Don’t Forget About Gray
In the world people are viewed in hues of black and white, but the viewer forgets that there is also gray. In Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, reminds us that there is a gray. The story is about the protagonist Ender, who is the savior of Earth and murdered an entire race of aliens, buggers, as well as two children in self-defense all before he was, 13. Now he is struggling to obtain peace with himself with the guilt that he feels for the murders he has committed. Throughout his travels through space and time, he is able to obtain peace with himself. A theme explored by Orson Scott Card is that there is no absolute evil person, but a person who is both good and bad. The character Admiral Morgan is portrayed to show that there is no absolute evil person, but only a mix of good and bad. Card portrays the theme through the conflict of Ender and Admiral Morgan. For example, Admiral Morgan states, “The only way you could ever survive as governor would be if I backed you up” (172). This implies that Admiral Morgan is power hungry .He cares about the governor to be and wants him to succeed. It also seems that Admiral Morgan is threatening the governor to be. It gives him the appearance as a dark and self-centered man. In addition, Dorabella states, “When we reach Shakespeare, one thing is certain [,] Admiral Morgan is not going to turn the colony over to a fifteen-year-old boy … [since] [it] takes someone with experience and leadership to govern a colony” (230). This implies that Admiral Morgan cares very much about the future of the colony. He also does not believe a 15 year old boy can govern a colony, due to the lack of experience. This shows him to be a concerned and caring person and not an evil man. Without doubt Admiral Morgan is not truly evil. He has a good intention, but the actions that he takes to reach his goals seem wrong. Even though he is portrayed to be evil, his intentions were good at heart. This shows that there is both evil and good in a person and there is no absolute evil. The character of Peter the Hegemon also proves that there is only a mix of good and bad in a person. For example, Ender states, “Am I Peter? Am I using other people for whatever plan I have?”(227). This implies Peter was a dark figure in Ender’s life. Peter used to manipulate people and in society today manipulation is seen as a bad thing. He is a person that would accomplish his goals. In addition, Ender states, “When I last saw Peter I was six and he had threatened to kill me just a few hours before” (379). He was a cynical person. He was willing to kill his brother for some reason. This shows that he was a dark man with dark intentions. Finally, Abra states, “‘On earth [,] [the] Hegemon united the whole world and nobody’s at war anywhere’” (351). Peter had accomplished a task that many have dreamed of completing. He has accomplished world peace. He has conquered the whole world and has united it under one government. It seems to be governed by a dictatorship. Without doubt Peter is a man that has achieved greatness. It is ironic that he was shown as a ruthless brother, a man of evil, but in the end he was the one who could achieve the task of world peace. Even a man of evil is able to achieve the greatest good. The character