Ender's Game Chapter 1-5

Chapter 1-Third
1. What attitude motivates the adults to lie to Ender?
They lied to him because they didn't want Ender to be scared. Even though it was going to hurt Ender realized that the adults were just trying to make the removal of the monitor less dramatic.
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,- his brother, Peter,- his sister, Valentine, and- his classmates.I think that being a "third" means that Ender is a third born child. In that time having more than 2 children is illegal but Ender's parents got permission to have Ender. For his parents being born a third means that they are coming back to what they ran from originally, growing up with multiple siblings they didn't want to be outcasted. Although they love Ender and are happy that they were able to have a third, they also resent him because he represents what they have spent their lives getting away from. For Peter, Ender being a third means that Peter wasn't good enough to go to battle school. Being a third is a negative thing to Peter. Valentine thinks that Ender being a third means that he is special, I think that Valentine thinks that Ender being a third is a positive fact. To Ender's classmates being a third is shameful, everyone picks on him and he is excluded.
Chapter 2 – Peter
1. Was Peter joking when he threatened Ender and Valentine?  Support your answer
with evidence from the novel?
I think that deep down Peter would never kill Ender. Although he hurts Ender and he is mad i think that  Peter really does tolerate Ender. At the end of chapter 2 Peter whispered to Ender at night "Ender, I'm  sorry, I'm sorry, I know how it feels, I'm sorry, I'm your brother, I love you." (page 15)

2. Why is Peter’s behaviour at the end of the chapter so completely different from the
rest of the chapter?
At the beginning of the Chapter Peter was being really mean to Ender and Valentine, he threatened to kill both Ender and Valentine. At the end of the chapter said that he really does love Ender. It was defiantly a surprise that Peter said that but it also showed that there is more to Peter than his rough exterior.

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 feel sympathy for Ender he gets beat up by bullies and by his brother. Even his parents aren't as invested in him. The author makes him out to be a weak boy who can't stand up to his brother. I think that Valentine is a really nice girl who looks out for the underdog. She is kind of like the mediator between Peter and Ender, or Ender's new "monitor." The author writes that Valentine tries to help Ender when Peter beats him up. Peter is made out to be the ruthless older brother who resents Ender. Peter threatens Peter but in reality Peter actually loves Ender.
Chapter 3 – Graff
1. What did Graff mean about evolution working against girls?
Girls have been taught to be nice and solve their problems peacefully. Graff meant that most girls that go to Battle School are not nice, they are okay with things/people dying and they are just as mean as the boys. Valentine is to nice and sweet to go to Battle School.

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?\
OSC included this because even though Ender is about to go to Battle School he is still a little boy and he need to be cared for.
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 means that people will use other people skills to help them survive. Some people will use an army of people to help them survive. In the book the people are using the brilliant children to create an army for others to survive.

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.
Keeping him in isolation will make sure that he doesn't lose his creativity and the way he thinks about problems. He wont adopt the other persons way of learning and thinking. By lose him they mean that he is no longer qualified to be the person that end the war between the buggers and the human. 

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?
Ender didn't mean to break his arm, this shows that Ender tries to solve his problems on his own. Personally I don't think it is acceptable to do despicable things for survival because I wouldn't want to throw my morals and values out the door. I think that no matter what you should always treat others how you want to be treated.
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?
I think that given the situation it is okay to hold back his feelings, although it would be better to confront his feelings there is really nothing he can do about it. If he shows his feelings someone may feel sympathy for him and "take care" of him, but if you shows his feelings Bernard might make fun of him and he will be the target of  a lot of bullying. If he doesn't show his feelings he won't get ridiculed and he can be the "tough guy." If he doesn't show his feelings he may keep it inside of him and at the wrong time he may get extremely sad and embarrass himself even more.

2. How did Ender beat Bernard?  Is this an unusual solution to his problem?
Ender beat Bernard by making everyone not take him seriously. He sent the fake message on the desk. This is definitely an unusual solution but it seemed to work and he avoided conflict.

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.
One coping mechanisms he used was beating people up, in a way this was helpful to Ender but some people got hurt. He also uses his brain to solve his problems and that worked out really well for him. He also hid from his problems by not showing that he was homesick and he avoided being beaten up.