"Speaker For The Dead"

Graff was tried in court, trying to prove Ender was a killer. Ender finds out he killed Stilson and Bonzo, and is hurt from how nobody cares about all the buggers he killed, since they are both the same to him. On Eros, Ender tries to help, but the people around him see him as useless during peacetime. Valentine then tells Ender that he can't return to Earth, since Peter is in control of it, and he would use Ender. She wants Ender to come with her to the bugger worlds. He agrees because he wants to learn about the buggers' past, since he starts to distrust Valentine because he thinks she's trying to manipulate him. The colony, sent there to populate the bugger worlds, with Valentine and Ender, settle down, and while looking for somewhere to settle, Ender runs into landscape from the mind game he played in battle school, with the giant's drink and the room with the mirror. Behind the mirror, Ender finds a pupa of a queen bugger, and it communicates with him, sending him mental images of the battles, and of what he has to do for him to start a new bugger population. He realizes that the buggers found out his thoughts from the ansible, and that they didn't know human beings were capable of thought, and when they did they stopped attacking. Ender writes a book explaining the bugger story and how they really wanted to live together in peace with humans, under the pseudonym "Speaker For The Dead". The book becomes a center of a religion on earth and the colonies that the buggers used to live in, and Ender comes to Earth to see Peter, and he tells Ender his story as well, which goes into another book, and the two books are the basis of the religion. Ender convinces Valentine to fly with him to different worlds, to find the right place to start a new bugger civilization. 

While reading, I noticed that Valentine explains that people are always manipulated, but all they can do is choose which way to follow. This means that nobody really lives their own life without being influenced by another, which is being manipulated, in a sense. Ender gets his freedom, by deciding to go on a mission to start a new bugger civilization. This is because he feels obligated to make up for his wrongful doings of destroying the buggers, even though the buggers don't blame the humans for it. 

"Ender's Teacher"

At battle school, Ender spends his time with Graff, or alone, working on the simulator. He starts out small, but then soon moves up to commanding a fleet. After a year, Mazer Rackham introduces himself to Ender, by attacking him, and explains that he's Ender's teacher as well as his enemy. Under training from Rackham, Ender learns that all the buggers think like a single organism, with the "command center" coming from the queen bugger, since Rackham defeated the buggers the last time from destroying the queen. Ender learns from Rackham that this is an advantage, because people can carry out more strategies at once than the buggers, since they have independent thoughts. Ender is moved to another simulator, where he commands an entire fleet, consisting of some of his best classmates from battle school. He thinks he's battling against simulations under Rackham's strategies, but in the "final exam" in command school, he finds out he was really battling the buggers, after destroying the nearby planet, wiping out a bugger army that extremely outnumbered his fleet. The adults in the room cheer, and thank Ender, telling him that he was the fleet commander of the third invasion and that he destroyed the whole bugger race. Ender becomes angry because Graff and Rackham were using him, and that he destroyed all the buggers without even knowing it. Ender sleeps five days, and when he wakes, his friends tell him that he missed out on the war on Earth and the Locke Proposal, from Peter, to end it. 

While reading, I saw that Ender was heartbroken when he found out he destroyed all the buggers, showing that he's the only person in the story who shows compassion towards them, as well as any sentient beings. He felt betrayed, and completely manipulated, but there wouldn't have been any other way to save the world, since Ender wouldn't have agreed to it. Throughout the novel, the games affect Ender's life, which show that our actions, no matter what our intentions are, have a meaning, and that games don't exist in reality. Ender finds a way around the rules in the games, so he can win, and he ends up hating the game itself. He cares about other people, and wants to be peaceful, but the games he has to win force him to go against being peaceful. If Ender was to have a choice, he'd find a peaceful way, although it might be longer and more difficult, through the games, but since he didn't have a choice, he hates the games that he plays, which mirrors how real life is for most people.

"Valentine"

Two I.F. officers are talking about the identity of Demostenes and Locke, and found out that they're Ender's siblings, Valentine and Peter. Peter and Valentine learn that the world is preparing for war, and while Peter has been more dangerous than ever, Valentine has become her pseudonym Demostenes. Graff picks up Valentine, and tells her not to tell Peter, because he's bringing her to see Ender. Ender has been on Earth for 2 months now, and has no motive for returning to fight in space. Valentine learns why this is, because Ender knows his enemies so well he begins to love them, but ends up destroying them, which is something he doesn't want to do. Valentine tells Ender to save mankind for her sake, but she ends up leaving angry because she was used to make him go somewhere he doesnt want to. Graff tells Ender he sent him to earth to remember what he was fighting for, but Ender knows that he's doing this as another part of his plan, instead of actually showing feelings for Ender. While on the shuttle to Eros, where command school is, Ender learns that the buggers communicate instantly, and that we don't know why we're fighting them beside the fact that we find them as a threat, and assume that they don't see us as intelligent life.

