Ender's Game (1-324)

This passage occurs after an important moment in the book, Ender has just fought, and unbeknownst to him, killed, Bonzo Madrid in the shower. Ender, at heart a peaceful boy, regrets being forced to resort to violence to protect himself.

Ender stepped under the water and rinsed himself, took the sweat of combat and
let it run down the drain. All gone, except they recycled it and we'll be
drinking Bonzo's bloodwater in the morning. All the life gone out of it, but his
blood just the same, his blood and my sweat, washed down in their stupidity or
cruelty or whatever it was that made them let it happen. (214)

This excerpt, though short, is meaningful and I can relate to it. Although I can thankfully say I've never killed someone, I have participated in my share of athletic events. The first thing I do after each game is shower. It feels to me as though the running water washes away more than just the foul odor and sweat, it feels as though the water is cleansing me morally. As if the water is forgiving me and giving me a fresh start. I can understand then, why Ender would take a shower after the fight. He wants the water to wash the blood from his hands and let him start over clean oncemore.

Card, Orson. Ender's Game. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates LLC, 1991.

Ender's Game (1-324)

Ender's Game is a story about a futuristic military school, where the teachers attempt to create the next leader for humanity's forces from a bunch of school-age children. One such child is Ender Wiggin, Ender has shown exceptional skill and has the potential to be that leader. However his superiors, including Colonel Graff, struggle with the morality of destroying a boy's childhood to make their soldier. In this excerpt, Graff attempts to convince Ender, and possibly himself, the justice behind his actions.

'Then too bad. Look, Ender, I'm sorry if you're lonely and afraid. But the buggers are out there. Ten billion, a hundred billion, a million billion of them, for all we know. With as many ships, for all we know. With weapons we can't understand And a willingness to use those weapons to wipe us out. It isn't the world at stake, Ender. Just us. Just humankind. As far as the rest of the biosphere is concerned, we could be wiped out and it would adjust, it would get on with the next step in evolution, But humanity doesn't want to die. As a species, we have evolved to survive. And the way we do it is by straining and straining and, at last, every few generations, giving birth to a genious. The one who invents the wheel. And light. And flight. The one who builds a city, a nation, an empire. Do you understand any of this?

I knew when I first read this passage, that it would be the quote I used for many reasons. Firstly, this excerpt, an entire paragraph in the book, is the closest thing to a monologue Graff, or anyone has. As such, the sentence structure reflects the fact that it is spoken. The author will write one profound, full-length sentence, followed by two, short sentences to increase the effect. It gives the paragraph, especially when spoken aloud, a sort of swelling feel, as though the text is slowly gathering steam, increasing in power as it goes.

Card, Orson. Ender's Game. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates LLC, 1991.