Ender's Game: Normal Family? Essay

A Family Affair

Family is a wonderful thing. It brings togetherness and love to a group of people. There are many ways that a family is supposed to look like. These ways are portrayed through television, movies and other examples. However, many families are not like these models. Take Andrew Wiggins family, for instance, from the novel Enders Game written by Orson Scott Card. Andrew, or more commonly known as Ender, does not have a very normal family. Because of a war going on between an alien race, called the buggers, and the humans, Ender needs to leave home at the young age of six. Card depicts Enders parents in different ways during this situation. Ender also has a brother and a sister. Peter, being a cruel and awful bully, and Valentine, being gentle and endearing, both do not live up to the expectations of a normal family either. Yet, these differences are important because without them, Ender wouldnt have ended up the same.

Enders mother and father are much like any typical set of parents; they worry about their children. They are portrayed extremely realistically. There was, of course, one difference. They signed off their children to the International Fleet, the army in the novel, at the time of conception. So, if the IF needed the child, the parents were forced to give him or her up, which is exactly what had happened with Ender. On the other hand, the parents of Ender had especially standard responses when their son was taken away from them. Mother cried. Father held him tight (26). This shows the concern they had for their son and his safety. Plus, they did not know if they would ever see him again.

All in all, Enders parents did, in fact, love him very much. On the contrary, there was his older brother Peter. This child was, without a doubt, a sick and demented young boy. He would torture innocent squirrels as a means of pleasure. Later in the novel, Enders family decides to move away while Ender is at Battle School. It was done because the parents thought it would help Peter to dispose of his awful ways. Unfortunately, it had no effect whatsoever. The move did not faze him; he just continued doing exactly what he was doing. At times, he even threatened his own family, especially Ender. I could kill you like this...And I could say that I didnt know it would hurt, that we were just playing, and theyd believe me (12). These threats were even more frightening because he meant them. Also, his great desire and ambition led him to become the leader of the hegemony at the mere age of nineteen. So, Peter is not exactly the kind of big brother that one would request to have.

Being the complete opposite of Peter, Valentine was the only one in the entire family that Ender had always truly loved. His older sister was an incredibly sweet and gentle young girl. She would stick up for Ender during his constant fights with Peter.

Let [Ender] be the astronaut for once (11). Also, she believed that she needed to protect her younger brother from her older one by trying to soothe [Peter] before he had time to strike (10). Their love for each other was so powerful that she was the only one who could convince Ender to return to Battle School. They relied on each other, especially during their early years. After the war, Valentine showed her appreciation for her younger brother by writing a biography and volumes of books about the Human-Bugger War. If it were not for her, Ender probably would not have saved the Earth.

In conclusion, Enders kin is the farthest thing from being ordinary. In fact, its a very odd and unusual group of people. But, nonetheless, every person was tremendously helpful toward the future of young Ender. Each individual, in his or her own way, led him to achieve the greatness he had. So, truth be told, one does need his family. There is no way in telling what they may be able to help him accomplish.