Saturday, February 7, 2009
Character Developement
In the beginning of the book, Bean was very reserved and never spoke more than he needed to. He only cared for and about himself. He would do things to others to make them think that he cared, but it was only to be nice and only if it was convenient. He learned at Battle School that he needed to make friends to move on or to be a commander. As he made friends, mainly with Nikolai, he realized that he did have feelings. He loved Nikolai like a brother, and ironically he was his brother. He changed by caring for others, not just because it was convenient, but because it felt good and was right in his mind. By the end of the story, he learned that it was OK to have feelings for other people.
Archetypes
Character Archetypes: Bean is an orphan in this story. He fits that description very well because he came from the streets, was homeless, and was very poor. He didn't have any money at all, and was just trying to survive. He looked for any scrap piece of food and that was all he got to eat. He is also an innocent embarking on a journey, because he wasn't well known and he was somewhat forced to leave. He wasn't really forced to leave, but if he stayed a kid would have probably killed him. He was just going to see what life turned up for him and didn't have a specific purpose.
Archetypal Setting: I would say that when he was in space it was a combination of the Garden and the Island settings. It was the garden, because the teachers controlled their lives. They told them when to fight, when to eat, and even when to have their free time. They gave the children rules and then made up their own rules so that it wasn't fair. It was also the Island archetypal setting, because lots of the kids were lonely and separated from the life that they were used to. They were taken from their families and friends and taken to space. It was also lawless, because kids got picked on and beat up all the time. The teachers knew about it most of the time, but did nothing to prevent it.
Archetypal events: This story was a journey. Bean started out in the worst part of Rotterdam, and made his way into Battle School. From there he trained hard and long and was promoted to the Dragon Army. Then he was promoted to be the commander of his own army, replacing the previous commander. He then went to Command School, and on the way was trained even more. He helped Ender Wiggin defeat the Buggers and the went to be with his long lost family. The book was a journey all the way through it.
Archetypal Setting: I would say that when he was in space it was a combination of the Garden and the Island settings. It was the garden, because the teachers controlled their lives. They told them when to fight, when to eat, and even when to have their free time. They gave the children rules and then made up their own rules so that it wasn't fair. It was also the Island archetypal setting, because lots of the kids were lonely and separated from the life that they were used to. They were taken from their families and friends and taken to space. It was also lawless, because kids got picked on and beat up all the time. The teachers knew about it most of the time, but did nothing to prevent it.
Archetypal events: This story was a journey. Bean started out in the worst part of Rotterdam, and made his way into Battle School. From there he trained hard and long and was promoted to the Dragon Army. Then he was promoted to be the commander of his own army, replacing the previous commander. He then went to Command School, and on the way was trained even more. He helped Ender Wiggin defeat the Buggers and the went to be with his long lost family. The book was a journey all the way through it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Judgement and Reason and 2 links (sort of)
It was a top notch book and had plenty of action parts in it. It was mildly suspenseful and had a bit of drama in it. I would recommend this book to anyone who read Ender's Shadow and enjoyed it. Also anyone that likes science fiction books. If you are interrested in space travel and other sorts of rockets, I would recommend this book. Speaking of space travel here is a website that has some information about how you could be launched into space.
http://www.galacticjourneys.com/?gclid=CMn8trviyJgCFQS7sgodmkHh2A?b1b7cb08 You can click on the link on the right.
I put that link in there, because it deals with space travel. The book also deals with space travel, and if you had enough money you could also go into space like Bean did. Space travel isn't as practical as it was in the book, but it is still possible.
You would also enjoy this book if you like very smart children, because Bean is the smartest that ever lived (sort of). It also deals with space age weapons and other made up technologically sophisticated devices. Here is another website that has some space age weapons for sale.
http://www.futurehorizons.net/weap.htm You can also click on the link on the right.
That is a good link, because it has some weapons that most people haven't heard of. In the book they have several strange weapons. An example is the ones that they use in the battle room. They also have the weapon that starts a chain reaction with the matter that it comes in contact with. If there is a large group of mass it makes a very large explosion. The futuristic weapons of the book and this website have some things in common.
http://www.galacticjourneys.com/?gclid=CMn8trviyJgCFQS7sgodmkHh2A?b1b7cb08 You can click on the link on the right.
I put that link in there, because it deals with space travel. The book also deals with space travel, and if you had enough money you could also go into space like Bean did. Space travel isn't as practical as it was in the book, but it is still possible.
You would also enjoy this book if you like very smart children, because Bean is the smartest that ever lived (sort of). It also deals with space age weapons and other made up technologically sophisticated devices. Here is another website that has some space age weapons for sale.
http://www.futurehorizons.net/weap.htm You can also click on the link on the right.
That is a good link, because it has some weapons that most people haven't heard of. In the book they have several strange weapons. An example is the ones that they use in the battle room. They also have the weapon that starts a chain reaction with the matter that it comes in contact with. If there is a large group of mass it makes a very large explosion. The futuristic weapons of the book and this website have some things in common.
