The Moral Dilemma: Ender's Game

The book Ender's Game, to me, was not only a captivating science fiction novel, it was also a moral and ethical war raging on every page...

What do you guys think? Do you think that Mazer Rackham and Colonel Graff were right to trick Andew "Ender" Wiggin into killing an entire enemy species or would you support Ender and his anger at them for provoking mass genocide? Put your opinion down in the comments below.

Reading the Book

"Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf." - Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

This book is slightly on the violent side and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of 13. Even if you are 13+ be sure to ask your parents or guardians before reading it. If you are above 13 and have parental permission, be sure to read this book, and I promise, you won't be able to stop reading it until the last page is turned and the last word is read.

Brief Recap:

For those of you who haven't read Ender's Game or have read it and forgotten, this is all the information you need to participate in the conversation. Hint: if you want to read the book by yourself without any spoilers, DON'T READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin has just completed Battle School and is now off to Command School. Battle School is a school where young children train for a war against a common alien enemy that hasn't attacked in 50 years. Anyway, Ender has graduated and is now off to Command School (unlike most aspiring commanders that usually go to Pre-Command School before graduating to Command School). In his room at Command School, he is completely isolated from the other cadets and has his own private teacher (Mazer Rackham) who is a highly distinguished army commander who fought off the aliens in the "Second Invasion". Currently, Ender is being prepared for "The Third Invasion". Sensing the natural born leader and sensitive soul in Ender, Colonel Graff (Ender's recruiter) and Mazer Rackham realize that he will not kill unless provoked and even then, spare as many lives as possible (though he doesn't have a great history with that). They know that Ender is the only one that can defeat the aliens and now, they must find a way to make Ender demolish the aliens without him knowing. This is where the second part of the title comes in, "GAME". Ender is reunited with some of his friends from Battle School such as Petra Arkanian, Dink Meeker, Alai, and Bean (yes, I typed that right, his name is Bean). Anyway, everyday Ender pushes his teammates harder and harder in their training, and everyday they go through a computer-generated simulator that gives them battle scenarios to which they must respond to with the weapons and soldiers at their disposal. One day, Ender is told that he will be going through his final test which will determine his future course. Ender and his teammates pass the test with flying colors, but soon he realizes that something is wrong. His mentor "Mazer Rackham" keeps saying that they won. Ender knows that something is up, you either pass or fail, you don't "win". It is soon clear what the simulator actually was. Turns out, Ender was giving out commands to real armies, firing real weapons, and killing real enemies. Ender then realizes the gravity of what he's done. He has completely destroyed an entire species without provocation from their side in over 50 years (remember, this is all when he was 11 years old). Ender could not forgive himself after "the test".

If you want to know more, read the book!

So, what do you guys think? Who was right? Did you think Colonel Graff's and Mazer Rackham's action were justified or was Ender correct to be devastated over the mass genocide he just comitted?

That's all from me,

"The Book Keeper"