Post B #7

Dear Orson Scott Card,

This alliance between these three species is amazing. If the galactic fleet does not destroy it, I could imagine Lusitania becoming very powerful with three opposite species working side by side. Maybe the humans could go and fight in the shuttles alongside buggers and perhaps the piggies, so that you would need a new strategy for each opponent. Also, they could work together creating new technologies because I'm sure each specie would think differently about problems so that they can work together to achieve what humans alone could not. The only thing I fear for is that the galactic fleet can foresee this and wish to destroy Lusitania in order to protect their own existence. The only hope is that, although this alliance would certainly never attack ANY humans, the fleet might not know that and would use their little doctors on the planet.

This is sort of like the situation in Iraq to an extent, because the U.S is working with the Iraqis in order to aid their situation, but the terrorists do not see this or do not like it, so they are opening fire. The main difference, however, is that the terrorists do not have the firepower at this present time to completely obliterate Iraq and leave everyone in it dead. The human weapons are really quite devastating in this novel, and they scare me. If humankind ever invents such a weapon as the little doctor, some madman or terrorist would get a hold of one and try to blow up the planet. Humankind's largest flaw and greatest strength compared to the buggers is our ability to think for ourselves. But this can lead to problems when you have a group such as the terrorists that wish to harm humanity rather than help it. The buggers, being completely controlled by the Hive Queen, obviously do not have this sort of problem.

Post A #7

Vocab

1. Protuberance: Something, such as a bulge, knob, or swelling, that protrudes.
2. Dimorphism: Zoology. the occurrence of two forms distinct in structure, coloration, etc., among animals of the same species.

Figurative Language

1. Irony: "The dominant females govern the whole tribe, yet their genes cannot be passed on..." (324). This is an example of irony because it is extremely ironic how these dominant females don't really seem to be a vital part of the piggie society, yet they are in charge.
2. "I told her that you said we must remain little ones, and you must remain big ones" (327) This is an example of pun because the piggies really are little people things. They are quite different from the humans, but the height difference is especially noticeable.
   
3. Novinha gave him her own nightstick to lead the way; Arrow played with it like a child, making the light small and large, making it hover and swoop like a suckfly among the trees and bushes" (343). This is an example of a simile because the nightstick and a suckfly are being compared using the word like.

Quote

1. "So many people had so much hope in me, thought Ender. In the end, though, everything depended on them. On Novinha, Miro, Ela, who called for me; on Human and Star-looker. And on the ones who feared my coming, too (348). This quote is significant because it shows how big of an impact Ender has had on everyone even though he has only been on Lusitania for a week.

Theme

1. The theme at this point is definatley the union between the humans, the buggers, and the piggies.
   

Post B #6

Dear Orson Scott Card,

I greatly respect your ability to write in such a manner that one finds themselves unable to stop reading. The suspense you have created is immense and grand that I actually ended up reading all three hundred pages in about three days. This is pretty impressive because they were school days... But anyways, You are a very amazing author and I had to reread Ender's Game after this and I finished that in like two days! This novel easily relates to the modern world in that if someone is accused of adultery, nothing really happens. In the olden days, people were killed for this crime, but now it is but a shameful action that can very well lead to divorce.

Also, this rebellion that is being started has caused much controversy. Ender believes it to be good to encourage the rebellion in order to unite the colony, but many of the villagers wish to just send Miro and Ouanda to Tronjheim. This would cause a great disruption to the colony, and thus Ender and Peregrino decide to rebel. This is kind of like France during the revolution of 1848. They had a council that decided upon revolution in order to unite France and have the power to combat Prussia. Finally, the Lithuanians hold Ender in great respect. This resembles the situation in which Napoleon was in. He was not French, but Corsican. This coupled with his lack of hight would have made him a man that was not respected in France, but because of his amazing ability of tactics, Napoleon became a household name and one that was treated with great respect.

Post A #6

Vocab

1. Disquiet: lack of calm, peace, or ease; anxiety; uneasiness. n (257).
2. Antisepsis: destruction of the microorganisms that produce sepsis or septic disease. n (285).

Figurative Language

1. "Libo had a sharp eye and was quick to realize that Ouanda was a rose..." (258). This is a metaphor because it is comparing Ouanda to a rose without using like or as.
2. "It crushes her skull and dashes her brain onto the cobblestones. 'nor am I without sin' he says to the people. 'But if we allow only the perfect people to enforce the law, the law will soon be dead and our city with it." (278). This parable is an example of symbolism. This is because the story does not directly relate to the situation in the novel, but it can be applied to it and a lesson can thus be learned.
3. "I found out only a few hours after the speaking. Thank you for not arresting them yet". (284). This is an example of sarcasm because Ender was being sarcastic about the arresting bit.

Quote

1. "The speaker had done a monstrous thing, to lay these secrets before the whole community. They should have been spoken in confession. Yet Peregrino had felt the power of it." (269). This quote is significant because it shows how Ender's speaking affected the community and how the bishop felt about it. Accusing someone of adultery in front of their community can be a terrible thing, yet nobody wished to take action against it.

Theme

1. The theme at this point in the novel is Ender's speaking. Ender wishes to tell Lusitania about Novinah's adultary, but also about why she did it and why her husband beat her.
   

