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For the second blog entries, I commented 6 on Inhyuk's

[2] blog #6

Q. Entry of your choice.
-> What is the greatest human nature revealed in the novel?

I think it is that people always try to justify themselves when they do bad things. The government in Ender's Game intentionally made the Wiggins family to bear a "third" for humanity's sake. Ender killed Stilson while he was trying to scare him, and his reasoning was that he was protecting himself. In the mind game in chapter 6, reveals that Ender is supposed to break the rules to win the game. I think the question made by these examples is that "is it acceptable to do anything when necessary?" There is a sentence in the book saying, "Breaking orders is wrong, but a wrong that is committed in the cause of winning is fine for Ender." In chapter 4, freedom are taken away from people and the government uses people as tools to survive. Therefore, it is proven that everyone makes justifications. I think that the ultimate justification in the Ender's Game is "saving the world." For this reason, many had died, envied, and hated each other. When Graff tells Ender at the end that it was a game, his reasoning was that it was for humanity's sake. I don't think this must happen in real life despite of any condition or situation. I think when we die, we should die with pride instead of all the unmanly struggles.

[2] blog #5

Q. Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you thing about the passage.

p. 65 "Instead he signed off, put his desk in his locker, stripped off his clothes and pulled his blanket over him. He hadn't meant to kill the Giant. This was supposed to be a game. Not a choice between his own grisly death and an even worse murder. I'm a murderer, even when I play. Peter would be proud of me."

This passage is after Ender was playing the mind game and killed the Giant by digging into its eye. This passage is meaningful because it truly shows the personality of Ender after his personailty of Peter. This passage shows that even though he was angry and acted like what Peter would do, he felt guilty of his action unlike Peter. I think this is what ultimately differs Peter from Ender. This is also mentioned when Graff comes to Ender and picks him up the very first time at his home in Greensboro. The Battle School chose Ender and not Peter because of their reasonings or justifications. This also shows that Ender has both Peter's and Valentine's personalities because he can be cruel one time and then suddenly so caring the other.

[2] blog #4

Q. What is the climax of this novel? Do you find this novel sadden you in any way? Why?

The climax is obvious in this novel. The climax is when Ender finds out that the simulation is not actually a game, but reality and that he annihilated the buggers. The twist for the readers in this novel was particularly strong because Card intentionally built up the novel in events so that the readers wouldn't be able to easily predict his happening. Card first made "games" of killing buggers to make soldiers both confident and relaxed while they are "practicing." Therefore, when they are actually fighting the buggers, they won't freeze or have too much tension in themselves while they're fighting. However, Card skillfully used this stereotype of a "game" so that we, as readers, won't also be expecting too much from a simple game. Then, BOOM! It was actually real. I think the novel saddened me a little bit, not becuase the fact that Ender killed all the buggers, but because how Card described Ender's feelings afterwards. This also sent a sign of a melancholy mood in the novel. The author used Ender's feelings to portray moods.

[2] blog #3

Q. Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?

Many characters are important in the novel, but I think the main characters are Peter Wiggin, Ender Wiggin and Valentine Wiggin. Ender Wiggin is the third child of the Wiggin (genius) family and Valentine is the 2nd child of the Wiggin family. Valentine is a caring, loving, thoughtful, and amicable person. Ender is an outcast, as he is a third, and he is smart and witty. He is a round character. Lastly, Peter is the 1st child and he is belligerent and cruel. I like both of Ender and Valentine because they're younger than me, but still smarter. Also, they take responsibilities in their actions. However, Peter does not. He only thinks of hurting or killing others, so I'm afraid to put my trust in him. That's why I dislike him. For example, after Ender finds out that he wiped out the Buggers' race, he feels terrible and tries to remake it. Even though it was out of guilt, he still takes responsibility and becomes the governer of the buggers. Valentine, I like her because she loves everyone despite of how harsh or mean they are. For example, although Peter even threatened Ender's life, the one Valentine loves the most, Valentine still loves Peter. I think she's kind of dumb, but the fact that she doesn't give up is, in my opinion, somewhat brave. The special things about them is obvious in the novel: they are geniuses. Valentine reveals the loving part of humans, Peter reveals the sinful and belligerent nature of humans, and Ender reveals the guilt and denying nature of humans.

