I cannot get my hands on Speaker for the Dead, and I don't have the time to order it. My Dad recently passed away and whilst we were both Ender fans, I have only read Ender's Game and the Shadow series, my Dad talked to me about Speaker for the DEad and I want to try adn incorporate part of it at his funeral.
Could anyone tell me or summarise the general information at what Ender did for funerals in Speaker for the dEad?
Sorry if I've completely lost the plot.
Posts: 3 | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
My take on speaking is to tell the truth about a person's life in a way that takes the hearers from the sphere of what they knew about the person into the sphere of what the person intended for their lives.
It may serve to deal with each of the major roles the person played, and then draw these together into the whole person in terms of where they came from (and in the book, some hidden fact that illuminates their identity in a new way) to reveal the significance of their life. I don't know if everyone will have such a secret. Sometimes the point is simply that their life ended, and their deeds now stand without the chance of unravelling.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Yeah, wikipedia has the most generally applicable summary:
quote:In this novel's precursor, Ender's Game, the last surviving member of the Formic race (known also as 'the Buggers') reaches out to the lead character (Ender Wiggin), who had unknowingly wiped out the rest of the species. Ender tells the story of the Formics as it is related to him, and publishes it as The Hive Queen under the pseudonym "Speaker for the Dead." The audience of The Hive Queen are not aware of the identity of the author (or that the work is factual and not speculative), although Hegemon Peter Wiggin (Ender's brother) recognized the writing and requested that Ender also act as 'his' "Speaker", which he does in a follow-up work called The Hegemon.
The two books become classics and inspire the rise of a movement of Speakers for the Dead. The movement is not a religion, although Speakers are treated with the respect accorded to a priest or cleric. Any citizen has the legal right to summon a Speaker (or a priest of any faith, which Speakers are legally considered) to mark the death of a family member. Speakers research the dead person's life and give a speech that attempts to speak for them, describing the person's life as he or she tried to live it. This speech is not an apology, but rather a way to understand the person as a whole, including any flaws or misdeeds.
posted
Also when discussing the things that they did which were "important" one discusses the things which we're important to them, rather than what may seem important to others.
Posts: 2705 | Registered: Sep 2006
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Here are 2 threads on the forum that deal with Speaking at a real funeral (as opposed to many threads dealing with the novel Speaker for the Dead). I found them by searching with the keywords Speaking and funeral--there are probably a couple more. Actual Speakers? Speaking for the DeadPosts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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It's another forum for Card and Ender's Game fans.
I've only been there a couple of times but someone on the "Speaking for the Dead" thread mentioned there were threads there on real Speaking.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Morbo: I've only been there a couple of times but someone on the "Speaking for the Dead" thread mentioned there were threads there on real Speaking.
Such threads are more a source of forum amusement than actual discussion, except on the part of a couple die-hards. I think the threads mentioned there got lost when pweb crashed last year, anyway.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Fallen, Hope it turned out to be a good memorial for your father’s life. I’d like to hear if you did the speaking and how that went. I certainly understand if it’s too soon to type it all out. Just if you get a chance and are willing to share. Thanks
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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