Section I: ENDER’S GAME (3 Q’S) Themes A. Games (Fantasy) vs Reality B. Adults vs Children C. Compassion D. Ruthlessness of Peter and Ender --- Any differences between the two? E. Blur between friends and enemies F. Ender vs Peter - Good vs Evil
Characters Ender Wiggin ........... angsty 6 year old genius loser. Valentine ...................”Demosthenes”. Loves Ender. His older sister. Peter ..........................total meanie. “Locke”. Becomes Hegemon, world ruler. Colonel Graff..............head of battle school. Loves yet manipulates Ender. Mazer Rackham.........Ender’s last teacher. Tricks Ender and says games are fake. Major Anderson..........Second in command to Graff @ Battle School. Ender views him as an enemy. In charge of making battle scenarios. Bean.............................Ender’s last friend at Battle School. Dragon Army. Very much like Ender. Gifted. Alai .............................Ender’s bestie. Dink ............................Ender’s leader in the Rat Army. Petra ...........................Meets Ender in the Salamander Army. She eventually is captain of the Phoenix Army. Sometimes they butt heads. Bonzo (RIP) ................Enemy of Ender. Commander of Salamander Army. Bernard ......................Ender breaks his arm on the shuttle ride to school. Stilson (RIP)...............Pre-Battle School enemy. Ender kills him in a fight. Shen ...........................Befriends Ender in launch group days. Bonded over their hatred of the bullies. Main Plot Points Colonel Graff comes and brings Ender to Battle School. Ender is ostracized by his peers because he is purposely isolated by Graff. Becomes friends with Alai. Promoted to Salamander Army. Befriends Petra. Bonzo becomes enemies with Ender. Ender is traded to the Rat Army and Dink Meeker’s platoon. Meanwhile Valentine and Peter form a plan to become world rulers. At this time Ender is 9 and is a platoon leader in the Phoenix Army, under Petra’s command. Ender’s depressed. Becomes Dragon Army commander. Meets Bean. Bonzo is killed by Ender, and Ender is moved to Command School. Meets Mazer Rackham. Keeps fighting harder and harder battles. Wins the war. Goes to colonize the leftover planets with Valentine and meets the Queen Pupa.
ORDER OF ARMIES: Salamander -> Rat -> Phoenix -> Dragon
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Section II: HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (15 Q’S) Vignette Writing Style Cisneros’s writing style is choppy and each vignette is a brief skit - a piece of a larger puzzle. Reflects the short attention span of a young girl. Relies on the poetic sounds of words. Vignette Main Ideas/Themes
The House on Mango Street: E, her parents, Carlos and Kiki, Nenny moved to Mango Street when the pipes broke in their previous apartment and the landlord refused to fix them. Before they moved into the house on Mango Street, the family moved around a lot. The family had dreamed of a white house with lots of space and bathrooms, but the house on Mango Street has only one bedroom and one bathroom. Esperanza notes that this is not the house that she envisioned, and although her parents tell her it’s only temporary, she doubts they’ll move anytime soon. The house, however, does have some significant advantages over the family’s previous apartments. The family owns this house, so they are no longer subject to the whims of landlords, and at the old apartment, a nun made Esperanza feel ashamed about where she lived. The house on Mango Street is an improvement, but it is still not the house that Esperanza wants to point out as hers.
Hairs: Esperanza describes the different types of hair of all the members of her family. Her own hair doesn’t do what she wants it to do, while her sister’s is smooth and oily. Her mother’s hair is beautiful and smells like bread. Esperanza likes to sleep
