Locke and Demosthenes

John Locke is widely known as the father of Liberalism for he was one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers of his period. Locke was well known for his theory of the mind being that the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa and that knowledge is determined through experience and perception. John Locke's political theory was founded upon the social contract and he believed that human nature was characterised through reason and tolerance and in the natural state all people are equal in life, liberty, health and possessions.

In the book

John Locke in the novel is characterised as being more reserved and less radical compared to Demosthenes  being "moderate, empathic strategies" Locke argues for open nets to allow International free flow of information and to unify the world under one government.

Demosthenes was an ancient Greek philosopher he spent most the prime of his life opposing the Macedon's views expansion. Demosthenes sought the to restore Athens' supremacy and motivate allies angainst Philip II of Macedon. He sought to preserve the city's freedom and to establish an alliance against the Macedon. Demosthenes played a leading part in the uprising against the King of Macedon and establishing the new King Alexander the Great

In the novel the fictional character Demosthenes was characterised as being anti-russian through fearing the Russians invading and worked through fear. This compares to the real life examples of Demosthenes as in fearing Russians and the encouragement of removing the Warsaw pact. Demosthenes calls for war against the warsaw pact to remove the countries involved. 

Monday 30/5: Technological Advance

Do you think that the story presents technological advance as being positive or negative?

Ender's game presents the technological advancements as being negative because with the advancement of technology so does the responsibility and the possibility increases. Advanced technology is introduced in Ender's game as being the monitor this device is described is representative of the power the government has over the people. Ender had a monitor device on his skull which was able to document and record his actions, emotions and all external stimulus. This shows the role of technology being abused to the point where the government is able to judge a person through their thoughts and emotions and the increase of power caused through technology which enabled the government to control the lives of the people. The motif of abused technology for weaponry and the advancement of the human race through war and destruction this is shown in the use of the Ansible a device that enables faster than light communication that was used to give orders to star ships to ultimately lead to the destruction of the bugger race. This device which had no was alluded to have no device to attack or destroy the buggers which was juxtaposed to the rest of the technology that Ender learnt to use but was ultimately used to for military uses. This is due to the alluded human nature of violence and death this is shown with the constant fights involving Ender who is the protagonist and the reader sees Ender as the model character throughout the book.

What part do humans play in this advancement?


Humans are the bystanders looking on as the advancements of technology take place, humans create the technology and reap the rewards from technology but what the technology is used for may be drastic to other humans. The Ansible was created to be a form of faster than light communication which did not have a direct military uses but it is used to cause a desired effect of killing all the buggers. Humans use and create technology to further their own means. Humans do not control technology but create the start of technology. Humans command the start and reap the rewards of the technology they control the beginning but the people who create the technology control the outcome.

What person is the narrative told in?
omnipotent 3rd person
What is a 'Third'?
The Third child in a family this is regarded as unwanted due to alluded population issues
What game does Peter want to play with Ender?
Buggers and Astronauts
What are two reasons why Ender doesn't want to go to battle school?
Ender loves Valentine and is afraid what Peter might do without Ender to protect Valentine
Ender does not want to leave his family and parents
What type of irony is used when the audience knows more than the characters?
Dramatic irony
How does Graff treat Ender when he first gets to battle school?
Graff treats Ender harshly to train him to his full potential
Who is Ender's room leader at battle school?

BernardWhat happens when Ender goes to the games room for the first time?
He beats an older boy at one of the games
Who is Bernard and what is Ender's relationship to him?
Bernard is one of Ender's first friends but Ender uses him to make himself more liked in his room
What role is Alai voted in to? What role does he now play for the group?
Alai is voted to be a leader in the group and now leads the LaunchiesWhat mistake does Ender make immediately upon joining Salamander Army?
Ender makes the mistake of drawing attention to himselfWhat happens to Ender in the battle against Condor that gets him recognition?

He disobeys orders and is able to make a loss into a draw

Ender's Charactisation chapter 1+2

"I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get" this quote alludes to the importance of Ender and in "or at least as close as we're going to get" states the disparity and increases the importance of Ender.

"Ender nodded. It was a lie, of course, that it wouldn't hurt a bit. But since adults always said it when it was going to hurt ... Some times lies were more dependable than the truth." this shows that Ender has a higher understanding of other characters and that he can understand them. This shows a higher intelligence through the way he interacts with other characters in the plot.

