Key Facts
full title ·
Ender's Game
author · Orson Scott Card
type of work · Novel
genre · Science fiction
language · English
time and place written · Begun in 1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the story was published in 1977 as a short story and completed in novel form in 1985.
date of first publication · 1977 (as a short story); 1985 (as a book)
publisher · Tom Doherty
narrator · Omniscient narrator
climax · The climax of the novel occurs when Ender fights what he thinks is his final test in Command School but what is actually the last battle of the Third Invasion.
protagonist · Ender Wiggin
antagonist · Mostly Peter Wiggin, but also the adults in the book
setting (time) · The future
setting (place) · The book starts on earth, and quickly moves into space, although earth plays a prominent role until the end.
point of view · Most of the book is presented from Ender's point of view, although we are occasionally allowed inside the head of a few other characters.
falling action · Ender finds the landscape that the buggers created for him and follows it to the message they left him—the last remaining bugger queen, still a mere pupa.
tense · Immediate past
foreshadowing · Each chapter starts with a conversation between two adults, usually members of the I.F. high command, and their discussion foreshadows the events of the chapter.
tone · The tone is increasingly urgent as the book progresses.
symbols · Ender as good; Peter as evil
themes · Games; the role of children; compassion; ruthlessness
motifs · Friend/enemy; humanity
