Ender's Game and Variation The author, Orson Scott Card, was born in Richland, Washington, in 1951. He is a descendant of Brigham Young. Orson spent much of his life working with the Mormon church, Later Day Saints. He even postponed finishing his theater studies at BYU to go to Brazil for two years and do missionary work. As a young boy, Orson read a variety of literary works well advanced for his age. He read works like The Prince and the Pauper and The Army of the Potomac as a young boy. He would later read the books of Aristotle, Plato and other great minds while still in high school. These books would later shape his writing style in his books. After college, he would start his own game company, but these themes include: games, manipulation, compassion, cruelty, isolation and friendship. In the book, games are used for training. The bigger picture is that they are being used to make Ender do the one thing he wouldn't want to, destroy the Bugger homeworld. Whether it was the fantasy game that examined his mental health or the games where he learned tactics, they were consistent throughout the book. Games make it difficult to decipher what is real and what is not. This leads to complications that appear throughout the book. Another thing in the book is the manipulation. This is seen in two very different ways. The first method is the manipulation carried out by adults on Ender. Ender is the smartest kid in the world. His problem is that he doesn't really want to destroy the Buggers. He is so empathetic that the adults in his life have to manipulate them into achieving the one thing they want. To do this, they make him play games and isolate him from others. They target him and make him a target. All of these things were done to create the perfect soldier. They end up manipulating him one last time when he makes a series of plays that he believes will end practice. Another theme is isolation. From the beginning of his time at Battle School, Ender is isolated. It was named the smartest when it was launched. This creates envy among other Launchies. They will then treat him. However, only a few of these characters are important. These characters include: Ender, Valentine, Peter, Mazer Rackham and Colonel Graff. Ender is the main character of the book who is supposed to lead the third invasion against the Bugger homeworld. He is Earth's last great hope. Valentine is his older sister. She is Ender's protector and friend when he is at home. She is the compassionate person who could never lead an army into battle. She is also Desmothesis in the book. Peter is his brother and older sibling. He's the one who's ruthless. He tormented Ender and his sister when they were young. He is also known as Locke in the book and eventually takes control of the political system on Earth and becomes its leader. Colonel Graff is the International Fleet, or IF, soldier who oversees Ender's training. He does so first and takes Ender to Battle School. He is also the one who decides at school when he should progress and how hard he should be pushed. He will then be replaced as head of the combat school when it is time for Ender to go to command school. He then serves as Ender's teacher and mentor for a time. We can even call him Ender's friend. Finally, there is Mazer Rackham. He is finally Ender's teacher. He is also the hardest on Ender. He pushes him almost to the breaking point. He is also responsible for Ender's greatest manipulation. The book takes place in two places. Greensboro, Carolina,