[2] blog #2

Q. Are there any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed anylight on how current situations could be resolved or "fixed"?

Well, there are many situations in the world like in the novel Ender's Game. I mean, there isn't a war between human race and the "Buggers," but there are wars extant in the world. For example, there is the Iraq War. The intentions of the wars are different, but the relevant fact is that two different countries (races in Ender's Game's case) are fighting each other. In the novel, it says that Ender, in the end, loves his enemy, the Buggers, after understanding them. Therefore, I think the novel is saying that to stop a war, the countries in the war must understand each other until they love each other. I think conception is wrong, though. I do not understand Ender. The reason is because I don't get how a person can love someone else just by understanding the other. I mean, if you think about it, what if the other person has this set of habits you just dislike? Will understanding the personality you hate and the habits you hate make you love that person? I think not. For me, it will just make me hate the other one. Similarly, just because one understands the other in a war, doesn't simply stop the war immedietly. If it was that simple, people would have already used that method to stop wars, don't you think?

[2] blog #1

Q. What is the major theme of this novel? Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

I think there are more than one themes in the novel, Ender's Game. In fact, I think there are several. First of all, I think one of the themes is that the world consistently tries to balance itself. As in the Wiggins, hey all have intelligent brains, but Peter is too belligerous and Valentine is too caring. As a third, he is balanced of sometimes being belligerous, but also being amicable. Graff sees Ender as a "balanced" Wiggin. Also, as Ender improves and gets higher in status, Peter and Bonzo declines. Second of all, I think another theme could be "being ignorant is better." Some evidences are when Ender was ignorant of the "game," which was actually the war, he was okay, but then he turned angry when he finds out that it wasn't a game. Also, when Graff tries to do everything "necessary" to make Ender a better commander and a perfect savior of humanity, it was better for Ender to be ignorant of the fact that Graff was trying to help. Lastly, Ender's miserable life ultimately began because of his intelligence--knowing or having the potential of knowing too many things. Only if he had not had the smart brain, he would just have had an ordinary life, like he wants. Last of all, there is the most evident theme, manipulation. As most of the chapters begin with the "high" people like Graff talking about how they should control or what they should do about Ender, it is obvious of their manipulation. The beginning conversations are like foreshadows for the readers. Besides these, there are also racism and sinful nature of humans. This complex book with numerous themes intrigued me and gave me joy reading it.

ATHENA BLOG 3

Entry #3: What qualities would you like to have as a Greek god or goddess?

If I could be a Greek god with any powers, I would choose to have an ability of copying an ability of another god. As there are numerous and uncountable gods already in the Greek Mythology, those gods all have special and unique abilities each. It would be awesome to have all their strengths. Thus, I will gain power and status, possibly more than Zeus. Since I already have an eternal life, I can do whatever I want. With all the powers I have, and an eternal life, I have complete freedom and absolutely no responsiblity since I'm the strongest. Even though I am a god, I would like my physical appearance to be like a normal human. This way, I could play pranks on them and have fun. Well, I do want my body to be muscular, balanced, handsome, good-looking, and so on. However, since I am a god, I can change my physical appearance however I want as some gods have that ability like Athena. This ability is the ultimately strongest ability any god can have. Therefore, I would like this quality if I can be a Greek god.

ATHENA BLOG 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Medusa.jpg

Entry #2: Greek monsters
Medusa used to be a beautiful, one of the Gorgon sisters. However, after having a relationship, or being raped by the god of sea, Poseidon in the temple of Athena, Athena got furious and cursed Medusa. The consequence was cruel as Medusa's lower body changed and had hair of snakes that whoever sees it, turns into a rock. In the Greek Mythology, she was shown as a character like a monster. Then, a hero named Perseus came up and used a mirror in a shield, given by Athena and reflected Medusa's image back to her. This made herself turn into a rock. As Perseus cut off her head, two flying horses were born as children of Poseidon and herself: Pegasus and Chrysaor. Medusa's neck was attatched to Athena's armor as a decoration and her head was given to a temple in Rome as a work of art. As it is obvious from her curse, people feared her of her face as it turns people into rocks and kills them.

