When we first meet Ender, a nurse is lying to him, but Ender sees through that (rather silly) attempt at manipulation. The first time we see Ender being effectively manipulated is when his brother plays this “game” with Ender and Val. (Game? Ding ding ding. Check the “Symbolism” page for more on games.) Whether or not this is a game, here we see how manipulation is not just going to be something that adults do to Ender – it’s something everyone does to Ender.

Almost all of the competition in <em>Ender’s Game</em> is between the kids at Battle School. (Or, if you prefer, between Ender and the teachers at Battle School.) But before that, the kids were competing to get into Battle School. Peter was rejected when he was five and he’s angry that Ender got even a little bit closer. For Peter, that’s a judgment on him – it’s not just that Ender does better on the tests, but that Ender <em>is</em> better.

OK, we’re kind of being big old softies here: instead of quoting the times when Peter fights or threatens Ender, we’ve pulled this one quote where Peter expresses some warmth towards Ender. But that’s just it – this is almost the only time that Peter does this. The rest of the time, Peter reminds Ender that he doesn’t want a little brother. The funny twist here is that Peter says he knows how it feels, so there’s actually is a very important shared feeling between them.