abilities—humans might have sought a different path. Yet, the story suggests that humanity has a broader tendency to react with violence when confronted with the unknown, especially when those they face are so different that their extermination seems justified in human eyes.
Ender’s Connection with the Buggers
Ender saw a reflection of himself in the buggers. Just as the buggers were destined to remain permanent “others” in the eyes of humanity, Ender had always been an “other” in his own world. As the third child, he was an outcast from birth. His brother Peter, who often tormented him, always made Ender play the role of the buggers in their game of “buggers and astronauts.” In this game, the buggers could never win against the astronauts, reinforcing Ender’s role as the perpetual outsider. Even when Valentine tries to intervene and suggest that Ender play the astronaut, Peter ignores her. Ender was always cast on the side of the buggers.
At school, Ender was dehumanized by his classmate Stilson simply because he was a third, seen as less than human. Later, Ender unwittingly caused the deaths of others, mirroring the buggers’ tragic actions. When the buggers finally communicated with him, Ender understood their grief and guilt, recognizing a parallel to his own experiences.
From the moment Ender arrived at the I.F. academy, he was strategically isolated from the other students and his family to shape him into a general that adults could more easily control. This isolation, compounded by the loneliness of his childhood, fostered a deep empathy within Ender. He knew all too well what it meant to be different, which may have made it easier for the buggers to reach out to him—though tragically, it was too late to prevent their destruction.
Ender’s profound compassion for the buggers, combined with the sense of betrayal he felt from the adults who manipulated him, drove him to seek redemption for what had been done to both him and the buggers. Now, carrying the queen’s egg, he searches for a new planet where the buggers might live again, hoping to atone for the destruction he unknowingly caused.
I discovered Ender’s Game through the “Read These Banned Books” list published by the American Library Association. When I talked about reading this book, my co-worker, who is well-versed in science fiction, recommended it, assuring me it was an excellent read. I’m glad I took the time to explore it, as the novel is far more profound than I initially anticipated and has given me much to ponder.
At first, I struggled to grasp what the author was trying to convey beyond the surface of military science fiction and action. However, after nearly three weeks of analysis, I realized that the book critiques humanity’s tendency to dehumanize those we consider “Others.” It also highlights how we often justify our terrible deeds for survival or righteousness. Strangely, it reminded me of the long conflict between Rome and Carthage and how the legendary poet Virgil wrote The Aeneid to justify Rome’s actions—a reflection of how humans craft narratives to make sense of our choices and consequences.
I heard the sequel books are equally good as the first one. I will definitely read the sequel.
References
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024, June 27). Second Punic War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Punic-War
Wagner, Ryan T. (2017). The Significant Influencing Factors of Xenophobia [Documents]. Digital Commons @ Olivet; Olivet Scholarship. Olivet Nazarene University. https://jstor.org/stable/community.37867572