Post B #5

Dear Orson Scott Card,

The suspense you have created at this point in the novel is killing me! Ender is not only extemely respected by the piggies, but he is also given everything he wishes for. None of the Zenobiologers had ever seen the piggies cut tools out of a tree before, but Ender was able to get them to do it in a matter of minutes. Ender has also been revealed as the writer of the Hive Queen and the Hegemon, which I would have assumed would be surprising to Libo. But, Libo doesn't really seem to care that much and dissmisses Ender as a fake. This section of the story could be compared to the war in Iraq right now because when the U.S. entered Iraq, we made vast changes in a matter of days, but the United States population does not seem to want to believe it. The liberal media is just killing me because it is so anti-war at the moment that it is willing to skewer details and only present items that make us look bad. When the media in a country is seemingly against the country, you know something is wrong.

Also, Ender is continuing to befriend Novinha's children and learn secrets from them. Ender now knows of cao's abusiveness and Novinha's secretivity. The biggest change at this point is that Ender was allowed in the piggies' forest, which is against the Starways Congress' code. It is also confusing to most sane people because the piggies had recently murdered two Zenobiologers, so why would someone want to visit them? This can be compared to radical feminism because it is so crazy that it doesn't make any sense. It is ok for women to want equal rights, but not ok for women to want equal rights AND special treatment in the workforce, benefits, and society. If women want to truly be treated as equals to men, then so be it. The problem is that once women realize that every advantage they had in the world has dissappeared, they will want to be special again.

Post A #5

Vocab

1. Cretin: A stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person. n (205).
2. Gamete: A reproductive cell having the haploid number of chromosomes, especially a mature sperm or egg capable of fusing with a gamete of the opposite sex to produce the fertilized egg. n (214).

Figurative Language

1. "'We've always played along with it and act as if we believed it'. 'How very condescending of you'" (226). This is an example of sarcasm because Ender is making fun of how they treat the piggies. The are trying to make the way they treat them seem civil and correct, but Ender is making them look silly and showing them other ways to do things.
   
2. "Of course she has reasons, crazy people always have reasons" (210). This is an example of irony because Ela is also crazy, and so she is just making fun of herself.
3. "Finally there was a straight trunk, nude and majestic; the pale patches where branches once had grown were brightly lit by the afternoon sun" (244).

Quote

1. "Other piggies came forward, drawing shapes on the trunk and singing" (245). This quote is significant because it tells how the piggies magically make items out of wood. This essentially reveals one of their biggest secrets.

Theme

1. The theme at this point in the novel is discovering the piggies' secrets.
   

Post B #4

Dear Orson Scott Card,

I don't know how you have created such a society in your mind, but it is very impressive. This Children of the Mind cult is quite interesting. I believe that it is a vast improvement over the current Catholic orders, mainly because you are allowed to be married but are still expected to remain celibate. This is totally new for me since it seems that the modern day orders are very prudish, and although this one would be too, it emphasizes love and devotion for your fellow human being. If there existed such a thing today, I would donate to it because that is really awesome.

Also, the relationship that you have created between Ender and Jane is very interesting. It must be hard for a computer capable of such immense thought to have a relationship with a mere human, only it is the human that has trouble revealing himself wholly to the computer. Although Ender is not fully devoted and trusting of Jane, he nonetheless loves her as much as a computer program can be loved, and if Jane had returned to him after his overemotional moment with the missionaries, I'm sure that Ender would have continued to love her. Humans and robots will, once robots are advanced enough to think for themselves, doubtlessly have trouble relating to each other since they are, to an extent, different species. Robots such as Jane would have the advantage of studying humans and adapting their character, and by the looks of it, Jane is totally incapable of hate. She experienced jealousy though for a moment and that could eventually lead to hate. Anyways, in the way that you have created it Mr. Card, Jane would be the perfect friend and, if robots ever become that advanced, would be the ideal robot to control all.

Post A #4

Vocab

1. Indolence: Habitual laziness; sloth. noun (154).
2. Enmeshing: To entangle, involve, or catch in or as if in a mesh. tr v (161).

Figurative Language

1. "They may have the guns, but we hold the keys of heaven and hell" (157). This is an example of symbolism because the bishop does not truly hold these keys, but he has the power to make or take someone's eternity in either heaven or hell.
2. "Wherever he stepped, disorder threatened, and many lovely flowers would die if he took root and sucked the life from their soil" (158). This is an example of a metaphor because Ender is not really going to suck the life from the soil, but he is being compared to a plant growing roots and taking using the good soil that other plants need to survive.
3. "The Speaker might as well live at out house, thought Novinha, because he keeps influencing the family even when he isn't there and now he's prying in my files and I won't have it" (191). This is an example of another metaphor because in reality, Ender is not prying into Novinha's files because you cannot pry into something that only exists digitally.
   

Quote

1. "The current balance in liquid funds appeared on the screen. Olhado had never seen so large a number in his life" (187). This quote is significant not only because it is funny how much money Ender has, but it shows how one's money would be compounded hundreds of times over the thousand years Ender has been alive. So essentially, Ender could buy the Universe, and that is significant...

Theme

1. The theme at this point in the novel is the relationship between Jane and Ender because Ender recently shut her off for a minute and now she refuses to return to him.