'Ender's Game' Quotes

Orson Scott Card's Classic Science Fiction Novel

Orson Scott Card at the 2008 Comic-Con's autograph table.
Orson Scott Card signs autographs at the 2008 Comic Con.

Alex Erde/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, who was inspired by Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series. Ender's Game centers on Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a young boy who is being trained to become a leader in the war against an alien race. The story first appeared as a novella, which Card expanded into a series of books. The book has become suggested reading for those thinking of entering the military. Here are a few quotes from the novel.

Chapter 1

"And there are doubts about him. He's too malleable. Too willing to submerge himself in someone else's will."

"It was not his fault he was a Third. It was the government's idea, they were the ones who authorized it - how else could a Third like Ender have got into school?"

"'I could kill you like this,' Peter whispered. 'Just press and press until you're dead.'"

Chapter 2

"'And do you know why you don't mean it?' Valentine asked. 'Because you want to be in the government someday. you want to be elected. And they won't elect you if your opponents can dig up the fact that your brother and sister died in suspicious accidents... 'You're his monitor now,' said Peter. 'You better watch him day and night.'"

Chapter 3

"Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too. So they'd leave me alone."

"It was what I was born for, isn't it? If I don't go, why am I alive?"

Chapter 4

"With Ender, we have to strike a delicate balance. Isolate him enough that he remains creative--otherwise, he'll adopt the systems here and we'll lose him. At the same time, we need to make sure he keeps a strong ability to lead."

"We're going to make him the best military commander in history. 'And then put the fate of the world on his shoulders."

Chapter 5

"Make friends. Be a leader. Kiss butts if you have to, but if the other guys despise you-you know what I mean?"

"Ender's isolation was over."

Chapter 6

"I'm a murderer, even when I play. Peter would be proud of me."

Chapter 7

"Whatever it meant to Alai, Ender knew that it was sacred; that he had uncovered himself for Ender."

"It set her apart, made her different, split the army."

"It's Wiggin. You know, that smart-ass Launchie from the game room."

"the adults are the enemies, not the other armies. They do not tell us the truth."

"Ender's anger was cold, and he could use it. Bonzo's was hot, so it used him."

"If you want, I'll pretend you won this argument. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind."

Chapter 8

"Listen, Ender, commanders have just as much authority as you let them have. The more you obey, the more power they have over you."

"It's the teachers, they're the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other."

"This game knows too much about me. This game tells filthy lies. I am not Peter. I don't have murder in my heart."

Chapter 9

"Well, I'm the bloody bastard you wanted when you had me spawned."

"What do you tell him, I need citizen's access so I can take over the world?"

"She was one of them now."

Chapter 10

"It was a strategy. Graff had deliberately set him up to be separate from the other boys, made it impossible for him to be close to them."

"And with that anger, he decided he was strong enough to defeat them- the teachers, his enemies."

Chapter 11

"You want to make me the best soldier possible. Go down and look at the standings. Look at the all-time standings. So far you're doing an excellent job with me. Congratulations. Now when are you going to put me up against a good army?"

"The teachers got me into this-they can keep me safe."

Chapter 12

"Ender Wiggin must believe that no matter what happens, no adult will ever, ever step in to help him in any way."

"Don't be alone. Ever. -Dink."

"I can't help that I'm bigger than you. You're such a genius, you figure out how to handle me."

Chapter 13

"it only works because what's between you, that's real, that matters."

"We are the Third Invasion."

Chapter 14

"From now on the enemy is more clever than you. From now on the enemy is stronger than you. From now on you are always about to lose."

"You will learn to defeat the enemy."

"Strange dreams are a safety valve, Ender. I'm putting you under a little pressure for the first time in your life."

Chapter 15

"And always Ender carried with him a dry white cocoon, looking for a place where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace. He looked a long time."

Source

Seiler, Edward. "Isaac Asimov Home Page." Asimov Online.

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Lombardi, Esther. "'Ender's Game' Quotes." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/enders-game-quotes-739628. Lombardi, Esther. (2023, April 5). 'Ender's Game' Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/enders-game-quotes-739628 Lombardi, Esther. "'Ender's Game' Quotes." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/enders-game-quotes-739628 (accessed March 29, 2024).