Thursday, February 12, 2015

ELA Reading Response MaxF 811


           3000 years later, on a world called Trondheim, Ender Wiggin sits in his home, or at least what had been his home for the last few months. The third book in the series Ender’s Game (the fifth book is second) is about after he has been searching for a home for the hive queen, part of an alien race the humanity thinks was destroyed. Little does Ender know, 1 voyage is about to change his life forever. Ender has acquired a gift that gives him the power to understand human desires. However, he is not all-powerful with his gift.
            In the beginning of the story, Ender is living on Trondheim when he gets a report from his friend that someone called for a Speaker for the Dead, and while he had rejected two calls, he had to accept this one because he found so much of himself in her. Her parents died of a terrible disease, and were planning to be sainted. Her godfather also died, as a result of an alien tradition, which does not have positive effects on humans. So Ender went on a 22-year journey, leaving behind his only kin alive, to speak for this girl. ‘“You’ll go, then”’ Jane whispered. He went for two reasons, one to release the hive queen, and secondly to speak for the girl who called him. The girl who is called Novinha has influence over Ender, even while he is 22 light years away, and she is about 20 years younger. Ender became a Speaker for the Dead to detach himself from humanity, and he still hasn’t reattached himself.
            22 years later, Ender arrives on Lusitania, although it’s only been a couple of months for him. Since this is a colony, he only has unrestricted access to a tiny part of Lusitania due to the almost quarantine. He finds the family Novinha has created, however it is not a happy family. Their father died 3 weeks ago from a genetic disease. He was not the best father, always shouting at his family, and beating up his wife. “This man is unknotting the nets of my family, and stringing us together whole again; but in the process he will find my secrets.” Speakers for the Dead tell the truth, and usually do nothing to soften the blows. Ender is gaining respect in her family, and is making Novinha fearful of him. Ender is figuring out all of the secrets rather fast, and Novinha doesn’t like it. He is slowly piecing together her past, a very painful and dark past.
            At the speaking, all of Novinha’s behaviors come into place in the puzzle, which is the reason why her husband was beating her. Her husband had a disease that on the onset of puberty, replaces glands with fatty tissues. The disease rendered him completely sterile, but his family had six children. Her lifelong friend Libo, her godfather’s son, is whom she had children with. However, one of Novinha’s sons, Miro, climbed the electrified fence, and managed to get over it, in extreme pain. Ender convinces the government to tear down the fence, all to get to Miro. "Your the shepherd, come to save your lost sheep" Because Miro is helpless, and might die, the fence goes down and the Lusitanian colony rebels against Starways Congress. They risk having the planet blown up to help one citizen and save him.
            The power to change and have great influence over someone can be very tentative, and erratic. While Ender did cause a lot of pain, he healed Novinha’s family. He even became their father. In the end, Ender and Novinha’s family got what they wanted, and maybe even a little bit more.

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