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I read the book, didn't see the movie A Deathwatch Guard Send a noteboard - 04/11/2013 07:02:03 PM

But from everything I've heard the movie is a watered down and crappier version of the book, so I would strongly recommend reading it before you jump to conclusions.

That said, you're right in a sense. Ender is a prodigy, he's great, he overcomes all obstacles, etc. In that sense you can call him a Mary Sue. However, I don't agree with you about calling Ender blameless. I never saw it that way in the books. In fact, the issue of blame wasn't even something that crept into my mind. The story is about Ender's dealings with the environment, and his philosophy of minimizing losses through overwhelming aggression. It is left up to the reader to decide whether that is really a justification, or if Ender is a brilliant psychopath, but it is an important question, one with real life and historical applications.

In a way, I suppose it is a childish power fantasy. Of being Ender, the guy everyone underestimates but who then rises to the top, squashes his enemies, etc. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed it on that level. But it is definitely the question of Ender's philosophy that is at the heart of the story, and that elevates it above any common story where a kid beats his oppressors and becomes popular or whatever. Plus, many side plots from the book were trimmed in the movie. There was an entire plotline about Ender's siblings on Earth that was an important aspect of the book, but is completely missing from the movie (from what I understand). So just read the book. It's short, and a light read, and the only way that you can really answer your question.

As for Card himself, I don't know, and I don't care. From the book itself, the only one of his that I have read, I wouldn't label him disturbed or from an abused home or anything like that. You can't draw a trajectory from a single point, but that's mathematics, and human beings are much more complicated. I like to read tragedies, and dark and disturbing things, and I was never abused, or from a broken home, or any other such thing, so the material he writes about is no evidence at all.

And why it is a Young Adult story about morality... That's because it is a short and relatively simple and easy to read story, one that adolescents can relate to, in a way, and that makes one question things. What is right, and what is wrong, and where the one bleeds into the other. It isn't morality as shown on tv, that's for sure. Because it asks significant and very real questions, and ones that do not have an answer.

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So how is Ender’s Game a good story? (Book / Movie Spoilers) - 04/11/2013 03:38:59 PM 1177 Views
Well, I think your point #3 is pretty off - 04/11/2013 03:51:01 PM 767 Views
I disagree - 04/11/2013 04:08:44 PM 690 Views
What you just said is utterly preposterous - 04/11/2013 07:06:50 PM 789 Views
Oh wow, yeah, he hasn't even read the book - 04/11/2013 08:54:18 PM 702 Views
Some of my friends read the books - 05/11/2013 03:45:43 AM 644 Views
Not really? It's about the same, but with more non-violent bits. - 05/11/2013 03:26:46 PM 736 Views
I don't think it was baseless - 05/11/2013 03:58:02 AM 744 Views
What a load of tosh - 04/11/2013 04:05:06 PM 806 Views
Hm. I've only read the book, but I'll take a shot - 04/11/2013 04:06:35 PM 788 Views
Re: Hm. I've only read the book, but I'll take a shot - 04/11/2013 08:16:55 PM 677 Views
Card purposefully wrote Ender to be blameless, he didn't have intent to commit violence yet he still - 05/11/2013 04:18:27 AM 729 Views
You're still missing the point. - 05/11/2013 07:54:31 PM 756 Views
Yeah like I said- the book makes things a lot better *NM* - 05/11/2013 09:41:05 PM 339 Views
I read the book, didn't see the movie - 04/11/2013 07:02:03 PM 724 Views
The funny thing is, Ender's Game ISN'T a YA novel - 04/11/2013 08:20:46 PM 758 Views
The best YA novels are ones that have deeper levels - 04/11/2013 08:56:38 PM 747 Views
I was shocked when I found out it was shelved in YA. *NM* - 29/11/2013 06:34:01 PM 392 Views
It is a good story - 08/11/2013 01:12:04 PM 813 Views
Reads like you have more of a problme with OSC that the story - 09/11/2013 08:40:57 AM 693 Views

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