Orson Scott Card is a well-known American novelist, and he is famously known for his bestselling book The Ender’s Game. In addition to being an extremely talented novelist, he is also a renowned critic, public speaker, column writer and essayist. Even though he is proficient in a number of genres, he is known to be the best in science fiction. His novel Ender’s Game and the sequel both were extremely well received and won prestigious awards such as the Hugo and Nebula Award. It was an honor for Orson Scott’s card because after winning these two awards he became the only author who was able to win both science fiction top awards of the US in two consecutive years. The book was so well received then it eventually turned into a film feature film adaptation, which was co-produced by the author of the book.
Card initially started his career as a poet at the time as a student at BYU. During his educational career as a theatre major, he got the opportunity to work on scripts. One of the few tasks he did were turning fiction into theatre production and eventually wrote his own one-act as well as full plays, few of these plays were produced by the faculty members at the University.
The genre that Orson Scott Card experienced the most is fiction writing, and he explored it to the extent that eventually led to the creation of a classic novel like Ender’s Game. In addition to writing science fiction, the writer also has a keen taste in writing contemporary fantasy, biblical novels as well as poetry. As a novelist, Card is seen to show a preference for the fiction genre as it lets him play wild with his ideas and logic. Due to his mesmerizing and extremely well thought out story plots, he enjoys a wide readership by both adults and young readers. Most recently, the book Ender’s Game has become part of many school curricula because of the writing quality that it provides to the reader.
The most important fact about Card’s writing is that even though the novel is science-fiction, it is still filled with scenarios that are thought-provoking, and the main characters of the novel are well-developed, leaving a mark on the reader’s mind. Famous reviews by good critics say that the novels of Orson Scott Card show a captivating glimpse of the nature of human beings at best as well as worst. Not only does Card leave readers with an exciting action novel but also with memorable characters, which is extremely rare for science fiction novels. Reviews also claim that the only negative point about the books written by Orson Scott Card is that they are long, and it is very hard to put them down before finishing them. Using fictional characters, the writer attempts to inspire and motivate the readers to be a better version of themselves, and this marks the books as good reads.
The Novel And Its Genre
The novel Ender’s Game is not just a basic science fiction novel filled with stories about aliens, how they attacked the Earth, and how the people of Earth had to rise up and defend themselves. It is, in reality, a much deeper book with thought-provoking and mesmerizing situations that allow the reader to think about the status quo and how not following the status quo brings opportunities to try newer things. The most important point about the book is not that it is a science fiction novel but the plot of the story and how it evolves to show a very genius side of Ender. Ender is the major character of the novel.
When reading the novel, it is very easy to be mesmerized by the genius of the young, even at the young age of six years old, and it is not like normal children. Rather than sticking to the rules and following the status quo, he invents new ways to carry out the tasks like other children. Rather than being a follower, he makes his own way. One such example is the part where other children make four platoons of ten members each, but Ender decides to build five platoons of eight members each. The genius in this one move lets the reader believe that, indeed, thinking out of the box works more often than not. Making additional platoons gives him a competitive advantage over other groups during the practice sessions. Not only does he use his genius while making games he also uses new tactics while he is training his team. Other teams continue to practice in formations that everyone knows already, but Ender, being a genius, trains his platoons in a freestyle manner, allowing them to counter any attacks and also make sure that nobody can predict the moves of Ender’s platoons.
The novel is a science fiction genre but it also has a dramatic side to it. The novel focuses on how curiosity is an extremely helpful thing. Even though at the start of the novel does not know that he is actually part of an army, he has been told that he is part of a game, but he plays the game in a tactful manner. Curiosity helps him find out ways and think about different scenarios that may lead to the results that Ender wants. Observation is also a very valued quality and human beings help do things in new ways and lights. The novel provides a chance for readers to think of habits that can make life and life experiences easier for humans, as these habits made life easier for Under and helped him realize his goals.
Impact On Readers
Card has created this novel in a very unique way. Nobody can claim that Ender’s Game is an ordinary science fiction novel. It is a mixture and an extremely genius fusion of fiction and emotional plots that make the reader remain interested in the story for as long as possible. The novel, published in the 1970s, was very advanced for its publishing era. But to this day, it serves to be a classic science fiction novel that has won awards. It is a source of constant entertainment for readers of all ages but, at the same time, ends up leaving a life-long mark on the minds of the readers. The aim of any writer is to create a writing that leaves an image. Card created his book in a way that presented a mixture of emotions, genius, empathy, a thought-provoking visualization of human behaviors at their best and worst and characters that are mature in their development.
The readers find it extremely heartbreaking when the main character, Ender, is dealt with events that break his young, naïve heart. The readers are immensely interested in finding out the tricks and tactics that Ender has thought during the novel. The novel builds anticipation and creates suspense. The readers are left thinking that the human race is unpredictable and bad but at the same time good, cruel yet kind, arrogant but still sympathetic. The qualities that make humans better than others are very keenly highlighted in the novel. The leadership tactics and style mentioned in the book make it an interesting military read.
In addition to this, it also brings a pure sense of violence and gruesome justification for the violence carried out. It makes a rational reader very upset because no violence at any cost can be justified for its cruelty. The novel provides a way of making readers feel sympathetic towards a killer who was once innocent. The power of writing can turn a villain into a hero and a hero into a villain. However, Ender’s Game does not have a hero or a bad guy. A common reader is heartbroken when the young Ender turns into a killer unintentionally and feels sympathy towards him as if he is wronged to the extreme. This is a critical criticism of the novel that makes the novel controversial. The main character kills off a whole species of aliens and becomes a killer but still remains morally clean and innocent just because of the fact that he did not know he was involved in an actual war. The positivity of the novel is far greater than the negativities that this novel presents to its readers.
Works Cited
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
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