posted
This year, I'm taking English III AP. Seeing as the class will have a lot of time on its hands after the AP tests in May, my teacher gave us an interesting assignment. Working in groups, the students get to teach the class for a day about any subject / book they want, as long as it pertains to American literature.
My mind instantly leapt to OSC and Ender's Game.
I'm bursting with ideas, but I can only do so much in 2 hours. I need some help deciding on major themes / symbols / etc to discuss, so any help is greatly appreciated!
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Why not post a few of the ideas you are bursting with, and we all can play around with them a bit? Presenting your own ideas for discussion here always goes over better than just straight out asking for other people's input. We've had our share of folks who want the members here to do the homework for them (unlike you, of course), and so putting something out shows that you are here for discussion, not just mining for ideas.
posted
Well, in a way, I guess I AM mining for ideas... heh
but I was thinking about talking about everything from the relationships between the characters and how they affect each other, to things like how universal human nature is. Also, the manipulation that Graff and, in turn, Ender use to achieve their goals. Group dynamics? Religious symbols/allusions?
there's a LOT to talk about in this book... I need help condensing it all down into 2 hours worth of discussion
Posts: 19 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
You might consider covering the military/leadership aspects of the book. There are very good reasons why the Corps has it on the Commandant's recommended reading list. It's not so much the tactics (although platoon leaders should remember that the enemy's gate is down), but rather the way that Card covers the flaws of the other army leaders in a clear and reasonable way, and how he shows that Ender learned and grew from a shrimpy prodigy to the master leader. As well as what made Ender the master.
posted
Another approach would be to talk here about very specific ways the book impacted you. Were there things you changed in your life, or maybe some things that you thought about differently after having read the book? What still resonates with you when you think about it?
Tell us specifics, tell us details about how the book affected you. We can then help you figure out how to make that a broader point. Start with the specifics, though -- the biggest mistake you can make is start too broad.
Trust me, as someone who used to grade papers. Talking in depth about a few things is much, much more impressive than talking superficially about a lot of things.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
The aspect of how Ender was constant outcast from the group affected me the most - it wasn't because he wasn't empathetic. Quite the contrary, Ender could relate ETREMELY well to the others. And yet... he was quite lonely throughout the book.
perhaps the effects of power on people?
Posts: 19 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
That sounds like a good idea. It really does! He had to be in a position of authority and responsibility, too, and that meant he had to act differently than the other boys. Is there maybe something about becoming someone in an adult role that makes it harder to relate to kids? How about how a boss relates to his employees (do you have to be more than just friends)?
You mentioned his empathy -- maybe you could also talk about how his empathy made getting close to others difficult. It wasn't just the power (although that is a big issue), but also that the awareness seemed almost too painful to him. He understood other boys, he even understood (eventually) the Hive Queen, but he really (IIRC) seemed happiest alone on the island with Valentine, his sister. Why there? And why her?
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
Because at the moment that he truly knew his enemy he destroyed him. This made it so that even when he wasn't planning on destroying someone he was still scared to completely know them because he had related in his mind that knowing to destroying. The only one he knew before this was trained into him was valentine so he was more comfortable with her.
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