Ender's Game

Peter Wiggin is four years older than Ender and the eldest Wiggin sibling. Peter is a beautiful boy with dark hair and “a face that could have belonged to Alexander the Great” (7), but Ender and Valentine only see a tormentor. Six-year-old Ender describes how he “looked at Peter only to detect anger or boredom, the dangerous moods that almost always led to pain” (7). Peter inflicts physical, mental, and emotional abuse on his siblings, altering the tone of his threats between maliciously serious and mocking. He shares Ender and Valentine’s impressive intelligence, but the I.F. denied him entry to Battle School because of his frightening nature. Despite his sociopathic tendencies, Peter is patient; as he ages, he becomes increasingly adept at appearing amiable, and he more carefully plans outlets for his needs. By age 12, Peter already sets his sights on international notoriety, and he plans a scheme for him and Valentine to gain political influence despite—or, in defiance of—their young age.

Ender and Valentine expect Peter’s death threats, but neither knows how to react to his vulnerability. Twice, Peter apologizes for his death threats and affirms he loves them, even crying genuine tears. Peter says to Valentine,

But I didn’t hate you. I loved you both, I just had to be—had to have control, do you understand that? It’s the most important thing to me, it’s my greatest gift, I can see where the weak points are, I can see how to get in and use them, I just see those things without even trying. […] I’m going to rule, Val, I’m going to have control of something. But I want it to be something worth ruling. I want to accomplish something worthwhile (94).

Though a younger Ender and Valentine insist they share no commonalities with Peter, they eventually realize they are more like him than they’d want to admit. All three siblings know how to find their opponents’ weaknesses and use them to their advantage. Ironically, Valentine and Ender ultimately hurt people using this talent while Peter embraces it and saves millions. Peter is a foil to Ender; he represents what Ender could have become without his inherent love. Even though the outcomes of their actions differ unexpectedly, and Peter mellows, Ender accomplishes true good through his genuine leadership style and love for his enemies. 

Valentine Wiggin lives up to the connotations of her first name, being Ender’s loving older sister. Before Ender leaves Earth, Valentine protects him from Peter’s abuse by presenting logical arguments for Ender’s safety. She is highly intelligent, just like her brothers, but the I.F. considered her too mild-mannered to fulfill the open commander position. Consequently, Valentine applies her genius and natural authorial eloquence toward a less dangerous but equally intense domain: politics. With Peter’s help, she creates the online persona Demosthenes, who she describes as “a fairly paranoid anti-Russian writer” (97). Initially, Valentine despises everything Demosthenes stands for, and she’s disappointed to hear her father sing the phantom politician’s praises. However, Demosthenes’s ideas take root within Valentine over time, and she begins “agreeing with ideas that were supposed to be calculated poses” and musing, “Perhaps it’s impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be” (162). Like Ender, Valentine understands her “enemy”—or, more accurately, political foil—so thoroughly that she can’t help but sympathize with Demosthenes’s worldview.

Valentine’s innocence continues to dissipate as she matures and faces complex moral decisions. Though she loves Ender, Graff convinces her to betray his trust so that Ender continues his training and saves humanity. Even before her first conversation with Graff, Valentine recognizes how associating with Peter distances her from Ender: “She felt a deep stab of pain, of regret, of shame that now it was Peter she was close to, Peter who was the center of her life. For you, Ender, I light fires on your birthday. For Peter I help fulfil all his dreams” (103). While talking to Ender, Valentine even defends Peter as a decent political option. She increasingly acknowledges how the Wiggin siblings are more alike than not, and therefore she knows Ender could never feel content letting humanity die. Valentine successfully convinces Ender to continue training, but her compliance splinters their bond. After the war, Valentine visits Ender on Eros and asks him to join her on the colonies, explaining she wants “a chance to know the brother that [she loves], before it’s too late, before [they’re] not children anymore” (218). Though she likely wouldn’t change any of her past choices, she chooses to leave everything behind—Peter, her parents, her political influence—to write her own work and live life with Ender.

