(Begins June 10 - Ends June 17)
Read Ender's Game, Chapters 15, and respond to these questions:
Chapter 15
1) What was really going on during Free Play, and the mind game involving the Giant's Corpse? Who's game was this? Who designed it? Who was a player to it?
2) What was the relationship between Ender and the Bugger Queen? How were they alike? How would you compare/contrast this relationship to the one between Ender and his brother Peter?
3) What is the relationship between winners and losers in a game? What is the nature of the enemy?
“It sounds nice. But I couldn't stand it. I've been offered the presidency of three different universities, on the theory that I'm an educator. They don't believe me when I say that all I ever cared about at the Battle School was the game.” (Card, 306)
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Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1) What was really going on during Free Play, and the mind game involving the Giant's Corpse? Who's game was this? Who designed it? Who was a player to it?
The events of the last segment of the Free Play game were, in fact, part of the program. While Ender was participating in it, however, the Hive Queen established a connection with Ender and was mentally with him. During this time together, the Queen replicated a great deal of the game on her home planet, so that Ender would find it and they could finally establish communication. The humans devised the original game, but the Queen took what she saw through her connection with Ender and produced her own game, a game of sad communication.
2) What was the relationship between Ender and the Bugger Queen? How were they alike? How would you compare/contrast this relationship to the one between Ender and his brother Peter?
Ender and the Hive Queen were both very emphatic, and in the same initial position. During the whole conflict between the buggers and the humans, neither side initially realized the error of their ways. The buggers did not realize at first that humans were sentient beings, and Ender was equally unaware that his “simulations” were actual battles. The Hive Queen and Ender share very much in reference to their positions in their respective species. Ender and Peter, however, are more akin to the Hive Queen and one of the baby queens that did not desire the harmony and wisdom that the Hive Queen strove to achieve. Both the Hive Queen and Peter helped Ender, in vastly different ways, but Ender also shares significant similarities with each of them. With Peter, he is the trained, young, driven individual. With the Queen, he is the leader, the empathetic one, and the salvation.
3) What is the relationship between winners and losers in a game? What is the nature of the enemy?
Winners and losers in a game are simply those who finish or perform according to certain standards and/or guidelines of a game. Being a “winner” does not necessarily make you more of a person, or a better person, than a “loser”. It just simply means you performed to the standard of the game. And, depending on the game, that might very well be a bad thing. The mentality of desiring victory, however, has the effect of establishing competition. Competition, in turn, establishes rivalry, in which players will view each other as enemies. The nature of an enemy is that which a player will attempt to understand best, so that the player can defeat the enemy and achieve the competitive victory. There is no necessary good or evil, just survivalist mentality and competition.
“It sounds nice. But I couldn't stand it. I've been offered the presidency of three different universities, on the theory that I'm an educator. They don't believe me when I say that all I ever cared about at the Battle School was the game.” (Card, 306)
1.] During the free play exercise, the Hive Queen began to speak to Ender with all her calm sadness and reach out to his heart. Once she had, he realized what truly had been done, what the consequences of his forced actions really had been. Their communication changed Ender's life, making that the most important time Ender had ever played free play.
ReplyDelete2.] It was very sad to find out that the war between buggers and humans was almost needless, because of how both sides were completely unaware of the sentience of the other because they were unable to communicate. They undiscovered possinilities of peace between the factions were also sad- for reason of how kind and vastly understanding the Hive Queen really proved to be and how forgiving she was in the end. If someone as understanding as Ender had been able to communicate with her in the first place, so many eyars ago, there probably would never have been a war at all. Ender was helped both by his brother and the Hive Queen in many ways. Peter helped him to grow stronger in innumerable ways, and the Queen emphasized only what Ender already was, affirming the person he had grown into through all of his life experiences.
3.] Winners and losers are necessary in every game. To be a winner, there is essentially a loser- or vice versa, even if it is not quite labeled as such. Sometimse the winner wins because of luck, or because he is more skilled at the game, or perhaps even smarter than his opponent. The enemy can be luck or another human being. In a game like solitaire, the enemy is the cards laid out in front of you. You don't choose what they are, and sometimes you simply cannot win- but that prospect doesn't always mean you don't want to play the game anyway.
Chapter 15
ReplyDelete1) I believe that the Queen bugger was trying to communicate with Ender in some way without words. Since they don’t know the same language the Queen sought to maybe give Ender some things that he is familiar with in order to get through to him. It doesn’t state exactly who created the game, just that Ender played it a lot. No one else seem to be playing that same game either, so I’m guessing that it was the Queen bugger’s game. Both Ender and the Queen are playing in their own way.
2) Both Ender and the Queen felt sorry for each other and both wanted to know more about each other’s races. With the Queen and Ender, at least they could understand each other on a certain level. In a way they both had the same intentions. Peter and Ender on the other hand, had a rough relationship. They both didn’t quit get on another and Peter wanted nothing more then to be in control of everything. Ender wanted Peter to love him and never really received his love. On the other hand the Queen bugger held her arms wide open for Ender.
3) Winners and losers are both start out as nothing more then players playing for their own reasons. They are both after the same goal, but only one actually succeeds and attaining it. Then nature of the enemy is of course to successfully outwit their opponent.