"Peter won't hate me any more. I'll come home and show him that the monitor's gone, and he'll see that I didn't make it either" this quote shows Ender's compassion towards Peter even though he still according to Ender hates him because he is jealous of the monitor

"The sister is our weak link. He really loves her" this quote emphasises Ender's compassion and personality towards certain characters (in this quote Valentine).

"'Tell me why you kept on kicking him. You had already won'
'Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win the next ones, too.So thy'd leave me alone.'" this quote emphasises Ender's calculating qualities through the reasoning of his actions.

Wed 25/5: Characterisation

What are the important elements of characterisation?
The important elements of characterisation consist of  description of the character's personality and also a description of the characters appearance which may give an allusion to a characters role in the plot and whether or not they may be an antagonist or protagonist or a background character. Often characters that are described as being rough, dirty and conniving are often portrayed as the antagonist as they exhibit unwanted features. Dialogue defines a character by the way the character is presented and how these different characters react to each other. Thoughts of the characters give an inside and in-depth understanding of the character's personality and their thoughts. The names of characters can often allude to their behaviour and what role that they play in the plot and novel.
Why is characterisation important?
Characterisation is one of the main cornerstones of the novel characters participate in the plot and give the plot more reality. Characterisation keeps the readers interest as characters are often described to be as realistic as possible to and to give an emotional reaction to the character.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4  Launch

1. (27) How do the updates from the soldiers at the start of the chapter represent dramatic irony?

The updates from the soldiers at the start of the chapter represents dramatic irony as these are soldiers who a instructing civilian children.

1. (28) How do we know that this society is capitalistic?

There are large companies that run the world and there there are still very strong class divisions. The fact that Graff asks for raise and the ideology of capitalism is to work hard and to earn more money and thus by Graff working hard he has a justified mean to gain a raise for his hard work.

1. (29) Is there censorship? If so, how do you know?

Ender ponders whether or not to run up to the camera and say "I love you Valentine" but discards the idea due to the fact that it most likely will be censored out. This gives a sense of the power of the government and the control that it has

1. (31) What does Ender do while Graff is speaking to the boys? How does he react to Ender? Why does he react this way?

Ender laughs at the idea of viewing gravity differently and Graff does not discourage Ender but applaud his lateral thinking. Graff acts this way towards Enders actions to outcast him by saying that he and he alone has an advantage over the other boys and that he will most likely be the only one to be succeed.

1. (35) How does Graff view humans?

Graff has a unique point of view on humans by seeing them as tools for the greater good of humanity and all the things that it represents.

1. (36) What does Graff say about ‘doing bad things’ as soldiers?

Graff says that "doing bad things" as soldiers that it is their job as long as they can justify the means and it has the positive outcome in this case it would be the saving the world from the buggers

1. What role has Ender been given for the survival of the human species?

Ender has been given the role of ultimate saviour in protecting the human race by being the last and only option to save humanity by controlling a fleet of space craft.

Monday 23/5: Effective Technique in Ender's Game

1. Name one technique you feel the author successfully utilized in the first 4 chapters. In one sentence say what the technique is and how it is successfully used in the book.
2. Find at least two examples of this technique in different chapters.
3. Discuss how the author is using the technique in the section where you find it and why it is important to the novel. (You can not say 'he uses it to make the section interesting'.)

1. The author has used dialogue to create action, sense of movement and the personality of the characters, dialogue is used to give a greater insight in the characters thoughts and personality.

 

2. Page 7 "Oh, gonna fight me, huh? Gonna fight me, Thirdie?" Page 15 "Ender, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, I'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you."

3. The author uses dialogue to create a sense of action and description of the character's personality. In "Oh, gonna fight me, huh? Gonna fight me, Thirdie?" this section of dialogue describes the connotations of being a "third" and the fact that Ender is a third. The short dialogue and free flowing natural conversations to create realistic characters to reveal the character's personality, this is used in the section of text where after a fight with Peter, Peter walks up to Ender when he thinks he is asleep and says "Ender, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, I'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you." this gives a more compassionate and different side to the previously described character of Peter. Dialogue is used to create tension and action through short sentences and little to no description of the scene to add pace and keep the attention of the reader.