The last two sentences of our first reading are: "Ender's isolation was over. The war was just beginning."
We didn't talk very much about Ender's initiation into the battle school, so let's go ahead and open that up to what your impressions were, what you thought about Graff's actions to isolate Ender and how Ender was able to overcome that isolation to start to make friends. This situation of Ender pitted against other peers is not something new - our first example was the situation with Stilson, another was Peter. Initially, it was the monitor that was the seeming cause of Ender's isolation and conflict with the other children around him, but even without the monitor, he's thrown into situations that test his fortitude.
Speaking of the war just beginning, we're also starting to meet the armies that make up the battle school. There is Salamander Army led by Bonzo Madrid and Rat Army led by Rose the Nose. Ender is able to observe the strengths and weaknesses of these armies and their commanders. Meanwhile, Ender's formed his own practice group wherein he not only works on his skills and technique for battle, but also his skills to lead. We see that Ender is able to think outside the accepted way to play the game, and is implementing his own strategies and unique approach to not only improve himself, but also change the game in a very dynamic way.
Ender's also troubled, and while he may be an incredible soldier and leader-in-training, he has some demons he has to face inside of himself. The Giant's Drink is one such example. What do you think about this game, and what do you think the teachers were trying to see from the students who play the game? When Ender kills the giant, he thinks how Peter would be proud of him. During the conversation between Valentine and Graff, we see more contrast between Peter and Ender and Ender's fear that he could ever be like Peter. Why do you think Ender fears so much to be like Peter?
Which brings me to Valentine and Peter. In the chapter "Locke and Demosthenes" we get to know Ender's siblings a little better. What do you think about Peter's goal to rule the world? It seems that he really desires to do good for the world, but how does that reconcile with his tendencies towards cruelty? It was commented in the discussion under the previous post that Valentine and Peter are somewhat one-dimensional, and while after this chapter I still feel that Valentine is a rather weak character, I find Peter fascinating. He has a dichotomy about him that makes me curious about what he really plans to do and how he's going to go about it. What do you think his motivation is? Do you believe he is the monster Valentine seems to think he is?
Finally, we've got the war with the buggers that Ender is at the battle school preparing for, and meanwhile, Peter and Valentine are preparing for a potential conflict on earth. Once again, I find the technology in this book ahead of its time with the use of the nets (which bears such strong resemblance to our internet) and the importance of written expression, which today we find in blogs (and tweets and status updates and whatever have you), and also like Valentine and Peter, we can hide our true identities online.
A lot was covered in these chapters, so if there is anything else that I haven't already pulled out to discuss, feel free to do so in your comments.
For next weekend, read through chapter 13, Valentine. I am having surgery on Friday morning to remove that mass in my chest. My surgeon hopes to accomplish the surgery using a minimally invasive technique, but even if that is successful, it's still major surgery and I don't know what to expect for recovery. Plan on me leading the discussion, but if I am unable to, I will let Angela know and she has agreed already to take over if I need her to. Happy reading!
We didn't talk very much about Ender's initiation into the battle school, so let's go ahead and open that up to what your impressions were, what you thought about Graff's actions to isolate Ender and how Ender was able to overcome that isolation to start to make friends. This situation of Ender pitted against other peers is not something new - our first example was the situation with Stilson, another was Peter. Initially, it was the monitor that was the seeming cause of Ender's isolation and conflict with the other children around him, but even without the monitor, he's thrown into situations that test his fortitude.
Speaking of the war just beginning, we're also starting to meet the armies that make up the battle school. There is Salamander Army led by Bonzo Madrid and Rat Army led by Rose the Nose. Ender is able to observe the strengths and weaknesses of these armies and their commanders. Meanwhile, Ender's formed his own practice group wherein he not only works on his skills and technique for battle, but also his skills to lead. We see that Ender is able to think outside the accepted way to play the game, and is implementing his own strategies and unique approach to not only improve himself, but also change the game in a very dynamic way.
Ender's also troubled, and while he may be an incredible soldier and leader-in-training, he has some demons he has to face inside of himself. The Giant's Drink is one such example. What do you think about this game, and what do you think the teachers were trying to see from the students who play the game? When Ender kills the giant, he thinks how Peter would be proud of him. During the conversation between Valentine and Graff, we see more contrast between Peter and Ender and Ender's fear that he could ever be like Peter. Why do you think Ender fears so much to be like Peter?
Which brings me to Valentine and Peter. In the chapter "Locke and Demosthenes" we get to know Ender's siblings a little better. What do you think about Peter's goal to rule the world? It seems that he really desires to do good for the world, but how does that reconcile with his tendencies towards cruelty? It was commented in the discussion under the previous post that Valentine and Peter are somewhat one-dimensional, and while after this chapter I still feel that Valentine is a rather weak character, I find Peter fascinating. He has a dichotomy about him that makes me curious about what he really plans to do and how he's going to go about it. What do you think his motivation is? Do you believe he is the monster Valentine seems to think he is?
Finally, we've got the war with the buggers that Ender is at the battle school preparing for, and meanwhile, Peter and Valentine are preparing for a potential conflict on earth. Once again, I find the technology in this book ahead of its time with the use of the nets (which bears such strong resemblance to our internet) and the importance of written expression, which today we find in blogs (and tweets and status updates and whatever have you), and also like Valentine and Peter, we can hide our true identities online.
A lot was covered in these chapters, so if there is anything else that I haven't already pulled out to discuss, feel free to do so in your comments.
For next weekend, read through chapter 13, Valentine. I am having surgery on Friday morning to remove that mass in my chest. My surgeon hopes to accomplish the surgery using a minimally invasive technique, but even if that is successful, it's still major surgery and I don't know what to expect for recovery. Plan on me leading the discussion, but if I am unable to, I will let Angela know and she has agreed already to take over if I need her to. Happy reading!