ATHENA BLOG 1

"Athēna." Naver. ⓒ EnCyber & EnCyber.com. 9 Mar 2008 .

Entry #1: Greek god or goddess (*Research)

ATHENA

Atehna is Zeus and Mētis' daughter. Gaia, one of the goddesses, predicted that when Metis was pregnant, the child was going to overthrow Zeus. Zeus, afraid, swallowed Metis when she was still pregnant. However, when it was about time for Metis to give birth, Zeus had intense head aches and asked Prometheus to open up his head with an ax. As Zeus head was opened up, there was Athena roaring, and surprisingly wearing an armor. Since Athena was born between a god and a goddess, she was automatically a goddess too from birth. Athena and Hercules share the same Father, Zeus. However, Hercules was appreciated for his mighty strength, but Athena was feared by her power and abilities. Their difference is that Hercules, at the end, became a human being, and Athena became one of the "12" gods. Their nature of personalities are similar as they both try to judge for the fairest. However, Athena, in my opinion, is more cruel to people who made mistakes. For example, when Medusa was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, even though it wasn't Medusa's fault, Athena punished Medusa to have hair of snakes. On the other hand, Hercules have more mercy as he forgives many people like his girlfriend when she betrayed him. Therefore, I think their intentions of helping the poor and judging for the right and best are similar, but their emotions within those judgements are different.

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6

Entry of your choice: What was the major flaw of the rebellion in the novel?

The ultimate reason for the downfall in the Animal Farm was created by the leaders. The initial idea of the rebellion against humans was to get what they deserve. However, years after they’ve won Mr. Jones was continuous hard labors and less food to the animals only except for the pigs, who needs food for their brain and the dogs, who protect the pigs. The pigs’ infinite greed made them want to use their intelligence to manipulate the ignorant and dumb ones. The major flaw of the rebellion was actually in the animals themselves as they had not have enough knowledge for themselves to decide which is good and which is bad. If they have educated themselves, they would have survived from the dreadful labors and had the reality of their ideal world. However, since they had not have knowledge, the pigs manipulated them for pigs’ uses. I think this is true to any situations in human beings also. For example, when people con others, they manipulate the others by using their knowledge, in which the others do not have. As a result, the major flaw of the rebellion in Animal Farm was the lack of knowledge of the animals within.

4

What is the climax of this novel? What happen? How do the events of this novel make you feel?

I think the climax of this novel is at the very end of the novella. It says that the other animals could not identify which one between Napoleon and man. I thought this was very intriguing because the pig has finally become one of the humans as it was approaching to be. This is the ultimately ironic part of the novella as the rebellion ends resulting with worse conditions. It is ironic because the rebellion initially began with the idea of an ideal world for the animals: earning what they deserve. Therefore, the animals chased Mr. Jones out of the farm and built the Animal Farm. However, there was no difference as it shows at the end here because the wise pig, Napoleon has become another “human.” This even made me feel sick because of the fact that we have infinite greed. We, as in our nature, will never stop desiring and wanting things. I think the ultimate goal of Eric Blaire in this novel was to eventually show that humans are capable of doing anything to get what they want. Thus, he used pigs to exemplify the greediness of humans as pigs continuously desire of eating and being lazy. This final event saddens me for this fact.

5

Please choose one passage from the novel that is significant to you. Why is this passage meaningful? Please type it into one of your entries and comment on what you think about the passage.
“ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL. BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.” Page 81
I thought this quote was very significant and outstanding out of other passages from the Animal Farm because it achieves the greatest irony in this novella. This was one of the seven commandments, initially being “ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL.” The pigs have added a detail to this commandment to justify their actions of the following: pigs carrying whips, pigs installing a telephone, pigs wearing clothes, and pigs standing with two feet. I think this was an irony Eric Blaire was trying to gradually portray. Readers were able to predict this was going to happen as the pigs started editing the seven commandments and becoming like human beings. When I first read this quote, like I read other edited commandments, I burst into laughter because some animals being more “equal” tells me that some animals are more important than other animals, which break the law of equality. This quote, therefore, tells me that equality was not achieved at the end even through the hard labors and rebellion against human beings. Hence, I thought this quote was inspiring.

