The Use Of Power In Ender's Game?

Percy Bysshe Shelley once stated “Power, like a devastating pestilence, pollutes whatever it touches” (Shelley 1). This suggests that those with the power to create potentially positive change at the same time risk destroying that hopeful promise for change. Humanity has produced many works of literature that explore this delicate balance. Numerous of these novels often present utopian societies being conquered and changed by an authority which ultimately makes the society dystopian. Ender`s Game is a science fiction novel about an eleven year old boy named Ender who is forced by the International Fleet to save the world from destruction by an alien race called the “Buggers”. In the International Fleet’s perspective, these aliens are determined

In Ender’s Game, the International Fleet manipulates Ender as well as many other kids into perpetuating the society as it is in order to prevent change. This is first evident in Card’s use of a simile as Ender sums up his life at Battle School when he states, “I’ve spent my life as someone’s pawn” (Card 241). Card demonstrates that the International Fleet treats Ender as a ‘pawn’ in order to fulfill their needs at his expense. In reality, a pawn is an object that is manoeuvred and controlled to serve the needs of the controller not the pawn. In this example, Card alludes to the idea that Ender is being controlled to show how an authority that abuses power can compromise an individual as well as a society. In particular, the International Fleet’s trick on Ender of killing the alien species shows their abuse of power as Ender says, "I didn 't want to kill them all. I didn 't want to kill anybody! I 'm not a killer! You didn 't want me, you bastards, you wanted Peter, but you made me do it, you tricked me into it!"(Card 229). This illustrates how Ender has lost his autonomy as the International Fleet manoeuvred his mind in order to exploit him for their own purposes. Ender is evidently troubled as he lost his ability to make decisions based on his own values and instead perpetuates a

In Animal Farm and Ender’s Game, the characters’ lack of empathy is seen through the relationship between the selfish authorities and their society. The authorities in both novels are ignorant and egocentric as they show minimal concern towards their citizens’ feelings or needs. In Ender’s Game, the International Fleet does not respect Ender’s life and relationships as they force Ender away from his home on Earth without hesitation. Ender is taken to an unusual environment which Card describes by saying, “The fear stayed, all through dinner as no one sat by him in the mess hall. The other boys were talking about things-the big scoreboard on one wall, the food, the bigger kids. Ender could only watch in isolation” (Card 32). This use of imagery by Card clearly portrays how Ender is isolated from his family and loved ones. The imagery of isolation and the fear of the bigger kids displays how the fleet puts Ender in a situation where his social life and emotional state of mind is ignored. Since Ender is isolated and given little empathy, the establishment of a strong, collaborative society is compromised. Furthermore, the limited empathy towards a society in Ender’s Game can be seen at the end of the novel, when Ender realizes what he has done to the alien species due to the International Fleet. In a dialogue to his sister Ender claims that, “I