The Imaginative Book Enders Game - Essay Example

Ender’s Game INTRODUCTION Literature is the index of life, at times in a latent way and sometime with potent motifs the authors do create on the canvass of their imagination some facts that have manifested in our past, some which are manipulating our present and some more which shall manufacture our future. It is not very easy to be futuristic. One has to definitely take the refuge of an allegorical sub-text to form the ideas which are going to evolve in future and engineer them. As a huge amount of hypothetical thesis centre round a futuristic text, authors often do take the refuge of the metaphors and symbols to present their thought process on the matrix of hypothetical evaluations. In order to attempt such a paradigm, they take the help of the science fiction as the intensity and extent of imagination can be far-reaching with the help of this genre. Orson Scott Card, the author of the imaginative book, “Ender’s Game” captivated within its limited premise, extensive range of ideas and perception regarding the future of the human civilization. These assumptions Scott frame on the themes or issues that are alarming in the present context to hint at their possible consequence in the future. “Ender’s Game” appeared before its readers in the year 1985 and is a science fiction by genre. The novel presents a plot completely futuristic in nature and set against the backdrop of Earth in future. The novel presents humankind which has been endangered and is surviving somehow through a narrow escaped of the battles with the “Buggers” who have been portrayed by Scott Card as alien species with insect kind of appearance. At the outset, the book which seems merely an entertainment for the children captivates within its bosom, a deep rooted philosophy that indicates the predicament of human civilization. THESIS STATEMENT The essay intends to focus on the theme of humanity imbibed within the plot of the novel “Ender’s Game” with its intense implications on the future of human civilization .The essay attempts to conceive a synthesis essay on the foundation of the theme of humanity presented through the text “Ender’s Game” and build an adequate amalgamation of the inter-textual theme with the realism presented with the help of a futuristic fiction. HUMANITY AND ITS PREDICAMENT AS SEEN THROUGH ENDER’S GAME The bafflement pertaining to the simplicity of the novel makes “Ender’s Game” appear to be a mundane story book for the children. The plot of the novel, the sequence and the backdrop suggest a panorama of computer games appearing on the screen. However, the inevitable and undeniable fact lies beneath the sound and fury of the novel. A true insightful documentation on the actual meaning of civilization and humanity has been raised time and again. On the success of the novel, “Ender’s Game” Card himself commented very insightfully, “Many critics have been deceived by the clarity and cleanness of “Ender’s Game” into thinking that if the book isn’t hard or dull to read, and if there is action and adventure in the book, then it must be nothing but a “mindless” action-adventure book. Too many American writers and critics think that to be good, a work of art must be at least difficult, preferably inaccessible. I think that is an elitist and suicidal and, worst of all, useless approach to art. To me, a living art is one that has an audience of untrained volunteers; art that can only be received by trained elite is, effectively, dead. Ender’s Game is a living book” (Collings 7). Therefore, a living novel has definitely much outwardly peeking realism inherent within the plot which is just required to get pointed out at different levels. Children are shown robbed of their youth as the group of children save the world. And, the fundamental question that is raised time and again is the importance of compassion required to be human. A thorough anti-war thesis is propagated where it is depicted in the novel that children are sent to training centre already known by the name of Battle School where world’s most talented children are taught the myriad tricks of warfare right from a very tender age. The cult of killing and blood gory has become so elusive that it has completely grasped Hollywood and American Television. Every second film produced from the industry contains a threat of a next World War which seems inevitable. It is quite obvious; a time will come in the future when there would be no adequate nations sustainable to rage war against one another. The almighty and omnipotent power block shall rein the world. Consequently, human beings would be trained at that point of time to rage war against entities from other planets or galaxies. In the words of Ex-CIA Agent Bob Baer the rightful scenario of socio-cultural effect of war evolves out when he mentions, “There’s a symbiosis between the CIA and Hollywood” and revealed that former CIA director George Tenet is currently, “out in Hollywood, talking to studios” (Global Research, “Absurdities and Atrocities: The Threat of World War III”). The only unfortunate cue which can be received from the entire scenario is that Hollywood is the place where imagination takes birth, but this imagination of devastation when turns into the realm of realism it’s quite devastating and unfortunate. The true meaning of being human is questioned again and again through the novel, “Ender’s Game”. Grossly, it can be said that all the science fiction and futuristic novel have always feared about the huge progress of science and technology along with the threat it has posited over mankind. Whether it is George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty Four” or Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, the novels open a vista of future which is eclipsed by the gloomy clouds of devastation that technology has brought upon mankind. In the novel, the issues of lack of tolerance and compassion are also questioned time and again. In the