Best an Worst Parts of Ender's Shadow
The best parts were the suspensful parts. An example of one of the best parts was when Bean was going to kill Achilles. He took him up into the airducts and lead him into a dark room. It kept me guessing and hoping that Bean would act first. If he waited too long he could have been killed by Achilles. As it occurred, Bean hung Achilles in a warm dry air duct. He threatened to let Achilles dry in the breeze if he didn't confess to all of the murders he had commited. He confessed to killing seven people. Bean had had several of his friends help him catch Achilles. They recorded him talking about the people he had killed. In my opinion, it was a very good book and didn't have any bad parts. It kept my interest, and was well written.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Conflict and Resolution
The overall conflict in the story was with the Buggers. They either had to completely destroy them or the Human race would vanish from existence. The commanders and teachers that had fought the Buggers the first time they attacked chose the smartest and most capable children to fight them this time. With the ansible, they could communicate instantly with their ships that had launched after the Second Invasion. Using that, they could use the children to command the ships, because they couldn't bring them selves to kill thousands of life forms. They thought that the children wouldn't be intelligent enough to figure out what they were actually doing, so they used them. They were trained in all manners of fighting skills, and even how missiles and weapons work. Ender Wiggin lead them to victory against the Formics. All of the children were extremely exausted by the time the war was over, because it was very strenuous to fight every day. They had to fight strange hours sometimes, and it wore on them. The last battle was very crazy, because they were outnumbered so much that he couldn't even think of any attack method for about 5 minutes. It worked and destroyed all of the Buggers. There were also many other small conflicts such as Bean finding enough food to survive. He did that by scrounging around in trash barrells, and then getting a crew and going with them to a soup kitchen. All but one of the problems were resolved. That problem was Achilles wanting to kill Bean. Achilles was still alive, so Bean was still in danger, even though he wasn't with him directly.
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Last Summary Post for Ender's Shadow!!! (401-467)
On Bean's way to space he decided that he should study more about Earth and all its nations, because he only knew about Rotterdam. He absorbed all the information that he could get his hands on on the flight to his next step of schooling. He found two prominent political writers. They expressed opposite views, but seemed to be the same person. That confused him, because the two different people had different writing styles. Their names were Demosthenes and Locke. He wrote them a letter at the library saying that the children of the Battle School should be brought back to earth as soon as possible after the Buggers were defeated, so they wouldn't be taken by the Russians in space.
They went to Command school, but the voyage took four months. Only people that they thought could work well with Ender did the teachers send to Command School. They were taught, on the way, about missile mathematics, or how missiles react with everything. Bean knew that everyone there would have to work together if they were to fight well at the Command School. He had to know why Petra almost betrayed Ender, so he asked her. It made her mad to talk about it, but in the end they were better off, because he trusted her more now and could work with her better.
A technician that came to fix one of the games, on the planet Eros where Command School was, said that the machines were exactly like combat. Bean questioned him and said, "Except the time-lag." Then Bean figured out that there must be no time-lag, or they would have programmed it in the game. He managed to figure out that they had found some instantaneous method of communication, and that they would actually be controlling the ships in battle. In the simulators, Bean was their commander at first. Later, they were allowed to make contact with their real commander, which was Ender. He lead them in their "tests," which Bean knew were real. Bean constantly analyzed every ones moves and then commented to Ender how to make them do what they needed to, or that he should check on someone.
The battles kept getting harder and harder, and it wore on the children. They kept getting more tired and less alert. Petra even fell asleep once at battle, but because of that she was able to rest for several days and recuperate. Because Bean was able to figure out that Ender would be their commander and told the rest of the children, the teachers were worried that he might know more, so they had him interrogated a little bit. Graff asked him some questions, and then took a walk with him and told him some secrets. He told him that his name was Julian Delphiki, and that he was Nikolai's brother. He also said that he was right about the faster than the speed of light communication, which was hard for Bean, but helped him know what to do.
Their final test was very hard. Their ships were so hopelessly outnumbered that Bean, genius of all geniuses, couldn't think of any plan of attack. Ender thought of something, but it was in desperation. He told them to keep moving back and forth, but so that they eventually made their way towards the Formics home planet. They used their special weapon and blew up the planet and all of the Formics. Then the teachers told the rest of the students that their "tests" had all been real. After the had defeated the Formics, the Russians tried to take or kill all of the children who had destroyed the Buggers, because they could pose a military threat to them in the future. Then after staying in a dark room, hiding for several days, all the children except for Ender were sent home. Bean learned that Demosthenes and Locke were Ender's siblings. It made Bean very mad when he heard that the political parties decided not to let Ender come back to Earth, so that he couldn't be used by either side. Bean decided that if he ever met Ender's brother, Peter, that he would find out if he wanted to eliminate the rival by leaving in space or if he was just trying to protect him. If he allowed his own brother to be left in space just so that he would be out of the way, Bean thought that he would destroy him. Then Bean and Nikolai went home. His mother was very surprised to see Bean, or Julian as he would now be called, because she hadn't heard about him. There was a great family reunion, then the book came to an end.
