Ender's Game

I first read Ender’s Game around the age of 11. It remains to this day one of my favorite books. For a multitude of reasons, Enders Game was exactly what I wanted to read as a young boy. I talked to many of my friends who had encountered this book in their youths, and collectively we agreed that this book serves as a right of passage for boys who would want to advance into the level of adulthood.

What made this book so exciting to read in my earlier years wasn’t the space battles, or the menacing aliens, or the futuristic battles of laser tag. It was the fact that the protagonist wasn’t an older, role model esque character whom I would aspire to emulate, but was instead just a kid. Ender provided not an idol of something I wanted to be when I grew up, but instead an example of an intelligent, resourceful kid, who could empower me in ways that no overly muscular “He Man” or “GI Joe” character could. Card achieved this effect by portraying children as just as relevant, if not more so than adults. Throughout the book, we see time and time again that children are the real force in the book; adults may seem to manipulate and control the youths, but in the end it is the kids that hold power. This is reinforced when children save humanity. Ultimately, Ender showed me as a kid an example of children embodying genius and compassion. Ender made me feel like greatness and adventure can be obtained through intelligence and fortitude, and to some extend influenced who I am to this date.

Re reading Enders Game, I find myself both reminiscing upon the story as I read it in my younger years, and also finding new attractions in its pages. One of this book’s main components that I still enjoy to this day is its discussion on games, and their relevance the youths. As the title would suggest, games are a very important occurrence in the book; from these games we learn of Ender’s morality and intellect, we see him grow and be tested, and finally end a war. The prevalence of games and their importance to the story makes me reflect upon games in the real world; their effects and relevance to society. Aside from an escape and form of entertainment, I feel as though to some extent, games test our morality and aptitude, much as they did in Ender’s game. Based upon what a gamer chooses to play, and what decisions he makes in his gaming experience, much can be learned of a person. Much like in the game, furthermore, I feel like technology is starting to blur the lines between fiction and reality. The best example I can bring up is a modern first person sim, grand theft auto 4. I am by no means squeamish in regards to blood or violence, I’ve been brought up with violent media my entire life. When I played this game, however, for the first time, I was frightened by the realism. For the first time in my life, as I pulled the trigger of a sawn of shotgun, dispatching an innocent pedestrian, I felt the nausea and panic that can only be associated with guilt. I have to wonder that in the future, when advances in graphics plateau, games will become so close to reality that destroying life in virtual reality can be seen as crime or sin, and not entertainment.