Ender's Game Analysis: Humans and Technology
Humans are in a world today in which technology is used on a regular basis. It is a lifestyle, and many would admit their difficulty adjusting if any electronic such as cell phones or computers went missing. A typical example would be an average teenager who forgets their cell phone when leaving their home. The person’s immediate reaction would be despair at the feeling of loss and not a clue what to do. To them, the cell phone has become a need for survival as long as they can remember. Eventually, the person would slowly but gradually recall other ways people used to communicate. In reality, many easily accessible electronics end up becoming a technological crutch people cannot walk without. Once taken away, they would automatically lose their balance and take a while to regain their footing alone. Orson Scott Card’s, “Ender’s Game” is a science fiction novel in which many sad and disturbing truths are revealed in Ender’s relationships with his family, friends, and with the aliens; colloquially known as ‘buggers’. The novel explores the tragic shortcomings of people’s shockingly heavy reliance on technology, the scars left behind as a result of brutal methods of futuristic warfare, and the influence and terrifying power associated with the Internet. Although humanity prospers around new discoveries and technologies, such elements alienate the interaction between all species alike by creating social barriers in between, leading to the destruction of one another. Unless he was stranded in a forest, a man would not be able to look in a direction that did not show any sign of technological influence. On his left he would see a city, on his right a car, in his hand a smart phone. In the novel, Ender and Colonel Graff are travelling to Command School when Graff explains the ‘ansible’: a high-tech communicative device which is able to send and receive messages in a matter of seconds, even when the two communicators are light-years away. The discussion then leads to
Cited: Card, Orson Scott. Ender’s Game. New York: Tome Dohorty Associates, LLC, 1992. Print.