They went to Command school, but the voyage took four months. Only people that they thought could work well with Ender did the teachers send to Command School. They were taught, on the way, about missile mathematics, or how missiles react with everything. Bean knew that everyone there would have to work together if they were to fight well at the Command School. He had to know why Petra almost betrayed Ender, so he asked her. It made her mad to talk about it, but in the end they were better off, because he trusted her more now and could work with her better.
A technician that came to fix one of the games, on the planet Eros where Command School was, said that the machines were exactly like combat. Bean questioned him and said, "Except the time-lag." Then Bean figured out that there must be no time-lag, or they would have programmed it in the game. He managed to figure out that they had found some instantaneous method of communication, and that they would actually be controlling the ships in battle. In the simulators, Bean was their commander at first. Later, they were allowed to make contact with their real commander, which was Ender. He lead them in their "tests," which Bean knew were real. Bean constantly analyzed every ones moves and then commented to Ender how to make them do what they needed to, or that he should check on someone.
The battles kept getting harder and harder, and it wore on the children. They kept getting more tired and less alert. Petra even fell asleep once at battle, but because of that she was able to rest for several days and recuperate. Because Bean was able to figure out that Ender would be their commander and told the rest of the children, the teachers were worried that he might know more, so they had him interrogated a little bit. Graff asked him some questions, and then took a walk with him and told him some secrets. He told him that his name was Julian Delphiki, and that he was Nikolai's brother. He also said that he was right about the faster than the speed of light communication, which was hard for Bean, but helped him know what to do.
Their final test was very hard. Their ships were so hopelessly outnumbered that Bean, genius of all geniuses, couldn't think of any plan of attack. Ender thought of something, but it was in desperation. He told them to keep moving back and forth, but so that they eventually made their way towards the Formics home planet. They used their special weapon and blew up the planet and all of the Formics. Then the teachers told the rest of the students that their "tests" had all been real. After the had defeated the Formics, the Russians tried to take or kill all of the children who had destroyed the Buggers, because they could pose a military threat to them in the future. Then after staying in a dark room, hiding for several days, all the children except for Ender were sent home. Bean learned that Demosthenes and Locke were Ender's siblings. It made Bean very mad when he heard that the political parties decided not to let Ender come back to Earth, so that he couldn't be used by either side. Bean decided that if he ever met Ender's brother, Peter, that he would find out if he wanted to eliminate the rival by leaving in space or if he was just trying to protect him. If he allowed his own brother to be left in space just so that he would be out of the way, Bean thought that he would destroy him. Then Bean and Nikolai went home. His mother was very surprised to see Bean, or Julian as he would now be called, because she hadn't heard about him. There was a great family reunion, then the book came to an end.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
One More Update to Go (351-400)
Bean went to talk to Ender, and tried to sympathize with him. Bean learns that Ender is going to Command School, and skipping Tactical and Pre-Command. Bean made a speech at his first meal at the Commander's mess hall. He said that they should have the teachers disconnect the score boards, because that just turned the kids against themselves, when the only thing that they would really have to fight were the Formics, or Buggers. They finally agreed and the score boards were taken down. Then Bean returned to the barracks of his newly acquired army and tried to relate to them a little.
Then a member of his army showed him the other new person that they had gotten. It was Achilles. Bean was very scared, but had a plan that would hopefully work. He talked to him like he didn't know that Achilles had killed Poke, so he hoped that Achilles wouldn't kill him too quickly. Sister Carlotta was very mad and scared that Graff had allowed Achilles to go to Battle School. When talking to Sister Carlotta, Graff finds out that Achilles is a serial killer and has killed at least 4 people. Bean called Achilles into his quarters, and showed him what he and Ender had supposedly done. He took him into the air vents and lead him too a small unlit room where he told him to put the dead line around him. He did and then Bean gave his gang the word and they pulled the cord lifting him off the ground. They gave Achilles the choice to either die of dehydration, or confess to killing everyone that he had killed. He chose the latter, and they recorded it and gave it to the teachers. He had actually killed 7 people in his life, and would now get Bean whenever they met again. Bean got transferred to Tactical School, and said good bye to his army that he had for only 8 days. They hadn't won any of their five games, but he learned what he needed to and then he left into space.
Then a member of his army showed him the other new person that they had gotten. It was Achilles. Bean was very scared, but had a plan that would hopefully work. He talked to him like he didn't know that Achilles had killed Poke, so he hoped that Achilles wouldn't kill him too quickly. Sister Carlotta was very mad and scared that Graff had allowed Achilles to go to Battle School. When talking to Sister Carlotta, Graff finds out that Achilles is a serial killer and has killed at least 4 people. Bean called Achilles into his quarters, and showed him what he and Ender had supposedly done. He took him into the air vents and lead him too a small unlit room where he told him to put the dead line around him. He did and then Bean gave his gang the word and they pulled the cord lifting him off the ground. They gave Achilles the choice to either die of dehydration, or confess to killing everyone that he had killed. He chose the latter, and they recorded it and gave it to the teachers. He had actually killed 7 people in his life, and would now get Bean whenever they met again. Bean got transferred to Tactical School, and said good bye to his army that he had for only 8 days. They hadn't won any of their five games, but he learned what he needed to and then he left into space.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