novel, Peter’s humanity is questioned repeatedly. Ender Wiggin the protagonist of the novel is spared however as through his courage and trick of the warfare he contemplated during his fellowship at the Battle School ultimately saved the planet. If one ponders at the political and diplomatic events those were responsible for the evolution of the concept of the novel, one would very easily infer that anti-war thesis directed Card to conceive a mouthpiece character like Ender, whose trajectory of life before, through and after war traces out clearly in the novel. Bruce Catton’s historical perception and insight on the American Civil War also influenced Card to a great extent for forming the vouch of a war free future perception in the “Ender’s Game” (Card 1-150). The novel “Ender’s Game” does not only raises the problem related with the human civilization, its fast movement towards the dark pit and chaos, but also successfully points out to the right way of solution for the problem. The ending of the novel shows a deep mourning and a heartfelt repentance from the Buggers and Ender. The Buggers feel bad and they advise Ender that if different things would have happened then both the race would have been able to rejoice each other’s humanity. This is not the end, even Ender feels compassion for the buggers and based on this thought he takes the plunge to help the buggers and deeply mourns their devastation too. Card rightly suggests that only through a genuine contemplation of mutual problems and repentance of the sin and guilt committed, human race can be redeemed of their fault. The novel does take biblical stand in this way, but it is quite true that no religion is above the benefit of man and his good interests. Therefore, whatever has been inducted through holy scripts, it has always shown path of life to men and shall continue to do so. Card has successfully suggested god’s ways to man without being much theological. The novel, “Ender’s Game” is written during the last half of 80s, a time when America did witness a lot of turmoil in the political and diplomatic front. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall and definitely the Iran Hostage crisis along with the oil gluts of 80s did agitate a situation where the war clouds had already been started to build up in the American skyline. No wonder the consequence was the outbreak of the gulf-war during the first half of the 90s. The sluggish policies of America pertaining to the acquiring of oil and omnipotent regulations owing to the usages and export import of military weapons across the globe did threaten many social scientists apprehending an upcoming devastating war that would definitely take away many innocent young lives from the country once more. The retrospective of the Vietnam War and its aftermath began as a ghastly apparition in the intellectual minds of America. Card being socially aware was not an exception and he took the refuge of his only strong shelter and took up his pen against the glorification of war almost in a tone of a mock-heroic appeal in his novel, “Ender’s Game” (White And Gordon, “Understanding The Gulf Crisis”). The crisis of human values, a lack of trust and dependence on each other and most importantly the extension of the Cold War politics now turned into a distrust upon a particular race or culture. The lack of compassion or the zero percent tolerance towards the people of South East Asia or Middle East started way back during the preparatory years of Gulf War which agitated terrorist attacks on the United States and also Americas lack of mutual compassion towards the people of these ethnicity or race. If Buggers from the novel are considered as an alien race then Ender’s contemplation at the closure of the novel paves way for the perfect peace and harmony achievable through a little bit of compassion and mutual respect for one another. The extreme consequence of terrorism as America witnessed as 9/11 attacks and its consequential catastrophe within America which is socio-culturally more devastating was as if forecasted through these futuristic novels allegorical in form time and again. It is the duty of man to get hold of the right clue at the right time (Levitt, “Targeting Terror: U.S. Policy toward Middle Eastern State Sponsors and Terrorist Organizations, Post-September 11”). CONCLUSION Threat of war upon humanity is growing every day. Mutual disrespect, intolerance and use of technology under a negative light act as catalysts which relentlessly develop the war-time situation and put an alarming call upon humanity. Since modern and post-modern era, the existentialists like Becket and Coetzee have focused on the real meaning of civilization and time and again have raised the question that who are actually civilized. The potent question is valid till date and the equation of the civilized over uncivilized and the real meaning of actual civilization remains the same. The novel, “Ender’s Game” is just a window to gaze and continually itches the burning issue under the light of an intense imaginative hue of allegory and science fiction (Uhlenbroock 1-20). Works Cited Collings, Michael R. In the image of God: theme, characterization, and landscape in the fiction of Orson Scott Card. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1990. Print. Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game. New York: Starscape, 2002. Print. “Absurdities and Atrocities: The Threat of World War III.” About. Global Research, 2011. Web. 09 May 2013. . Levitt, Matthew. Targeting Terror: U.S. Policy toward Middle Eastern State Sponsors and Terrorist Organizations, Post-September 11. Policy Analysis, 2002. Web. 09 May 2013. . Uhlenbroock, Wiebke. The Depiction of Utopia and Dystopia in Modern Feminist Literature by Marge Piercy and Margaret Atwood. Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2007. Print. White, Joe, and Mike Gordon. Understanding The Gulf Crisis. Anarchist Workers Group Magazine. Web. 09 May 2013. . Read More