Enders Game, written by Orson Scott Card is a “classic novel of one boy’s destiny among the stars”. The representation of Ender as the typical hero partaking on a hero’s journey is shown through the language devices and the characterisation of Ender. Card presents the conventions of a traditional hero, namely qualities of bravery and wisdom, leadership, responsibility and the tragic or traditional weakness.
Card explores the idea of a traditional hero’s weakness, through the character of Ender, who undergoes a hero’s journey, which demands that individual weaknesses are overcome, which mirrors Enders. Enders weakness is considered as the fear of him transforming into his violent, heartless brother as suggested in the quote “ I am just like Peter. Take my monitor away, and I am just like Peter”. This describes the distress and uneasiness Ender feels in situations where it seems he is transforming into a murderer like Peter. “I’m a murderer, even when I play. Peter would be proud of me”. Throughout Enders Game, Ender struggles through overcoming this weakness, which is a similar difficulty a typical hero goes through; this shows the strong link between Ender and a conventional hero.
The sense of responsibility delegated to Ender by others around him displays the typical conventional hero. “I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one. Or at least as close as we’re going to get” Card uses word choice in order to convey the sense of urgency when saying “or at least as close as we’re going to get. “This sense of urgency creates the tension of Ender being the hero that they are relying on to save the world. Ender also being aware of this factor by saying “it’s what I was born for, isn’t it? If I don’t go, why am I alive?” The responsibility that Ender has no choice in accepting shows how essential and significant Ender is in the scheme of redeeming world peace among the buggers. Being depended on by