Ender's Game Questions Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1 – Third
1. What attitude motivates the adults to lie to Ender?
     When adults always say it won't hurt when it is going to hurt, you know it will hurt so you will be prepared.

2. Explain what it seems to mean for Ender to be born a "Third". Show whether this is a negative or positive fact to:
- his parents: For his parents it is negative and positive because they love him and are proud to have have, but they are also embarrassed by him.
- his brother, Peter: It is very negative because Peter knows that Ender is living proof that he wasn't good enough.
- his sister, Valentine: For Valentine it is positive because she loves him very much and doesn't care that he's a third.
- his classmates: For his classmates it's negative and positive because they seem to pick on him because they're jealous, but they also have someone to taunt.

Chapter 2 – Peter
1. Was Peter joking when he threatened Ender and Valentine?  Support your answer with evidence from the novel.
     He was kidding because he said "Not a joke, a game.  I can make you guys believe anything."  And later when he thinks Ender's asleep, he says "Ender, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, I'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you."

2. Why is Peter’s behavior at the end of the chapter so completely different from the rest of the chapter?
     Because he realizes that since Ender's monitor was taken out, the battle school didn't want him.  That meant that Ender wasn't better than Peter, so Peter didn't need to be mean to Ender.
 
3. How do you feel about each of these characters (Ender, Valentine, Peter)?  What did the author do to help create these feelings?  Give examples.
     I think Ender is a boy still trying to figure out who he is.  He seems nice, but sometimes he's like Peter, and can hurt somebody.  An example is when he fought Stilson.  Other times he keeps to himself, and is kind of scared, like when he was on the launch. 
     Valentine is a really nice person, and very caring.  An example is when she protects Ender from Peter and talks Peter out of his "killing them" idea.  Another is when Graff is saying how Peter wasn't mild enough, Ender was just right, and Valentine was too mild.
     Peter seems really tough, and mean.  He also seems jealous of Ender because he thinks he isn't good enough.  Some examples are when he says "They might have realized I was the best of the lot after all."  Then the author said, Peter's feelings were hurt, and so he was being a snot, as usual.  Another one is when the author said, Peter is a murderer at heart.

Chapter 3 – Graff
1. What did Graff mean about evolution working against girls?
     He meant that girls didn't want to go, because they weren't as willing to fight in battle, and they were milder and nicer so it would be harder for them to fight.

2. Ender is leaving to learn how to fight a war, yet he takes Graff’s hand. Why does Orson Scott Card (OSC) include this action?
     Because he was scared and wanted reassurance because he just made a big decision, and he was only six.

Chapter 4 – Launch
1. Explain the meaning of the following statement: “Individual human beings are tools that the others use to help us all survive.”
    This statement means that humans fight better when they are alone and can't depend on anybody, because then they won't depend on someone else to rescue them if they are in tight situation and things like that.

2. Explain the following quote: "Isolate him enough that he remains creative -
otherwise he'll adopt the system here and we'll lose him." Your answer should
include the terms: isolation, creative, adopt, lose.
   This quote means that with isolation, people will think of creative ways to help themselves in a battle and adopt techniques that only work with one person, and if they fight with somebody else, they will lose that creativeness.

3. Did Ender mean to break the other boy’s arm?  What does this incident tell us about Ender?  Is it acceptable to do despicable things for survival?  Why or why not?  No, he didn't mean to break the other boy's arm, he just wanted him to stop poking him, but in zero gravity, he was stronger that he thought.  It tells us that Ender is a very powerful person and sometimes, it is acceptable to do despicable things for survival if somebody is trying to hurt you because it's considered self defense.

Chapter 5 – Games
1. Ender works hard to express his feelings in private and not show homesickness in front of any other person. Is it healthy for him or not?   What is positive and what is negative about showing feelings?  What is positive and what is negative about not showing feelings?
     It's not healthy for him because if you let your feelings show, sometimes it will help you get over them.  It's positive for the same reason, but it's negative because people might tease him about it.  What's positive for not showing feelings is that you won't get teased and you can just push them away sometimes, and what's negative is that it will be harder and harder to not show them.

2. How did Ender beat Bernard?  Is this an unusual solution to his problem?
     He beat Bernard by sending messages to everyone on their desks.  The first one said "Cover your butt.  Bernard is watching. -God," because Bernard had been saying how Shen's butt wiggled, and the second one said "I love your butt.  Let me kiss it. -Bernard," so it made Bernard humiliated.  It's an unusual solution because it's very clever and nobody else would've thought of it.