Hyrum Graff is a colonel in the International Fleet, and he serves as head of the Battle School. He is personally responsible for orchestrating the details of Ender’s training, including his isolation and stacked odds. At first, Ender wants to trust Graff—he appreciates how Graff gives him straight, un-sugarcoated facts—but Graff almost immediately provokes his classmates’ resentment against him. Graff’s true intentions appear throughout the chapter openings, which usually feature conversations between Graff and Anderson or some other important I.F. officer. Graff genuinely cares about his students, especially Ender, but he shelves his affections for a greater purpose: creating history’s greatest military leaders. He dedicates his life to this work not only at the expense of the children but also of himself; he never spends money, owns no extra luggage (including spare clothes), and never uses vacation time. Over the course of the story, he grows more overweight due to stress.

Though Graff by no means enjoys creating turmoil for the students, he ultimately believes the ends justify the means. He willingly ruins the students’ childhoods—and arguably their lives—to ensure humanity’s survival. Nevertheless, Graff cares deeply for Ender, even if he can’t express it. While Ender is feverish with stress and overwork on Eros, he describes what he thinks is a realistic dream: “During the night he thought he felt hands touching him gently. Hands with affection in them, and gentleness” (201). Once the war ends, he has difficulty adapting to a less stressful lifestyle, and he accepts a position as Minister of Colonization over the newly vacant bugger worlds.

Bernard is the first Battle School bully Ender provokes (albeit unintentionally). Before the launch group ever reaches Battle School, Ender accidentally breaks Bernard’s arm when Bernard provokes him and he retaliates. From that moment on, Bernard has something to prove both to Ender and the other witnesses. Bernard has key advantages in his favor, which he uses to keep himself on top of the Launchy food chain: “His [French] accent made him exotic and interesting; his broken arm made him a martyr; his sadism made him a natural focus for all those who loved pain in others” (35). Bernard focuses on easy targets, like Shen, to unleash ridicule and mean humor. Though Bernard performs well under an advantage, his social prowess stumbles when Ender makes him look foolish. Bernard whines to the launch leader about Ender’s ostensibly underhanded retaliation—Ender pokes fun at Bernard through the computerized desks under the alias “God”—but to no avail. Compared to Ender’s calculated maneuvers, Bernard’s moves are cheap, including schoolyard physical harassment and easy targets.

Bernard is not particularly loyal to any person or cause; rather, he allies with people when partnerships become advantageous. When Ender and Alai become friends in the battleroom, they invite Bernard and Shen to participate in their null gravity experimentation, catching the other students’ notice. After Ender befriends Alai, Bernard no longer gains capital from opposing Ender. However, he still harbors the old grudge; when Bonzo later attacks Ender, Bernard joins the group. Bonzo provides an opportunity for Bernard to take revenge from a place of power. Overall, despite assenting to a temporary truce with Ender, Bernard remains one of the true bullies Ender faces.

Alai is the Battle School student who shares the strongest bond with Ender, though readers initially perceive Alai as an enemy because he supports Bernard. However, during their first day in the battleroom, Ender recognizes Alai’s intelligence and curiosity, deciding to risk a conflict to experiment with him. Immediately, Ender and Alai form a special bond, which draws a temporary truce between Ender and Bernard. Ender ponders, “Now others might believe that Ender had joined his group, but it wasn’t so. Ender had joined a new group. Alai’s group. [...] The launch was no longer divided into Bernard’s in-group and Ender’s outcasts. Alai was the bridge” (45). Alai’s gift for connecting also applies to Ender and Alai’s particular relationship, which solidifies when Ender graduates from the launch group and Alai bids him farewell with a kiss and a whispered word: “Salaam.” This culturally suppressed ritual demonstrates Alai’s profound fondness of Ender, and Ender carries this memory throughout the story.