While reading, I noticed that Ender is completely different from Peter, because he ends up loving the people who try and hurt him, while Peter is completely hateful towards them. Ender hates being like Peter, and doesn't like that Valentine sent him to go to a place to be just like him again, but it shows how much he truly loves his sister. Ender becomes upset when he finds out that the wars could be from a misunderstanding, but agrees with Graff, because he doesn't know for sure if the buggers intend to harm the human race.

"Bonzo"

Graff and the chief of the I.F. military police, General Pace, are having an argument over whether or not to defend Ender from a threat from one of the kids in the school. Petra and Dink warn Ender of the threat, and he already knows this, deciding that the teachers would keep him safe, since he's everything they wanted. After winning his battle the next day, Ender goes to the shower and a group of kids, led by Bonzo, meet him there. He doesn't want to fight him, but Ender realizes that the only way Bonzo'll stop is when Ender puts enough fear into him. Ender hurts Bonzo really badly from the fight in the shower, and Ender feels terrible about it. Later, he wins a battle against two armies, and doesn't even care about it. When he gets back to his room, he gets a sheet, graduating him to command school. Ender is taken back to Earth, and he realizes that he's gotten so used to battle school, that he made it home, and that earth is as strange to him as battle school used to be. Anderson and Major Imbu have a conversation, about how he killed Bonzo and Stilson, and that he entered command school just in time, because the war is nearing.

While reading, I noticed that the fight with Bonzo was just like the fight with Stilson, where he had to unwillingly hurt someone else to defend himself. He wins a battle with the odds against him soon after, and he doesn't even care, because killing Bonzo was the worst event to happen in his life so far. He doesn't care about anything anymore, because he is so depressed from how the way things have happened.

"Veni Vidi Vici"

Anderson and Graff talk about organizing an unprecedented number of battles, since they feel that it's what they must do for him to be ready in time for the war with the buggers. Ender destroys Rabbit Army, Dragon Army's first opponent, and Carn Carby, their leader, is the only commander that treats Ender well in the commander's mess hall. The next day, Dragon Army beats Petra's Phoenix Army, and by the end of the week, they have won seven straight battles. Ender is brought in to speak to Anderson and Graff, and they ask him about his army. He answered in a cocky manner, and they tell him he has a fight in 10 minutes against Bonzo's Salamander Army, which would be his army's second fight of the day, when fights never happened twice in one day. He defeated them, even when they had the advantage of setting up earlier than them. Ender sent Bean to talk to him and tells him that he needs him, gave him his own special unit, and wanted him to come up with new ideas.

While reading, I noticed that Ender is far better than his competition, and that they hate him for it. Ender opens up to Bean, helping him become a better soldier, and because his being a commander is taking a toll on him. 

"Dragon"

Graff tells Anderson to make Ender a commander, and he agrees, saying he has been playing well and happy lately. They make him the commander of Dragon Army, with mostly untrained launchies with several veterans, who weren't skilled, without being able to trade them. He trains his army, and he notices a boy named Bean is very good. He does the same thing Graff did to him to Bean, to make him the best soldier he could be. Anderson tells Ender that he can't have his extra practices anymore, and Ender realizes things have to be different now that he's a commander, even with Alai. He also realizes that the teachers can't hurt him, since they went so low as to use Valentine on him, and he's out to defeat them for that.

While reading, I noticed Ender became more like Graff, as he was promoted to commander. He treats his army like how the adults have been manipulating him. This shows how hard it is to take responsibility in a military environment, especially for Ender, since he's losing everything.

"Locke and Demosthenes"

Graff is mad at Major Imbu, the computer expert, for Peter's image in Ender's game, and he has no idea, and says the computer is making up the program as it goes along. Back on Earth, Valentine hasn't forgot Ender, but Peter worries her, because he is evil and acts out of nothing but self-interest. Peter found out about the Warsaw Pact, which joined the nations together for the bugger wars, and that something's going on in space and the nations of earth are getting ready for what will result from it. Valentine realizes her and Peter can manipulate in their own ways, and Peter plans to work with Valentine to share political ideas over the nets (internet). Peter uses the pseudonym Locke, while Valentine uses the pseudonym Demosthenes, and their ideas begin to spread. Ender is 9 now, and he is the top ranked soldier and a platoon leader in Phoenix Army with Petra as commander, but he hates his life. Graff believes Ender needs help, and convinces Valentine to write Ender a letter showing that he's not like Peter. He becomes angry that the adults have taken his last memory from him by manipulating his sister to write a letter to make him happy again. He plays the mind game again, and the snake that he used to crush beneath his feet turned into his sister and they walk into the mirror, and behind it, there is a stairway that Ender and Valentine walk down. Ender ends up happy, knowing that Valentine will always be there for him.

