How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Because as long as people are afraid of the buggers, the I.F. can stay in power, and as long as the I.F. is in power, certain countries can keep their hegemony.” (8.162)
This is Dink being Dink – according to him, if everyone thinks the aliens are out to get us, then the military can effectively have control. And who doesn’t want to have control, right? Man, being in charge of everything is just super great. (Sarcasm alert.) This helpfully reminds us that the war (which Ender never really sees) is considered really important – but that no one else has really seen this war either. (With the exception of Mazer.)
Quote #5
Ender never surrendered to Peter, but I have turned, I've become part of him, as Ender never was. (9.266)
Ender isn’t the only one facing a war; Val has her own war against Peter, but hers takes a different turn. Now, let’s be honest here. Are Peter and Val really at war? Well, they’re not shooting at each other or putting mines in each other’s bedrooms, but notice that, even if Val isn’t shooting at Peter, she’s thinking about her relationship as something like a war: she’s “surrendered.” Why is their relationship sometimes described in such terms?
Quote #6
They couldn't beat him in the battleroom, and knew it – so instead they would attack him where it was safe, where he was not a giant but just a little boy. (11.108)
This nicely contrasts two areas where Ender is at war: he’s at war in the battleroom (in the game) and he’s at war in the rest of his life (with the other kids). According to this quote, Ender is more vulnerable in the rest of his life than he is when he’s playing a war game. So in a strange way, Ender seems safer when he’s fighting a war…