Ch 15
ReplyDelete1. The game was developed by humans, but it was used later by the bugger queen to communicate to Ender. She knew that since it was all he dreamt about, it'd be meaningful enough to him to be recognized as a message spefically for him.
2. They were alike in the fact that neither of them meant to hurt anyone. They both had the capacity to destroy, but didn't want to, and only did so as a form of self preservation. As for Peter and Ender...it was like the roles were switched. Ender was the peaceful one but ended up destroying a whole race, while Peter the killer ended up saving the world.
3. This is something I wonder about alot, but mostly about things like war and religion. Everyone thinks they're right and anyone else with a different opinion is the "enemy", but in the "enemy's" eyes, the "good guy" is the enemy, so how do you appropriately label something like that. As for games, winners the ones who reach the goal of the game first and the loser is everyone else. In games, losers don't usually continue. Also in games enemies don't usually continue even if they defeat you. If you are defeated, the game ends, it doesn't continue as the winner cause they were the enemy. However, that might make for an interesting game~
15-1. The Free Play game involving the giant was originally developed by the humans and was then used in the last chapter as a means of communication from the Buggers to Ender. The game was the human’s game but manipulated to the Bugger Queens needs. Ender was the player. He both played and was played by this game. Both for good and perhaps more sinister means.
ReplyDelete15-2. The relationship between Ender and the Bugger Queen is one that probably goes beyond words. Since in fact their relationship did not involve words. They understood each other more than perhaps any other; at least on Enders end of it. The Queen understood everything he felt and all his emotions and she communicated to him the pictures and images of her species intentions and realization that humans were indeed a thinking species and that the buggers would not attack again. This previously unknown Ender had destroyed them.
I would compare this relationship with the Bugger Queen to that of Ender’s and Peter’s to the fact that Ender is solely responsible for the way they are. Peter was driven to power partly because of his jealousy and envy of Ender and his “special treatment”. The Queen however was driven to her current location out of Enders decimation of their home world.
15-3. Winners and losers are dependent on each other. One simply cannot exist without the other. Not in the true sense of the words. A winner depends on someone to loose and is dependent on the fact that to be a winner you must overcome and beat someone. To be a looser depends on the fact that you must have someone who beats you. Now here is where it gets tricky. Sometimes you are able to win something… but in the end still feel like you lost. Such as in Ender’s case with his decimation of the Buggers. He won the ware but ended up killing two humans in the process and almost annihilating an entire species. In the end all that matters is that the other exists. To keep balance and provide reason for existence for the other.
ch 15
ReplyDelete1- It seems that the game was a way for the Queen to communicate with Ender. Since they had no language they used images Ender would recognize to get his attention.
2- The queen and Ender both realized how the war wasnt really necessary. They both had a respect towards each other and let the past be the past and welcomed each other. The Queen welcomed Ender despite the war and what had happened whereas Peter never accepted Ender.
3- Winners and Losers are just player in a game. they start off nuetral to each other. They're only enemies once the game begins and the goal is seeked out.
1) The free play game at the end was set up in a way for the queen to be able to communicate with ender, seeing as how any normal means of communication don't work for them. Preseumably, it was the humans from the battle school that designed the game initially, the queen was just using it as a means of communication because ender was familiar with it.
ReplyDelete2) Ender and the bugger queen really had a lot in common. Due to communication barriers and confusion, the humans and the buggers went to war, and so Ender would command the humans and the Queen commanded her buggers for the sake of self-preservation, even though if they had been able to communicate sooner the war and countless lives lost on either side because of ti could have been averted. So the queen and ender both have had to command to kill, but both now deal with the burden and guilt of leading a needless war. The relationship between ender and the queen and the relationship between ender and peter are very different. Both ender and the queen have 'good' intentions, but are forced to act in another way, whereas in the end, Peter, with his 'bad' intentions ends up saving millions. So, ender had a lot in common with the queen, but aside from the same blood and a high level intelligence, never really did have much in common with peter.
3) Games all have a goal, and the one who attains that goal is the winner. Though there are not always losers (as in a one player game) if the player is going against another player, or the AI of a game, whoever doesn't win, must be named the loser. In games like this, one cannot exist without the other, there must be a balance. Though winners and losers don't necessarily have to be adversarial, the heat of competition often makes them so, which leads to more driven and passionate gameplay. The enemy is the one to beat, and 9within the boundries of the game) the enemy hates you, the enemy must have a desire to outdo you in order to win.
free play WAS a game. designed by humans to test student's cognative abilities and force them to face their deepest fears, as well as learn decision making and rapid response skills. however, in his DREAMS, ender's memories of the games were read by the buggers psychic powers. thus they used that information to leave him a message.
ReplyDeletethey were both creatures of great empathy that had to make difficult decisions, and they both had no idea what they were doing when they invaded each-other and almost destroyed each-other's races.
the winners right the history books, and only losers are tried for war crimes.
1. During "Free Play," Ender was being observed by the bugger hive queen. The adults in charge of the school designed it to try to observe the children's minds and the bugger queen used it to try understand Ender.
ReplyDelete2. Ender and the Bugger Queen were the leaders of their sides in battle, but each did not wish to fight although they were the best.
3. Winners are the ones who are more skilled, luckier, or more careful then the losers. Games need winners and losers or else the goal would not be as worhtwhile. The enemy is the opponent against which one tests skills and chance.