3. List the different coping mechanisms (ways of dealing with difficulties) Ender
shows. For each one describe whether the overall result of each is helpful or
harmful to Ender.
     First, he started counting doubles when he was sad so he wouldn't start crying, and that was helpful because he didn't start crying. Then,  that night, he cried silently so that nobody would know.  That helped him because if he showed his sadness, then other kids might tease him.  Next, when he wanted to play a game in the game room and the boys wouldn't let him, he said he guessed that they were scared they wouldn't beat him, so he did play, and beat them two out of three, so it was helpful for his satisfaction.  Lastly, Ender sent messages to everyone on his desk so that Bernard wouldn't be the ruler of the class any longer, and it was helpful because it worked.

CEJ #1

Talking, Walking Objects

Diana Carla

The New York Times

January 26

Opinion

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/opinion/sunday/our-talking-walking-objects.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=technology

    This article is about the robots we already have made and what our future will have to do with them in a few years.  The author thinks that in our near future, we will have things like a sink that scrubs dishes on it’s own, a lamp that bends to follow your paper, a fork that vibrates when you eat too fast, things you can interact with, and more. This is already starting to happen because Simon, a humanoid robot is being developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

    I think that this is what’s going to happen in the future too, because people want work done for them instead of having to do it themselves, manually.  I want things being done for me, but this article reminded me of the story we read in class, There Will Come Soft Rains.  If we have all these appliances, and somehow the human race dies off, will these robotic machines still keep working?  I think that they would lose power eventually, but let’s just hope the human race doesn’t die off!  So, I think that in the near future, we will probably have a lot of appliances that we can interact with.

Ender's Game Anticipation Guide

Lying is justifiable if it's for the greater good.
I put a 3 on this one because if your lying to save somebody's life, and it works, then yes, it would be justifiable, but say you lied to help yourself, and it wasn't that important, then that's not right.  Or if  you are lying, but your plan doesn't work, then it wouldn't really be justifiable.

Sometimes violence is the only way to solve a problem. 
I put a 3 on this one because if you're in a situation when someone is attacking you, then you want to create violence to defend yourself, or if your in a war because two countries can't decide on something then you kind of have to use violence to help your country.  But on the other hand, you should be able to talk it out in words.

It is okay to kill someone in self-defense. 
I put a 4 on this because, sort of like I was saying in the last question, if someone is attacking you, you want to live of course and they kind of deserve to die almost because they're trying to kill you! So yes, I think it's okay to kill someone in self-defense.

Words are stronger than fists. 
I wasn't sure about this one, so I put a 3.  It kind of depends on the person you're saying mean words to, or punching.  Some people are tough and ignore words meant to hurt, but other people can be hurt easily.  It's the same with fists.  Some people are tougher than others.


Bullies hurt others because they have low self esteem. 
I put this as a 4 because why do bullies hurt people?  The best answer seems to be that they hurt other people to make themselves feel better about themselves.  If everyone had a high self esteem then there would be no bullies probably.

Only the best and brightest students should receive the best education to become a nation's leaders.
I put a 1 on this one because even though you may not be the brightest, maybe you have other talents that you need to become a nation's leader.  Also, what if you get B's? That's still pretty smart, I think.

Revenge is never justified. 
I gave this one a 4 because just because somebody did something to hurt you or somebody else, don't fight fire with fire!  That will just make the person who started it hurt people again!  Also, if what they did was something big, like against the law, then you could just go to court or something.

Crying is evidence of weakness. 
I put a 2 on this one because sometimes, if you are hurt or something, you just have to.  That doesn't mean you are weak.  Everyone has cried at some point in their lives, so why judge people on it?

Any action is acceptable in war.
I put a 2 on this one because just because your in war, you shouldn't hurt someone already on the ground, or don't just go crazy and make stupid mistakes because your in war, and you think it won't really matter, because it will.


Teenagers need discipline and rules because they can't control themselves.  
I gave this one a 2 because most teenagers can make their own rules for themselves and not need grownups to make them for them.  Also, we can control ourselves.  Sometimes it seems like we can't, but we still are.


Only though personal sacrifice can someone create positive change.
I put a 1 on this because you can create a positive change in the world by doing little things, like being nice to people, making a stand, planting trees, helping a cause, and more! You don't need to sacrifice your life for this!  It's the little things that count.
 
Generating compassion for your enemies is the only way to create peace.  
I couldn't really decide on this one so I put it as a 3 because yes, if you have compassion towards your enemies then you could make peace because you could show them that you don't want to kill them, but also, you could hold a white flag and talk it out with them even if you don't like them, but there won't be any wars and you can create peace still.






