Good Vs. Evil In Ender's Game

The basis of human nature and the way we interact with one another and ourselves throughout our lives is deeply connected with the idea of good and evil in the human speciescut? This reoccurring theme is seen in all religion, mythology, and modern day stories which all have the constant moral compass of straying from evil and relating to the good through actions and emotions. While it is believed by many that people's actions shape their internal identity, is that really the case? Ender's game raises this question with Peter symbolizing evil and portrays ultimate actions of good and Ender symbolizing good while portraying the actions of evil. With the toying of the readers perception of the stereotypical good and evil, Card proves in his writing …show more content…
Like his sister, he is inherently good, but because he is a genius and ultimately more that of an outcast, he is put in situations where his actions of killing are portrayed of that of Peter. Ender is shown going through three main cycles of violent behavior where he first is an outcast and is tormented by them, then faced with a life death situation, he has no choice but to fight full heartedly. The cycles are Enders fight with Stilson, his fight with Bonso, and his ultimate battle with the Buggers. In each cycle, Ender is unaware that he may and ultimately does kill his opposite. The fact that he is not aware of his doings until the end of the book and is ultimately referred to as “The Xenocide” His tittle sp is that of what the reader early on saw as Peter's fate, not Enders, showing Card's switch on the roles and actions of the good and evil roles within the …show more content…
Ender has taken on the role of Peter's foretold destiny, Card does not show Ender as that of a mass murderer for he did not commit Genocide with no remorse to follow. He was unaware of the Genocide at the time he was committing it, for if he did, he would not have been able to go through with it. “Of course we tricked you into it. That's the whole point..It had to be a trick or you couldn't have done it... We had to have a commander with so much empathy that he would think like the buggers, understand them and anticipate them. So much compassion that he could win the love of his underlings and work with them like a perfect machine, as perfect as the buggers. But somebody with that much compassion cold never be the killer we needed. Could never go into battle willing to win at all costs. If you know, you couldn't do it. If you were the kind of person who would do it, even if you knew, you could never have understood the buggers well enough”(p.298), a quote said by Graff when explaining to Ender why they tricked him into defeating the Buggers in war. Ender shows compassion and love for his enemies and never fails to feel remorse after the confrontations. Through his cycles mentioned earlier, he never knew he killed anybody until after they were all completed, for if he knew, he would have never been