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  • Essay / Manipulation in "Ender's Game"

    The Ender's Game, written by Orson Scott Card, features a futuristic setting in which the government selectively chooses, controls and trains young prodigies to win the endless battles against the "buggers » or extraterrestrials. Ender, the main character of this novel, is a six-year-old prodigy who lives with two siblings, Peter and Valentine, both of whom are subject to government surveillance. The government forces Ender to act as it wishes by constantly monitoring him, and encourages Ender to become part of the international fleet to fight against the buggers. Ender skips some ranks in combat schools as he quickly learns war techniques and skills. The teachers isolate and manipulate Ender on purpose to bring out Ender's inner killer instinct, like that of his older brother, Peter. Due to the authorities' strict control over Ender's life and his time in combat schools, Ender undergoes a series of challenges and faces social isolation. The way the government controlled Ender was inhumane, and the lack of recognition and reluctance from officials on this issue ultimately causes mental and emotional distress as well as depression. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the first chapter, Card describes how the government manipulates Ender through the Monitor. “We were connected directly to your brain. We heard everything you heard, whether you listened carefully or not. Whether you understood or not. We understand'” (Card 23). The conversation shows that the authorities closely monitored Ender, even before he started combat school and deprived him of his privacy. It also gave the government the ability to manipulate him quickly. The government invaded Ender's privacy, before he was even mature enough to consider a contract between himself and anyone else. The government took advantage of Ender's childhood ignorance, removing his privacy and manipulating him. The officials isolate Ender socially to help him focus on his training, so he'll quickly be ready to fight the buggers. “With Ender, we have to find a delicate balance. Isolate him enough to keep him creative – otherwise he'll adopt the system here and we'll lose him'” (Card 27). The conversation between the officials describes what they are going to do to Ender – isolate him so he doesn't have any friends who could "distract" him from his role as commander to win the war against the buggers. Furthermore, the officials made Ender brutal towards others, turning him into a murderer. Card manifests another social isolation by quoting: “The fear remained throughout the dinner because no one was sitting next to him in the dining hall. The other boys were talking about things: the big bulletin board on the wall, food, older kids. Ender could only watch in isolation” (41). Card carefully describes Ender's isolation in the dining room, and his description shows that the officials were successful in isolating Ender. As a result, Ender becomes socially isolated, making him emotionally and mentally distressed. After the final match between Mazer Rackham and Ender, Colonel Graff reveals to Ender that the officials manipulated him into killing the buggers, instead of playing simulated war games with them. Mazer Rackham. Colonel Graff quotes: “Of course we fooled you. That's the whole point... You had to become a weapon, Ender. Like a gun, like the Little Doctor, working perfectly but not knowing what you were aiming at'” (Card 298). It is clear that the..