Alai is also a pragmatist; he responds to situations as he sees them, which makes him an excellent squadron leader in Ender’s final battles. (In terms of strategy, he is “almost as good as Ender” (92), and he performs well under vague instructions.) This quality also explains why he initially allied with Bernard; he simply connects with the in-crowd. However, upon befriending Ender, he has an opportunity to expand his influence. Alai’s pragmatism also prompts him to acknowledge their changed relationship after Ender becomes an enemy army commander. Alai still likes Ender, but he explains how the word salaam means “peace,” which no longer applies to them. Regardless, Alai still plays a vital part in Ender’s development: “The kiss, the word, the peace were with him still. I am only what I remember, and Alai is my friend in a memory so intense that they can’t tear him out” (122). Alai easily makes connections with other students, but such a bond is rarer in Ender’s life; even when they are no longer confidants, Ender’s memory of Alai’s friendship influences Ender for the better.

Being one of the few girls in Battle School, Petra Arkanian is a natural underdog and outsider. Petra and Ender first meet in Salamander Army; when Bonzo refuses to let Ender practice with the army, Petra teaches him the basics during their spare time, demonstrating compassion and solidarity toward a fellow outcast.

When Ender graduates to Dragon Army commander, he assumes they are no longer friends, especially after the conversation with Alai. After winning his first battle, she won’t meet his eye in the mess hall, and Ender notices her anger after defeating Phoenix Army, of which she’s commander. However, Ender confuses that anger for hatred and assumes she, too, would conspire against him given the opportunity. She proves Ender wrong when she warns him about Bonzo’s impending attack. All throughout the conversation, Ender remains skeptical, and Petra angrily retorts, “Don’t you know who your friends are?” before storming away (144). Her frustration demonstrates how Ender’s paranoia affects how he reads others’ intentions and character.

When he hears Petra’s voice among the other squadron leaders, Ender is relieved, past tensions forgotten. He values Petra’s brilliance, and he sends her on the most difficult missions. Ender doesn’t realize how much he pushes her until she breaks down in the middle of “practice”—which, of course, is a real fight—nearly costing Ender the battle. Petra’s breakdown emphasizes how Ender is the only viable candidate for his role: Even the strongest and most brilliant Battle School students buckle under pressure similar to Ender’s conditions. After winning the final bugger battle, Petra is among Ender’s first visitors. She apologizes for exposing her weaknesses when Ender needed her, but Ender insists that he didn’t see her fail, but instead, “I saw you magnificent” (212). When her loyalty matters most, Petra proves her devotion to Ender, revealing his true value to the people in his life.

Bonzo Madrid is the Salamander Army commander. He immediately resents Ender’s early promotion, but he still uses it to his public advantage: “We have surprised Rat and Scorpion and Hound, and we are ready to play for leadership in the game. So of course, of course I’m given such a useless, untrained, hopeless specimen of underdevelopment as yourself” (55). He cannot stand to appear weak in front of others, and he will twist situations to uphold his image. However, Ender has a knack for making bullies look foolish. For example, Bonzo orders Ender to not engage his weapon during a battle, which Ender obeys to Salamander Army’s detriment. At long last, Ender defies Bonzo and changes a sure defeat into a draw. Bonzo is furious, but he can’t justify his fury to everyone else. Ender muses, “You fool, Bonzo. You aren’t enforcing discipline, you’re destroying it. […] You made yourself look stupid in front of everyone. What is your discipline worth now?” (68). Ender carefully plans his defiance so that no one doubts his integrity, but Bonzo appears only petty.

