Main There 1: Let Children Be Children

 

 

The theme "Let Children be Children" is one of the main themes from the novel "Ender's Game" because in this book innocent children between the ages of 6 - 12 are sometimes forced to go to a battle school in space to be trained and moulded as young unemotional soldiers preparing to fight in adult wars, such as Ender. Not only do the kids become unemotional there, they are very miserable and lonely without their family.They're in a sense helpless to escape from all the decisions of the adults until they become like adults themselves. They are also continually tested in areas and situations that young children shouldn’t even be faced with. In Ender's case he had courage and the only way he gained respect was by doing so well that he couldn't be ignored. This is why we should never push children to become more mature than they are emotionally and physically ready for. We also need to remember that their feelings and decisions are just as real and important as any adult's. 

Main Theme 2: Compassion and Forgiveness

Compassion and forgivness is the other main theme in the novel "Ender's Game". In this book Ender travels to one of the alien worlds to live in one of their colonies after the aliens have been wiped out. On this world, Ender found an alien queen egg. He could have destroyed the egg and the human colony could continue living alone in peace, but instead Ender chose to save the egg in hopes that he could help restart the alien race and that humankind could forgive them just as he had forgiven them. The aliens could become friends with the humans. This is Ender's vision. In other words, however terrible or awful you portray your enemies, when it comes to the point where you can get revenge on them, try to understand that there is always two sides to every situation. Why not choose forgiveness instead or in some cases help them. Even admit to your failures, you could earn their friendship. It could help stop alot of unnecessary destruction.

Side Themes

Three smaller side themes that I found in the novel "Ender's Game" are: Use the best of your ability, learn from your enemies, and always love your family no matter what happens.



 

The first side theme; "Use the best of your ability", is portrayed in this book by Ender. He always worked hard and did the best he could which showed in each battle school training he experienced. Getting along with others chose to be a difficult area for Ender at times, however he gained respect from others by staying true to himself and his determination to never give up. This is probably the main reason why Ender was always getting promoted earlier than others, and how he became a commander at a young age. It is extremely important to "give it your all" in life because you only get a lifetime to achieve your goals and live happy.

 

 

 

The second side theme; "Learn from your enemies," is portrayed in this book when Ender was trying to learn new attack strategies by watching war videos of when the aliens attacked Earth. He was able to learn different strategies from the aliens and practiced what he learned during his simulation battles at the battle school. Ender also learned the behaviors of some of his enemies in the battle school so he could defend himself from them. This proved to be very helpful for Ender in the book. This also can be very helpful in real life situations as well. For example: Usually if you have an enemy, the reason that person is your enemy is because they believe they have some sort of advantage over you. They find areas of your personality to feed on and use as a weapon against yourself. If you can become aware of this behaviour then it may stop you from being enemies with that person.

 

 



 



 

 

 

The last side theme; "Always love your family no matter what happens," is portrayed in this novel through Ender. Ender's brother Peter always treated him horribly, beat him up, and sometimes threatened to kill him. Even though Peter was always cruel to Ender, Ender always hoped that Peter would someday love and respect him. Ender never gave up on his brother and near the end of the novel they started to repair their relationship. In real life, no matter what arguments and confrontations you have with your parents, brothers or sisters, never stop loving them. There will be a time when relationships start to heal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SRizeR4MmU