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Ender’s Game

Name: _______________ # _____ Hour: ____

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Elements of Science Fiction

As you read, record examples of the listed Science Fiction elements and the

pages on which you find them.

Elements of Science Fiction

Examples from the text

Page numbers

Hypothetical (what if) ideas based on predictions from current scientific knowledge

Space exploration, aliens, parallel worlds

High tech, artificial intelligence, virtual reality

Life threatening cataclysmic disasters

Building or creating other worlds

Journeys through space and time, aliens, parallel worlds and alternate histories

Different types of societies –dystopia and utopia

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Chapters 1 – 5

Literary Devices: I. Text Features – This novel is printed in different fonts. The text, at the beginning of

almost every chapter, usually presents a dialogue between two unidentified speakers. In this dialogue, you discover the purpose for reading the chapter. What important information do you learn in the introduction to each of the five chapters you have read so far?

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II. Point of View – In literature, point of view is the perspective from which a story is told.

There are three basic points of view:

First-person point of view – This is when one of the characters acts as a narrator, telling the story as he/she experiences it and using the first-person pronoun “I.”

Third-person limited point of view – In this case, the narrator is the author as an outside observer who relates the inner thought and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from this character’s perspective. This narrator uses third-person pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to the characters.

Third-person omniscient point of view – Here again the narrator is the author as an outside observer, but the narrator relates what all or most of the characters are doing and thinking.

How would you describe the point of view used in the introductions to each chapter? How does this differ from the point of view used in the rest of each chapter? ________________________________________________________________________

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Why do you think the author uses these two different perspectives?

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Chapters 1 – 5 (cont.) Literary Element: Characterization

In the chart below, list vital information you have learned about some of the characters in the novel. Continue to fill in the chart as your read. You may also add more characters to the chart.

Character Physical Appearance Personality Traits

Ender (Andrew)

Peter (Ender’s brother)

Valentine (Ender’s sister)

Graff

Dap

Bean

Alai

Petra

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Chapters 6 & 7 Literary Element: Conflict

Conflicts – struggles between opposing forces – create the story’s dramatic tension, moving the plot forward. There are two basic kinds of conflict-external and internal. In an external conflict, the character struggles with outside forces, such as other persons, a dominant group with a different agenda or values, and unseen or unknown forces. An internal conflict takes place within a character’s own mind. It is a struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions. In the chart below, list the conflict that have occurred in the story so far. Indicate how some of these have been resolved. As you continue add to the chart. (Note page numbers)

Main External Conflicts Resolutions

Main Internal Conflicts Resolutions

_____________ Conflict Resolution

_____________ Conflict Resolution

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Chapters 6 & 7 (cont.) Literary Devices: I. Simile – A simile is a figure of speech in which “like” or “as” is used to make

a comparison between two basically unlike ideas. For example:

Won’t split her head with a beam so hot that her brains burst the skull and spill out like rising bread dough, the way it happens in my worst nightmares …………..

What is being compared in this simile? ________________________________________________________________________

How is this comparison fitting for a nightmare? ________________________________________________________________________

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II. Metaphor – A metaphor is a suggested comparison between two unlike objects. For example:

Home was merely a dull ache in the back of his memory.

What is being compared in this metaphor? ______________________________________________________________ What does this metaphor reveal about Ender’s feeling about home? ________________________________________________________________________

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III. Foreshadowing – Foreshadowing refers to clues that suggest events that

have yet to occur. What events might the last paragraph in Chapter Seven foreshadow?

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Chapters 8 & 9 Literary Devices: I. Extended Metaphor – An extended metaphor is a suggested comparison

that continues for many lines in poetry or sentences in prose. For example, a seed is used as a metaphor for the doubt that Ender begins to experience after his conversation with Dink.

….but the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed and every now and then sent out a little root. It changed everything, to have that seed growing. It made Ender listen more carefully to chat people meant, instead of what they said. It make him wise.

Why is the seed metaphor effective in showing how Ender’s beliefs are changing?

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II. Simile – What is compared in the following simile?

Only the crest of the Giant’s face was still visible, and it was white bone, like limestone protruding from a discouraged, withering mountain.

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Why is this an apt comparison? ______________________________________________________________

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III. Irony – Irony is the general term for literary devices that involve surprising,

interesting, or amusing contradictions. Do some research to learn about the beliefs and actions of the historical figures of John Locke and Demosthenes. What is ironic about the pseudonyms that Peter and Valentine take?

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Chapters 8 & 9 (cont.) Literary Element: Characterization Use a Venn diagram to compare Ender to Valentine to Peter. In the overlapping part of the first two circles, write the qualities that Ender has in common with his sister. In the overlapping part of the last two circles, write the qualities that Ender has in common with his brother.

Why does Graff think that Ender is the perfect combination of Valentine and Peter for his

purposes?