While reading, I noticed that just like how Peter's in Ender, he's in Valentine as well. Valentine goes along with Peter only because she knows that they can make a difference in the changing world they live in. Graff is the only person who sees the three Wiggin children as intellectual equals, and Ender's anger increases when he gets the letter, which makes him do things he hasn't done before in the mind game, which is what he does throughout the book when he exceeds what he thought were his limits.

"Rat"

Graff and Major Anderson have an argument over making the battle room scenarios unfair, so that Ender can be prepared for anything. Ender goes to Rat Army, under command of Rose the Nose, and is assigned to Dink Meeker's platoon. Rose the Nose tells Ender not to use his desk or to practice with launchies, but Dink says he can't stop him. When battling Centipede Army, Rose sends Ender out to be frozen, but he ends up freezing many enemy soldiers, which makes Rose leave Ender alone. Dink tells Ender that he doesn't believe in the school, because children aren't supposed to be commanders of armies, and doesn't believe in adults running his life completely, or in the buggers planning to attack. Ender doesn't believe what Dink says, but it makes him more attentive to what people say. At a extra practice session with his launchies, Ender gets into a fight with older boys and feels bad about injuring four of them. He plays the mind game later, and looks in a mirror that shows Peter looking back at him. This scares Ender, and makes him realize that the teachers like his violent side the most, and that he's only a tool, no matter how he feels about it.

While reading, it seemed like Ender was the only hope, since the rules of the school had to be bent to ensure that Ender would be ready. Ender is learning more about being a soldier, and more about himself as well, and he has started to hate himself, as a result.

"Salamander"

Graff talks to a man named General Levy, an I.F. commander, and Levy is concerned, and tells Graff not to hurt Ender. This is because even though Graff is happy Ender solved the problem with Bernard and got past the Giant's Drink, which no one has done before, he is still only a kid. After eating dinner, Ender finds out he has been transferred to Salamander Army, under the command of Bonzo Madrid. Alai hugs and kisses Ender on the cheek, and says "salaam" in his ear, and Ender feels special, because he knows that that word was personal to him. Ender plays the mind game again, and gets to a door labeled "The End of the World". He is then told to go to his commander, and in Salamander Army, Ender meets Petra, and they become friends, because they're both outcasts. Bonzo doesn't like Ender and tells him not to do anything in battle and stay out of the way. Petra teaches Ender how to fight in the battle room, and since he can't practice with the Salamanders, he takes a few launchies into the battle room to practice. This makes Bonzo hate Ender even more, since Ender tells Bonzo that he can't control free play. Ender gets high ratings, since he wasn't frozen, and because he didn't miss a shot because he didn't shoot at all. Then, at the end of a battle with Leopard Army, he shoots and freezes enough of their soldiers to force a draw. This makes Bonzo even more angry at Ender, because of his insubordination, and he slaps and punches Ender for his disobedience, and then trades Ender to Rat Army.

While reading, I realized that Ender was more focused about winning, than following orders from Bonzo, because he realized which was more important to him. Also, Ender was taken away from the launchies, just when he felt comfortable, which was a test by the school to keep him on his toes.

"The Giant's Drink"

Graff was talking to another unknown man, most likely the same one as the last chapter, and talked about how Ender was stuck at the "Giant's Drink" part of a mind game called "Free Play", where Ender had to choose one of two drinks to make it to Fairyland, and no matter which one he chooses to drink from, he ended up losing. Ender and the other "launchies" went into the battle room, and Ender quickly adapted to the zero gravity. Bernard's best friend Alai did too, and him and Ender quickly became friends. Ender, Alai, Bernard, and Shen all froze the others with the guns that they're equipped with, which ended up making Alai in charge of the group of children, instead of Benard. Later, Ender plays "Free Play", and he gets aggravated at constantly losing and attacks the Giant, making the Giant die, with a bat welcoming Ender to Fairyland. Ender becomes upset again, because he feels just like Peter, when he killed the Giant.

While I was reading, I saw that Ender's friendship with Alai was very important because he was very lonely and needed a friend in the new school he just joined. Also, I noticed that the only way Ender seems to win is by breaking the rules, when he attacks the Giant, as well as when he hit Stilson while he was down, breaking the rules of combat. Ender doesn't want to hurt anyone, but he is always put in a situation where he either has to be hurt or hurt someone else, which is part of Graff's plan.

"Games"

Graff tells another unknown person that Ender must be isolated so he can be independent. As he's being introduced to the place and getting used to the school, Ender becomes very upset. He cries silently in his bed that night, and when Dap, the person in charge of watching Ender and his launch mates, comes to check his bed, he stopped crying. He became glad that living with Peter taught him how to hide his emotions. Ender goes to the game room, and learns the patterns in the games, challenges an older boy to play him best of three on a game, and beats him. Bernard, whose arm Ender broke, quickly becomes popular and makes fun of Ender and another kid named Shen. Ender breaks into the computer system and sends messages making fun of Bernard, which ends up breaking up Bernard's popularity and made Ender more friends.