3

Who are the main characters in the novel? Do you like them? Why or why not? What is special about them? What do they reveal about the universal human experience?
The main characters in this novella are the pigs, specifically Napoleon. Napoleon is one of the wisest pigs in the farm. Since knowledge equals power, he also gained the most power since the rebellion. I do not personally like the character of Napoleon; however, I do think that he is hilarious in times where he gradually becomes like a human. He is the leader of the Animal Farm. The reasons are because he is self-centered, greedy, and a dictator. Since he has the most power, he uses it only for his own goods. He manipulates the animals and do not care what happens to them. In the novella, he sells Boxer, the most loyal and hard-working horse just because he’s old, so that he could buy whiskey for his own pleasure. I thought this part of the novella was extremely crucial because Napoleon sold his own “comrade” just because he’s no use anymore. Napoleon ultimately expresses a universal human experience by displaying his greediness. Like humans doing anything to get what they desire, Napoleon even sold his comrade to have a little pleasure. Also, in times when the seven commandments are inconvenient for him to live, he slightly manipulates it to make it fit himself. Like this situation, humans always change rules so that it is more convenient. Therefore, Napoleon reveals greediness of the universal human experience.

2

Are there any current situations in the world that relate to the novel? What are they, and how do they relate? Does the novel shed any light on how current situations could be resolved or “fixed”?

There are current situations like this rebellion against the upper class in the Animal Farm. For example, Africa is struggling of the rebellion of the RUF and the government right now. They relate to the Animal Farm because like the smart pigs in the novella, the older and wiser men in Africa are in control of the RUF. Also, the less wise, the other animals are like children soldiers in Africa. As they are brainwashed to believe that their leaders are always right, consequently being ignorant of the actual situations and reasons they are fighting for. The novella introduces Boxer as an example of a worker who ignorantly believes in his leader until his death. Also, the reasons for both rebellions are equality in oneself. In the novella, the situation, however, does not resolve at the end. Instead, the situation only gets worse by the animals working harder with less income. I think it kind of tells the Africans that rebellion will not work at the end because even when the rebellion ends up victoriously, another greedy “leader” will come upon and take the seat of a dictator. Hence, the African rebellious people must find a different way to approach to acquire their equality, rather than using force.
In my opinion, I think they should gain knowledge and educate themselves to fight against the government because as it is showed in the novella, the dumb animals cannot do anything without the pigs because they are not smart enough to take care of themselves. However, if they had knowledge and their natural strengths, they wouldn’t have ended up in a worse condition than before. Therefore, I think the Africans should learn in order to gain what they desire of.

1

What is the major theme of this novel? Why is this theme important to a teenager living in 2007?

The major theme in this novella, in my opinion, is that knowledge brings equality and control over the ignorance. Throughout the novella, only the pigs, who are the most intelligent have control over everyone else. Among the pigs, Napoleon exemplifies greatly a smart and witty leader manipulating all the other animals with the help of Squealer. Napoleon shows this manipulation by consistently changing the seven commandments to his own benefits. For example, when he starts sleeping in a bed, he changed the commandment to "All animals shall not sleep in beds with sheets." The other animals, not being able to understand any of the strange behaviors of the pigs, simply agrees to Squealer, who justifies every action Napoleon makes. Therefore, knowledge bringing power to oneself is one of the major themes in the novella, Animal Farm.This theme is extraordinarily important and relevant to a teenager living in 2007 because this theme shows that people must aquire knowledge to gain social status and control over others. It is relevant because this shows that having knowledge and understanding situations is the key to success, as success is known as the ultimate "goal" of every human being's life. Consequently, the theme I have explained is crucial to a teenager living in 2007.