Okay, I’ll be the first to admit it. I adore Orson Scott Card’s books. Pretty much everything I’ve read of his, I love. From SEVENTH SON to MAGIC STREET to THE WORTHING SAGA to EMPIRE to ENDER. The guy is gifted. And the good (best) thing about the ENDER books is they just keep going. Seriously. Now how many series can you really say that about (where it’s a good thing)?
So I’m just about done listening on audiobook to ENDER IN EXILE, the latest in the Ender Files, and here is my question for the day:
IS ENDER TOO PERFECT?
Does he ever make mistakes? I think in ENDER’S GAME he does. And granted, it’s been a while since I’ve read the rest of the books, but in ENDER IN EXILE, to date, everything Ender has done has been correct. And calculated. And perfect. And I’m just about done with the book.
Even all this said, if it is, in fact, true that Ender Wiggin is perfect, it still works for me. Is this because I care about Ender that much at this point? Or am I so skewed that I don’t see his flaws?
Let’s have it, Ender fans. Give me your thoughts.
PJ Hoover thinks Battle School would have been way cool.
Parker Peevyhouse
lindajoysingleton
Joni Sensel
Chris Eboch
Nick
Greg R. Fishbone
Hm, good question. You’re right that Ender’s actions tend to be calculated and effective. I think what made him sympathetic in the first book was that he struggled with the decisions he knew he had to make. The right thing wasn’t always the easy thing, and he would doubt himself. I guess we lose that sense of doubt as Ender gets older; he always seems to be in control.
Good point, Anna. He was very sympathetic in Ender’s Game, but I think in a series it is hard to carry that sympathy through, especially when Ender’s Game was such a great stand-alone book.
Hmmmm…very good question.
I’d say: no. Because from the start we learn that Ender has abnormally high intelligence, and his experiences have trained him to be a decent person (through his major mistake in the first book). So even if he’s a bit too good in one book, he always has the shadow of his past over him, and there’s enough seeding for his intelligence to make that believable.
That said, I’ve not read the whole rest of the series, and the ones I did read were a looooooong time ago. I will allow that Orson Scott Card tends to do much better external than internal plots, so while Ender is set up to be perfect for the rest of the series, a strong internal plot with him struggling with that persona and his own past may be needed–and may be lacking–in Card’s writing.
It brings up the greater question for me, Beth, in how character arcs should adapt over the course of a series. We see (normally) much arc for the main character in a first novel. But second, third, fourth…how much more can the main character arc? Seems like a good blog post in and of itself.
Thanks!
I remember the first time I read Ender’s Game and thinking how difficult it must have been to be in those shoes. He has kind of been forced to be perfect. Even his mistakes were turned into a way to turn and twist him into somebody else’s tool. I think at least part of the books that come after are reactionary to the reputation that precedes him. Not that he is really perfect, but that he has to be perceived as perfect by those around him. It seems like in the rest of the books, his big imperfection is his inability to truly relate to other people.
For me, I find the character of Bean and the books that revolve around him (Ender’s Shadow, etc.) to have a better character with an overarching story.
Very interesting analysis, Kayeleen, that his imperfection is not being able to relate to others. This I can totally see.
And I loved Bean though I was kinda sad he grew so big.
When you compare Ender and Bean, Bean seems more perfect than Ender in that Bean is more intelligent. However, because Ender has more people skills, he is a more likable character. Ender’s soft side is really what counter acts his perfection so that he doesn’t seem TOO perfect.
I’m feeling the need to reread Ender’s Game, Parker. It’s been a long time.
And yeah, some parts of Battle School would have been so freaking fun!
We’d be great at battle school together
Wow – now you’ve gone and made me think. I love Ender!
I’ve read all the Ender books except for Ender’s Shadow. Maybe it’s all a matter of perspective and I wonder if in Ender’s shadow, his mistakes are more obvious because it’s not told from his POV. Also, the Buggers would think he’s made mistakes.
I think he always does what he thinks is best, especially in the later books. In Ender’s Game, he’s really a product of those around him – the adults, and Hyrum Graff in particular, as well as his brother and sister. So he reacts and does what is necessary. His mistakes may not be in battle, but his personal life isn’t so good.
I should reread Ender’s Shadow with that in mind, Jay. Ender in Exile is much in his POV so we see him being very perfect.
And true, his personal life is a bit sad.
This is one of my favorite books of ALL time. Even if he was perfect–it fit his character. That’s who he was. And I definitely don’t think he was perfect anyway. He’s pretty emotionally stunted, I think. And besides, didn’t he kill the bully from school (I can’t remember–He might just have beat him severely)? AND Bonzo–in the shower room.
Not perfect, IMO. But I love him anyway. My absolute favorite book in the series was Children of the Mind. I read all of the books once a year or two. And now sounds like a pretty good time to do it again!
That is a serious lot of re-reading, Sara. Wow! Definitely book one we see tons of character development with Ender. I think it’s this last book, Ender in Exile, that really brought up the question in my mind.
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hmmm . . . I haven’t read that series yet. You make me feel like i NEED to read it now. :0)
Definitely at least read Ender’s Game, Christy. It is fabulous!
I read this book last year expecting to love it, but I was not a huge fan. It felt so unreal for this group of children to behave this way. There were parts of the book that I thought were great, but over all I did not connect with any of the characters and the story disappointed me.
interesting, Sherrie! I wonder if part of that may be the fact that it was written as an adult book. I really need to reread it.
Thanks for weighing in!