In Dink’s words, Bonzo has “an advanced case of Spanish honor” (78). Even after trading Ender out of his army, Bonzo hates Ender for using his own plan—to put Ender in his place as a useless Launchy—against him. Dink further explains, “That’s why he hates you, because you didn’t suffer when he tried to punish you” (78). Bonzo’s grudge escalates to an attack on Ender’s life, and he recruits Ender’s enemies and dissenters to help coordinate the assault. However, even Bonzo’s honor backfires when the attack takes place, costing him his life. Bonzo brings a large group of boys, yet Ender appeals to his honor to keep the fight one-on-one, giving Ender enough advantage to win. Narratively, Bonzo serves as another example of a powerful enemy who Ender destroys by perceiving and using his weaknesses. 

Dink Meeker is the secret driving force of Rat Army; he is not the commander—though he has rejected the position many times—but he runs a toon like his own personal army. Ender learns Dink urged his commander to recruit Ender because Dink recognized his potential. Dink is a natural leader; however, for most of the story, his belief in the game’s futility keeps Dink from investing any real stake in Battle School. He sees games as only petty competitions and students as pawns manipulated by the teachers. Dink takes his worldview even farther by assuming that the government fabricated the bugger war altogether. Ender disagrees with Dink on this final point, though he begins analyzing Battle School with new eyes.

Though he disdains pointless games, he can’t help but love the battles. Still, he hates the constant drama and competition. One day, Ender waits for Dink in the battleroom and describes the following scene: “He drifted slowly toward the center of the room, very slowly, his body relaxing almost completely, so that his hands and arms seemed to be caught by almost nonexistent air currents in the room” (76). This peaceful moment shows how Dink both feels relaxed in null gravity—he loves being in Battle School—and he also needs a few extra moments alone to clear his mind of the school’s politics.

At his core, Dink is a loyal friend, who stands up for what is right. After Ender’s first victory as a commander, Dink is the first person to congratulate him (whereas the others regard him with suspicious silence). He also watches Ender’s back when Bonzo plans his assault, and Dink is the first friend to notice when Ender is missing and unattended. He finds Bonzo and Ender in the bathroom and tries to help, though the fight is inevitable. Finally, Dink ultimately accepts the game for both Ender and humanity, consenting to Command School and helping lead Ender’s fleet to victory.

Bean is a small boy who prematurely graduates from his launch group to join Ender’s haphazard army. Bean serves as one of Ender’s narrative foils: Just like Ender, Bean is perceptive and curious. During Dragon Army’s first practice, Bean quickly responds to Ender’s questions while the other boys struggle to gather their bearings and acclimate to Ender’s command style. However, unlike Ender, Bean arrives a couple of years too late. The adults already fear Ender may not finish training soon enough to defeat the buggers. Bean matches Ender’s intelligence in many ways, and given a different set of circumstances, Bean could be in Ender’s shoes.

Nonetheless, because Bean is not Ender, he doesn’t receive the same treatment from the adults; he isn’t isolated, and he doesn’t bear the weight of humanity. However, Ender sees much of himself in Bean and subconsciously treats him similarly to how Graff once treated Ender. Ender perniciously favors him and makes the others resent him for it. Bean knows he is smarter than the other kids, so he asks Ender for a quick promotion. At this point, Bean despises Ender, who in turn describes Bean as “cocky and rebellious, and probably resented the fact that he had been one of the ones Ender had sent naked through the corridors” (114). (Ender only gave the army three minutes to dress that morning.) Ender shuts down Bean’s request for promotion, but he later regrets his bully-like behavior. Ender’s impulsive response to Bean reveals immaturity that others rarely see; everyone perceives Ender’s decisions as calculated moves, but here, Ender (subconsciously) perpetuates the trauma done to him simply so he doesn’t feel alone in his experience.

Slowly, Ender turns his harshness into empathy. Bean is one of the few people he truly confides in; he allows Bean to see him panic, and he entrusts him to lead a small task force within Dragon Army. Bean thrives in this role, and later—in the final bugger battles—Ender recognizes Bean is most proficient leading small groups of ships. Bean’s experience indicates an alternative life Ender could have if the teachers did not single him out for leadership.