 

My Learning Styles

I am a Verbal-Linguistic Learner (58%)
Your mantra: Tell me in words -- written or spoken -- and I will understand.
Verbal-linguistic intelligence (along with logical-mathematical intelligence) is often associated with doing well in school. You have the ability to use words effectively for reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The poet has been described as the epitome of verbal-linguistic intelligence.

      I think that this explains how I learn pretty well because I do well in school, and I have the ability to use words effectively.  I also like to write poems, and in the last sentence it says the poet has been described as the epitome of verbal-linguistic intelligence.

I am a Bodily-Kinesthetic Learner (58%)
Your mantra: Movement is fun-damental.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence means you think in movements. The fundamental ability to use movements for either self-expression or precision to achieve a goal is crucial for surgeons, athletes, mimes, choreographers, and directors.
The best way for you to retain information is to associate it with an activity. Dance, acting, and sports are easy for you to master. Relate what you are trying to learn to one of these activities, and you will retain information and gain understanding.

     I don't think this is right because I don't really think in movements, but it could be because maybe "the best way for me to retain information is to associate it with an activity."  Also, dance, acting, and sports are easy for me to master so maybe it actually is correct.

 I am an Interpersonal Learner (31%)
Your mantra: I understand what you mean.
Interpersonal learners thrive on social interaction. Friends often ask you for advice because you are understanding and in tune with the people around you and their motives, emotions, perspectives, and moods.
Your ability to manage relationships helps you understand situations and take a leadership role when necessary. You enjoy teaching and sharing your thoughts.
Careers that require insight and the ability to read what someone else is thinking or feeling -- such as teaching, psychology, or sales -- would be a great match for those with interpersonal intelligence.

      I think that I am sort of like this because friends ask me for advice in math and other subjects, and I can understand situations pretty well.  I don't know if I'd be good at teaching, psychology, or sales, but I enjoy sharing my thoughts.

Scared to Death

We were sliding down the mountainside, the edge getting nearer and nearer.  “Aaaaahhh!” West and I screamed loudly.  The sharp wind cut through our snow jackets, and whipped past our faces. We both had brown hair flying behind us. My hazel eyes were wide with terror.  We’re going to die, I thought. We’re going to slide into the lake and die!  I don’t want to die!  Not like this!

Back then I was ten years old.  In the Summer of 2011, me, my mom, dad, and brother, West, who was eight years old at the time, were camping in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, a bunch of mountains in Northern California.  We had set up our tent close to a lake, and the mountain Castle Rock was on the opposite side of the lake.  We had decided to climb up the steep mountain (and managed), and then wanted to get back down, so we were going to slide down on our butts part of the way and stay close together by holding onto a rope.  The only problem was that the lake, with really cold water in it, was right below the mountain, and that’s right where we were needing to slide down.  It seemed as if we were certain to slide into the lake if we slid down the mountain.

“Sierra, you slide down in front,” my mom, with her curly brown hair,  had said to me, carefully balancing and  standing on the ice in her snow pants and snow jacket, trying not to slip.  Actually, we were all wearing snow pants and snow jackets. We looked very funny.  “No way!” I replied. “We’re all going to slide right into the lake!”  “Don’t worry honey, we’ll turn to the right before we slide to the edge of the mountain,” my short-haired and tall dad reassured me. “No, Sierra’s gonna fall into the lake, but we’ll be fine,” West remarked even though I knew he was scared too.  I didn’t listen to what he had said, but was still afraid.

       I was not looking forward to getting even more wet and freezing then I already was from sinking into the snow and slipping so many times before, not even stating the possibility that we could drown if we were to fall in!  The lake would be like a giant monster who swallowed it’s prey alive in one big gulp, which would not be fun.  Also, I had to ride in front, meaning that I would hit the water first. Ouch!  But, we all got situated, and started sliding down.  Our hair was flying behind us because of the wind.  That was when me and West started screaming “Aaaaaahhh!”

Lean to the right,” my dad suddenly ordered, in a bold voice. We all did as we were told.  I was leaning so far I was about to fall over.  “Now, slow us down a little, Sierra, I need you to push your feet into the snow!” my mom yelled.  I did that as best I could, and  gradually, we were losing speed.  Suddenly, we were almost to the edge.  But then we were turning right!  We weren’t falling into the lake!   We slowed down, stopped sliding, and hiked the rest of the way down Castle Rock on foot.  I was so glad that I wanted to dance, but I knew if I did that I would probably slip and then fall into the lake after all of what had just happened!