posted
This may seem like a stupid question to some of you, but does anyone have a logical idea as to who exactly the "Shadow Puppets" are? Obviously, Bean is "Ender's Shadow" and either Bean or Achilles is "Shadow of the Hegemon". But it there such a clear cut answer to "Shadow Puppets"?
Posts: 8 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
You know, the more I think about it, the titles of these books don't really make sense, except for the first one (which was going to be named Urchin, anyway).
Shadow of the Hegemon: The Hegemony is a pathetic and weak position here. Neither Bean nor Achilles are in Peter's shadow.
And with Shadow Puppets: It just doesn't make sense. The puppets part is probably alluding to Achilles and Peter trying to manipulate things. But whose shadow are they under?
The titles seem to have been made with the marketing primarily in mind.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I kind of felt like the title referred to all of the 'jeesh.' If you think of Graff and everyone manipulating them through battle school...even manipulating Peter through the fact that he WASN'T accepted to battle school...they were all puppets in a way. I don't know, I think that Shadow Puppets would have been a more fitting title for the second book, and Shadow of the Hegemon for the third. But that's only according to my interpretation of the symbolism. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
I've never really thought about it, but now that it is mentioned it doesn't make sense. I'd have to agree that marketing was the main consideration in the titles.
Posts: 24 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
So, in response to something said earlier, does anyone agree that the position of Hegemon is going regain prestige in "Shadow of the Giant"? Since it seems that Peter was very powerful, according to the description at the end of "Ender's Game" and/or "Speaker for the Dead".
Posts: 8 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
well its obveous that peter does gain a lot of power. in the same passage you reffered to it mentions that ender spoke to peter. id like to read about this conversation
Posts: 109 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
I'm sorry if I also posted this in the other thread, but Shadow Puppets evokes the Thai cut paper puppets. Though SH had more Thai action than SP.
I guess all the acting without thinking all the way that Petra and Bean do is also suggestive of Puppets. They are Puppets of love. Is that the name of a band?
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I think the "Shadow Puppets" could easily include all of the characters - mainly the battle school children and even more specifically Bean, Petra, and Ender. I believe the term "shadows" in all of the shadow books implies an eery or difficult situation the main person faces. In ES, the beginning of the books tells us about Bean's past. In SotH, we learn a bit more about Peter and again, the shadow refers to Bean, specifically. But the shadow also describes Peter's difficulties in his struggle to become Hegemon while hiding his own identity and continuing to help Locke thrive as a much looked up to identity. In SP, the shadow still refers to Bean, but it also describes the puppets of the shadow, which in that context would not be Bean. I think all of the titles have a double meaning. The second meaning of SP, I think, is easy to see if you think of it as puppets of the shadow. Shadow meaning dark, dark times, difficult, undesirable, almost like a place you could be drawn into, and puppets refers, obivously, to characters or people being manipulated in some way due to a certain force. This force is the shadow. I think the puppets would be, then, the battle school students who are pulled in so many directions: nationalism, militarism, love, a desire to gain back their stolen childhood years, etc. It can also refer to all of the other main characters like Peter, Virlomi, and Suriyawong. All of the characters fighting out an internal or external battle to serve some purpose, like peace or war or ambition to rule, etc. Like little pawns on a chess board (pardon the over used simile). It refers to the dark desires of power and love taking control of the people. It refers to many a thing. Posts: 667 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
In my opinion, Shadow of the Hegemon wasn't Bean or Achilles, but Peter himself. The hegemony was only a shadow of its former power, and Peter being the figurehead of that hegemony. Bean and Achilles COULD be interpreted as being the shadow of the hegemon, but thinking through it, it doesnt seem so to me. Shadow Puppets (strangly enough... I just finished reading this today for the second time since it was published) I believe refers yet again to Peter. Card states it in fact, that Peter was Achilles puppet, as the Beast played with him from the shadows. Maybe I'm taking this too literally, but that is the most logical view to me, not because it is directly stated, but because it seems that Peter was perfectly played as opposed to any of the other characters who generally knew what was going on and had the power to act. Just some feeble opinions to add to your thoughts.
Posts: 5 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
You know, I'm gonna have to second that. I never really thought about it that way, but that really does make the most sense, as far as Shadow of the Hegemon goes. My hats off to you, MaudDib.
Posts: 8 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
I can see how that would be possible, considering that Peter received the position of hegemon when it was basically a pointless office, so he wouldn't be a TRUE hegemon (or not like the others), so he could be the shadow...
Posts: 667 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
But he is a true hegemon.. he has all the power that the office implies. The problem being that the office no longer implies any power but that Peter earns. Thereby, he is a shadow of the hegemon's former power.
Posts: 5 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
Haven't there been like, three threads on this already? (If someone already asked that I apologize, I didn't actually read the whole thread.)
Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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