quote:The point is that Stilson behaved in a way that made Ender think that Stilson was a threat to his life, so he responded.
What, did you miss the part where Ender had already disabled Stilson and realized that Stilson wasn't actually taking the fight seriously before he thought he'd beat the hell out of him? You know, the part that's been quoted from the text twice now?
Not to jump into the middle of a conversation with two people who are so entrenched in their thoughts that they're unwilling to change perspective for a moment, but...
From the quoted material, Ender wasn't worried about the fight at hand, but the fight that would come the next day and the day after and wanted to find a way to stop it so it would end for good. His goal wasn't to kill, but to do something against the rules of fighting that even a child his age knew (paraphrasing there).
That's why he kicked Stilson while Stilson was down.
Now, you can say that's morally wrong and that Ender didn't truly know what would happen the next day, but at some point we realize the sun will come up in the morning based on the evidence of the past. Ender knew beyond doubt that the scenario would repeat itself repeatedly. He chose to do something against the rules trying to break the cycle.
Bascially, your argument is that Ender should fight off his attacker and walk away. Then tomorrow do the exact same thing, etc. until Stilson gets bored and stops.
Nice thought, but doesn't reflect reality. A bully like that only gets more violent until put harshly in his place. Ender did the proper thing to end future violence.
There is always the chance that if Ender walked away Stilson would wake up the next morning and bake Ender cookies as a way of apologizing. A chance, but not one with a high probability.
To put it in a real world context. If police have evidence that you are going to kill someone, they're not going to wait until your victim is dead to take you into custody. Ender had evidence (as it were) that the attacked wouldn't end unless he did something to stop him and he did it, to a much further extreme than he expected or imagined.
Posts: 50 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Technically I think it is Graff's fault. If he hadn't made sure Ender's boots were steel-toed, Stilson wouldn't have died...
Posts: 16 | Registered: Mar 2009
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I'm actually kind of glad I read this thread, because I now won't have to waste time reading the book.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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About the trial, it implicitly states that the trial is for the adults, but aimed at damaging Ender. So he won't come back to Earth. I find KAMP funny since his taking Ender's actions as a premeditated attempt at taking life means that he considers Ender to be about 30 years old with about the same mental capacity. But Ender is six. Like the children in "Lord of the Flies" children are capable of being endlessly ruthless or endlessly compassionate. Ender is both, rolled into one. In his situation, he tried to give Stilson every opportunity to back off. That is his compassionate side. However, if someone so stupid as Stilson cannot take a hint and will try to use others to hurt Ender using sheer numbers, then the ruthless calculating side of Ender will be utilized. For Ender, in Stilson's case, this means dealing enough damage to the enemy that him and his cronies wont bother him anymore. To Ender, this is under the assumption that Battle School has either given up on him, or (i think this is the case) they are testing him, and to avoid Peter and to avoid Stilson, he needs that monitor back. He cannot lose. As mentioned several times throughout the book, he doesn't know that his maximum output of damage at a critical point will KILL Stilson. He's SIX. How much damage did you think you could do to ANYONE when you were six? For Bonzo, similiar circumstances in that Ender knows its another test. He knows that Bonzo can threaten his life, his brain etc. and has been saying he would for quite some time. Same conclusion. To Ender, of course he hated these games that Graff played to test Ender, but he correctly deduces that had Stilson or Bonzo not been so aggressively prejudiced and proud that they cannot stand the very existence of Ender, the tests would have been impossible in the first place.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Jul 2009
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Mazer's rebuttal in court was made to point out that the military was tasked with doing whatever it takes to preserve the survival of Earth, using whatever means available. They picked Ender the six year old because he was capable of thinking of breaking societal norms and taboos in order to achieve his goal since thats the kind of mind that will ensure our survival in a fight against an alien race. A child. A brilliant one, but a child nonetheless.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Jul 2009
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
Eeeeerm, last I checked humans are encredibly frail individuals, children only more so, its amazing that we survived as a species considering how frail we are, we break things so easily its like someone stepped on a twig and we were the twig, kick someone in the head you risk severe tramae, probably caused a brain hemerrage, the kid may have had a pre existing condition (and thus no health insurance TakeThat US Healthcare) that makes him more suspeciptle to brain injuries that may have not been caught yet.
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