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Valentine Ender

Peter

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Chapters 10 & 11

Literary Devices:

I. Irony – What is ironic about the fact that Alai and Ender exchanged the word salaam,

meaning “Peace be unto you”?

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II. Foreshadowing – How is future trouble between Bonzo and Ender foreshadowed in

this section?

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Literary Element: Motivation

In literature, motivation is the reason a character behaves in a certain way. It is a feeling,

idea, or goal that causes a character to take a certain action.

What motivates Ender to keep playing in the games no matter what the teachers throw his

way?

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What motivates the teachers to push Ender to the extremes of his endurance?

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In each case, do you think the motivation justifies the action?

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Chapters 12 & 13

Literary Devices:

I. Metaphor – To what are the Wiggin children being compared in the following metaphor?

Two faces of the same coin. And I’m the metal in between.

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What does Ender mean when he said, “The problem with coins is, when one is face up, the

other is down”?

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II. Symbolism – A symbol in literature is a person, object, or event that represents an idea

or set of ideas. What do you think the games symbolize? What other symbols do you

find in the novel?

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III. Irony – Why is it ironic that Father reads Demosthenes’ columns to his children?

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Hyperbole – Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement. For example:

[Ender to Anderson] What is the next time? My army in a cage without guns, with

the rest of the Battle School against them?

Do you think Ender’s hyperbole is justified? What point is he trying to make?

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Literary Element: Tone

The tone of a literary work reflects the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and

subject. The tone can often be described by one or more adjectives, such as formal or

informal, serious or playful, bitter or ironic. What adjectives would you use to describe the

tone of this novel?

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Chapter 14

Literary Devices:

I. Simile – What is compared in the following simile?

[In Ender’s dream] The little village that had grown up between the Giant’s ribs were

composed of buggers now, and they saluted him gravely, like gladiators greeting

Caesar before they died for his entertainment.

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How does the comparison help reveal Ender’s changing feelings toward the buggers?

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II. Building Suspense – High interest in the outcome of a story is called suspense. The

author builds suspense by placing the characters in danger, leaving the reader uncertain of the outcome. In what ways does the author build suspense in this section?

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III. Irony – Irony can often be used to create humor. What is ironic about the following

excerpt? “We’re kids,” said Petra. “They’ll probably make us go to school. It’s the law. You have to go to school till you’re seventeen.”

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Literary Element: Sarcasm Sarcasm refers to an ironic or cutting remark. An example of such a remark is made by Admiral Chamrajnagar to Graff: Some men simply have no sense of hurry. On well, it’s only the fate Of the world …. Never mind me. What does the Admiral really mean? ________________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 15

Literary Device: Irony

Why is it ironic that Peter became known as a man of peace while Ender is known as a

man of war, as the victorious commander of the Third Invasion?

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Literary Element:

I. Theme – An author usually writes a story to communicate a general message about life

and how people behave. This message, or theme, can usually be stated in one

sentence. A novel can have more than one theme. Compile a list of important themes

in this novel. Consider what the novel is saying about the following topics:

Topic Theme What does the author want you to learn about ________?

Games

The relationship between adults and children

Compassion and ruthlessness

Good and evil

Friends and enemies

Humanity

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Chapter 15 (Cont.)

II. Plot – The plot of a novel is the sequence of events that happen in the story, each event causing or leading to the next.

CHARACTER(S): The people in the story. There is usually a Protagonist who tries to solve the

problem/conflict or creates the turning point in the story and an antagonist who is usually the character who

creates all the problems/conflicts in the story. WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE STORY?

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SETTING: the time and place in which a story takes place. WHERE AND WHEN (IN WHAT TIME PERIOD)

DOES THE STORY TAKE PLACE? _____________________________________________________________________________

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EXPOSITION: The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting are revealed. This is where

the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed. HOW DOES THE PLOT OF

THE STORY BEGIN? REMEMBER TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SETTING, CHARACTERS, AND

THE CONFLICT OF THE STORY. _____________________________________________________________________________

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RISING ACTION: This part of the story begins to develop the conflict(s). Events and complications occur

that lead to an important and dramatic point in the plot and create some sort of conflict for the protagonist. This

is where a building of interest or suspense occurs. WHAT IS THE RISING ACTION OF THE STORY?

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CLIMAX: the point of highest dramatic tension or the major turning point in the action. This is usually when the

main character comes face to face with the conflict of the story and is usually the point of greatest interest and

emotional involvement in the plot. At the climax of the story the outcome of the story becomes clear to the

reader and the main character will change in some way. WHAT IS THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY?

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FALLING ACTION: The events and complications of the story begin to resolve themselves. All the loose

ends of the plot are tied up. The conflict and climax are taken care of. WHAT IS THE FALLING ACTION OF

THE STORY? _____________________________________________________________________________

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RESOLUTION: The final outcome or untangling of the events in the story. HOW DOES THE PLOT/STORY

END?

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