As I was reading, I noticed that although Ender hated his brother, he benefitted from him as well. Ender's superiority is shown again, when he beats an older kid on a game he's never played before, and how he broke into the computer system to make fun of Bernard. Also, I noticed that even though Graff is trying to keep Ender isolated, he ends up making friends anyway.

"Launch"

Graff and another unknown man, most likely the person he was talking to in the beginning of the first two chapters, decide that Ender must be isolated to being out the best of his abilities. On the shuttle, Ender is basically out casted, with the other children playing, while he's alone, nervous and silent. While they go into space, Ender orients himself in different ways, saying he's walking down the walls, etc. Graff insults the other kids for not realizing this, and praises Ender for noticing that. A kid sitting behind Ender picks on him, then Ender throws the boy out of his seat and breaks his arm from hitting the wall, because of zero gravity. Ender again feels like Peter, and feels sick from it. Graff isolates him even more by telling the other kids not to mess with Ender. After arriving at the school, Graff talks to a teacher named Anderson, and says Ender is the one, and will be made into the best commander in military history. 

While reading, I saw that the chapter showed Ender's superiority compared to the other students. He sees through Graff's plan, seeing Graff as someone to use him. I think it even supports the foreshadowing of him being manipulated, because he's already being isolated, like Graff wanted. Graff is becoming more and more satisfied by Ender, by all of his actions and words.

"Graff"

Another conversation between the two unknown men, this time saying how Ender's love for his sister Valentine might keep him from leaving with one of the men, and that one of them was going to get Ender. A man from the International Fleet came to Ender's door, and asked Ender about the fight with Stilson. After hearing his explanation, the man revealed that he was Colonel Graff, and that he came to offer Ender a chance to join the Battle School in the Belt. He says that the I.F. allowed him to be born, and was I.F. property, but he wants Ender to choose because if doesn't want to then he won't do well. Graff tells Ender he desperately needs him, and Ender agrees to go, because he feels like he has nothing to lose. The last thing he heard as he left was Valentine telling him to come back.

While I was reading, Graff showed he was desperate for Ender, and showed that he was essential to their plan of destroying the buggers. Valentine shows she is the only one who truly cares about Ender by being the only one to say goodbye and be heartbroken about him leaving.

"Peter"

Those two unknown people who were having a conversation in the last chapter were having a conversation again in the beginning of this chapter. That time, they're showing approval of Ender's actions against Stilson. Ender didn't care about his monitor being taken away, even though his sister Valentine tried to comfort him. Peter suggested to play "buggers and astranauts", a game along the lines of "cops and robbers". While playing, Peter hurts Ender, and Ender then wonders what it's like to be a bugger. Later, Peter threatened Ender, saying he could easily kill him, and Valentine talks him out of it, by saying he can't get into politics if people knew he did something like that. Their parents come home, and Ender knows how awkward he makes them feel, being a Third. Ender was laying in his bed, and he heard his brother come in and he became afraid. His brother ended up apologizing to him, and said he loved him.

While I was reading, the way Peter was manipulative and dangerous was shown, which explains why Ender doesn't want to be like him. Peter's apology at the end shows that there is some good in Peter, although he is shown to be very mean.

"Third"

Is the 1st chapter in this great story, I just finished reading the whole thing, and I'm gonna summarize the story chapter by chapter, showing how I felt while i read it as well. 

The story begins with 2 unknown speakers having a conversation over if Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the one person to defeat the "buggers", that threaten the world's safety. They decide that he is, since he was being monitored by a monitor on the back of his neck, while he was put up against challenging events, or tests to see if he was capable of handling the task. His brother Peter hates Ender, because he had his monitor taken off a year before Ender did. This means that the people monitoring them lost interest in him, and saw him unfit for the task to save the world. Ender doesn't want his brother to hate him, but realizes that their conflicting personalities will prevent them from ever being friends. He is calm and nice, while Peter is mean and dangerous. In the future, third-born children are made fun of, and Ender was one of them. At school, he was being bullied by a boy named Stilson, because of it, and Ender ended up beating him up badly. This hurts Ender deeply, because he feels he's becoming like his brother, Peter.

I felt that Ender is a pretty important person to the whole world, since people are looking to him as potential to save the world, with him only being six years old. He thinks very complex for his age, and the people talking about him and putting him up to tests foreshadow he is going to be manipulated to be that person to fight the buggers and save the world, whether he likes it or not. It also foreshadows that he wont end up liking the way he'll be treated, or like the idea of saving the world because he is a peaceful child.