Literature Analysis: Ender's Shadow

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Literature Analysis #1

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same). Ender's Shadow is the fourth book of the Ender series.  The story follows the life of Bean, another brilliant mind that attended the Battle School where Ender became famous.  The novel is not unlike the first book Ender's Game, which followed the life of Bean's predecessor, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, in that Bean's story is filled with adversity and heartache but also compassion and understanding.  Bean grew up on the streets of the Dutch city of Rotterdam without a name to call himself, picking up scraps where he could.  The only thing that Bean was sure of was his greater intellect, which he used to turn the street kids into "civilized barbarians".  Bean's amazing intelligence drew the attention of the I.F, the International Fleet, a world body for training young children into soldiers to fight the Formics, an intelligent life form that had attacked Earth twice 100 years before.  Since the Formic threat still hung over the world, the IF remained in power, and continued to train children in the arts of military strategy and command.  Though the IF looks for students around the age of six, they accepted little Bean at the age of five because his test scores were the highest ever recorded.  They were skeptical that this little kid, who was barely taller than an adults hip.  But while he was at Battle School, Bean began to use his small size to obtain information that was otherwise inaccessible to the normal students. After Bean was moved into Ender's army, his training began in earnest.  He began to use his powerful mind to put himself ahead of the rat race, and in the process, he earned Ender's trust and friendship.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.  Ender's Shadow is a brilliantly written book that delves into friendship and how without friends, even the greatest among us are doomed to die young and alone.  Throughout the novel, Bean makes friends wherever he goes in order to survive.  All of the kids that help little Bean become important figures in Bean's life, as they help him understand the meaning of friendship, love and caring.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).  Orson Scott Card has a uncanny ability to keep his characters unrealistically intelligent at a young age.  Because of this, the tone is seen as remarkably analytical and intelligent.  This is made obvious when Card focuses on Bean's thoughts, such as "He couldn't possibly guess their motives.  They were all to complex They were smart, with good evaluations-- good by Bean's standards, not necessarily by the teachers'.  That was all he needed to know.  If he gave Wiggin an army without a single kid he'd worked with in practices, then all the army would start out equal in his eyes.  Which ment Bean would have the same chance as any other kid to earn Wiggin's eye and maybe get command of a toon.  If they couldn't compete with Bean for that position, then too damn bad for them."  and "And then another thought.  If this instantaneous communication works regardless of distance, then we could even be talking to the invasion fleet we sent against the Formic home planet right after the Second Invasion.  If our starships were going near lightspeed, the relative time in differential would complicate communication, but as long as we're imagining miracles, that would be easy enough to solve.  We'll know whether our invasion of their world succeeded or not, moments afterword."

CHARACTERIZATION 

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)? When we first meet Bean, he is described as "The scrawny two-year-old kid... on the edge of starvation. Thin arms and legs, joints that looked ridiculously oversized, a distended belly. And if hunger didn't kill him soon, the onset of autumn would, because his clothing was thin and there wasn't much of it even at that." These were his first years on the streets of Rotterdam, when he was malnourished and near death.  But later, while at the Battle School, a commanding officer says "I think the classic description (of Bean) is 'loner.'  He is polite.  He volunteers nothing.  He asks only what he's interested in.  The kids in his launch group think he's strange.  They know he scores better than them on everything, but they don't hate him.  They treat him like a force of nature.  No friends, but no enemies." From this we can see that Bean is, for now, uninterested in friendships.  He chooses to keep to himself in order to better understand his surroundings and to plan his next move.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  As Card writes his novels, his contrast between his characters is obvious in the way that he uses his words.  When Poke, an uneducated girl living on the streets of Rotterdam, is speaking or thinking, the sentences are choppy and short.  The words are simple and succinct, with out much flowery descriptions of events or settings.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.  Bean is a very interesting character.  He is always seeking higher knowledge and respect from Ender.  And while he seeks the respect of Ender, who is Bean's idol (even if Bean himself doesn't know it), he finds himself forming friendships with the other soldiers around him.  The most effective relationship Bean builds is the one between himself and Nikoli, a bigger kid from Greece who happens to be his long-lost brother.  The fact that Card makes Nikoli Bean's best friend reflects his nature for making his books riveting.  So in all, Bean is a very round, dynamic character that constantly shocks the reader with his intelligence and quick thinking.