"Ender's Game" or isn't it? (Week 3: Boys Books YA Selection)

“Fiction, because it is not about somebody who actually lived in the real world, always has the possibility of being about oneself.”--Orson Scott Card

        This week’s selection, Ender’s Game, was selected due to an act of serendipity. This year, my reading goal was to begin tackling the Good Reads 100 Books You Should Read In a Lifetime List (linked below). While I was searching for a piece of writing geared toward boys, I received a notification on my Libby App that my hold on Ender’s Game was ready. I had previously watched the film adaptation of this book, so I had knowledge of the main events, characters, and themes.

        As is usually the case, this book is so much more than the film adaptation. It allowed me to dive into the mind of three child prodigies in a dystopian, war-torn future. The novel gave me the perspective of Ender and his siblings, Peter and Violet as they explore a world, in which, these youngsters are truly never given a childhood. Ender is the third child born to his family, in a world where families are only allowed two. His older siblings were prodigies but were not quite right for the government’s military training program; so, the government authorized his parents to conceive Ender. Ender is teased in school for being a “third” and is ridiculed by his envious brother at home. Ender is selected to participate in the academy when he is six, because the powers that be consider him the only hope humanity has in it’s galactic war against the buggers. The buggers are an alien species that attacked Earth some time in the past.
        Ender is thrust into the academy where the instructors turn the students against him, in order to build character. However, Ender proves himself and soon becomes a leader among the younger students. He rises through the ranks at an unprecedented speed and leads his team through a variety of war games. Older students are threatened by Ender’s success and hold disdain for the young boy. This culminates in Ender being forced to engage in mortal combat with another student. Finally, Ender graduates from the academy and goes to Command School. In command school, Ender leads teams in a series of games where they engage in simulations of battles with the buggers. Through these games, Ender learns more about the buggers fighting style and colonies. Finally, the day comes when Ender prepares for his final game at Command School. He leads his team to victory destroying all of the buggers; after which, his mentor shares that he hasn’t been playing a game since he arrived at Command School. To Ender’s horror, he discovers that he has been sending real soldiers into battle and has driven the buggers to extinction at the tender age of eleven.

        I love this story, because through the lens of fiction we can delve into the world of a child soldier. It also explores the danger of granting the government too much power. Through this story, we can truly explore whether the ends justify the means.

In the Classroom

        This is a book that teachers must take care with, because of the heavy themes, violence, and course language. This book could be used in an eleventh or twelve grade class and would pair nicely in a social studies classroom. Students could read this story while exploring the societal implications of the Patriot Act. After the study, students could write an essay on how governments balance security with personal freedoms. Additionally, ELA teachers could explore this book following a read of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. They could compare the texts and explore how the author’s choice in characters affected the story. Mature students could use this book as a springboard to investigating real world examples of child soldiers; “there are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers in the world today in at least 20 countries” (Their World, 2022).

References

Their World. (2022, August 4). Child soldiers. Their World; Global Business Coalition for Education.

https://theirworld.org/resources/child-soldiers/#:~:text=difficult%20to%20return.-

Good Reads List

https://www.grantlibrary.net/uploads/4/5/5/6/45565029/goodreads_100_books_you_should_read_in_a_lifetime.pdf