posted
I've been looking for the answer on the internet, but I couldn't find an answer. When Ender first becomes commander of the Dragon Army, how old is he?
(If this is IN the book and I just forgot about it....ignore me!) When reading the books, especially Ender's Shadow, I found myself picturing a teenage boy because of the characters' (or at least some of the characters') intelligence. This led me to wonder---what age are they exactly? It would be amazing to picture, say, an 8-year-old boy commanding the way Ender did.
Also, here's a question that has probably been asked often: What, do you imagine, does Ender look like? One of the things I noticed about many of the books in the Ender series is that there is not much description of characters' physical appearances (beyond the general "fat," "skinny," "tall," "short," etc). (I actually really like it that way because it leaves more room for the imagination and puts the focus on the plot and the personalities in the story). But one must wonder--how did everyone else see Ender?
Edit:
Here's another question for you~
How did the way you "see" Ender (and not just physically) change from your reading of Ender's Game to Ender's Shadow? In one book we looked into his mind; in the other we saw him through Bean's eyes--I'm curious to know what others thought.
[ December 29, 2005, 03:37 PM: Message edited by: ket ]
Posts: 13 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I belive the Book said he was about 9 and a half when he started commanding Dragon army and as far as how he looks, his father is Polish and his his mother is from Utah which was settled mostly by people from New England, England, and Northwestern Europe and still largly reflects that today.
Posts: 147 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:I actually really like it that way because it leaves more room for the imagination and puts the focus on the plot and the personalities in the story
I totally agree, which is why I'm never going to see The Da Vinci Code movie. Enders Game the movie is a different (at least altered) story than the books it's based on, so I can't miss that. I'll still be diappointed though, I think, to see that it doesn't live up to my imagination, which I'm sure it won't.
Personally, I imagine Ender as dark haired, thin and medium height. No doubt in my mind these kids (and the adults) at battle school would have very white skin, except Ender goes somewhere for a while (won't say any more for those who havn't read it.)
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I pictured him with dark hair too. And for some reason I always saw Petra as blonde. It was only after I read the book that I thought, hmm...northern European (Armenia) probably more likely to be brunette. It's funny what goes on in your head. But I agree I like being able to picture them for myself.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote: No doubt in my mind these kids (and the adults) at battle school would have very white skin
The adults, yes, as the IF is funded and run mainly be the Americans, but their is a lot of cultural diversity among the kids. The IF picked the best and the brightest to bring to battle school, not only caucasians. If you've red the Shadow series there are lots of examples of non-white battle school grads.
Posts: 4 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
True, and wasn't one of the Trimvirate named Chamrajnagar from India? Can't remember which position he held, though. Polemarch?
Posts: 70 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
As for the Wiggin kids, I've always seen them as Caucasian, with hair different shades of brunette--Valentine a light, mousey brown; Peter dark, almost black, and Ender somewhere in the middle.
Of course, when I first read the books, I went through a phase when I envisioned Valentine with golden-blond hair and Petra with dark red...my views of the characters sort of change as I get older...
Posts: 973 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Northern European IS more likely to be blond than other ethnicities ... but Armenia is in the Caucasus and eastern Anatolia, which is in Asia, not Europe, and adjacent to the southeastern extreme of Europe at that. Sorry ... geographical OCD manifesting itself here ...
I can't imagine why anyone would care what color hair these characters have, though. I know I'm strange this way, but I can rarely tell you what hair color most of my friends have, and when I choose a word to describe it, people often look at me oddly as if I'm clearly blind. I don't care about hair color when I'm writing the story, and won't care much when the movie is being cast.
Race/ethnicity matter, but for cultural reasons, not for appearance. And I wish they DIDN'T matter, because it limits the pool from which we can draw in casting each part. Race-neutral casting is what I'd much prefer ...
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ender's always simply been a conscious entity to me, I'd say. I rarely bothered to imagine him with any particular features.
But... maybe that's because I always pictured him as *me*, in some weird way. Don't we all project our own image and mentality onto the character we are most attached to?
Posts: 70 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Or maybe Xtreme digital editing. Like Hobbit-Ender.
I have to wonder how they're going to find a good actor who is small enough to play Bean. Good luck!
Anyway, I digress. I actually agree with those either say they didn't picture anyone or don't care. I just imagine some sort of conceptual kid (or a teenage boy if I forget) without any particular hair color or features. This led me to be curious about the images in other people's heads, but I can't say I'm surprised. I guess it makes sense that you would think of the actor that was (onceuponatime) semi-cast as him.
I actually have another question which is more interesting than my last one, so I'll edit my post.
How did the way you see Ender--and not just in a physical sense--differ from your reading of Ender's Game to Ender's Shadow?
Posts: 13 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
For me, Ender probably looks 2 years older than he is in the story, and is basically nondescript wth brown hair. For some reason, I know Peter has blond hair, but I alwas think of him with brown hair.
Posts: 58 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
In Ender's Game, I saw Ender as a young and very small boy who was often towered-over. He seemed very thoughtful and mature, but innocent.
However, in Ender's Shadow, I imagined him as older, somehow. In my mind, he stood straighter, looked on people with a more commanding eye. Since I couldn't look into his head or see him at some of his more vulnerable moments, he seemed untouchable and more aloof. It wasn't till the last section that ... wait, I don't know what counts as a spoiler, so I guess I'll stop there.
Posts: 13 | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
No, the baby girl was named Elora Danan in the movie Willow. Willow played by Warwick Davis. Elora was played by a baby girl. Actually, two of them...but that's another thread...
posted
I saw that movie on TV last year. My mom made me watch it. I didn't mind so much. But it wasn't originally how I'd intended to spend my afternoon.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
