May 8, 2007

The Name Game

So they boarded a starship and went from world to world. Wherever they stopped, he was always Andrew Wiggin, itinerant speaker for the dead, and she was always Valentine, historian errant, writing down the stories of the living while Ender spoke the stories of the dead.

Orson Scott Card Ender's Game

I found it interesting that Ender stopped going by his childhood nickname at the novel's close. Yes, Ender did grow up and left childhood, but his nickname was given to him by Valentine - the one strong relationship he maintained after conquering the buggers.

Names have power. Nicknames have even more power - because it is power in the hands of the named rather than the namer. Names are given, nicknames are nurtured. The named, once named, must keep that name - for it is the foundation of their identity. But a nickname can be thrown off. A nickname the named can choose not to maintain, as Ender did at the end of the novel.

Looking back on it, it makes sense. Valentine (the namer) had manipulative power over Ender (the named) throughout the entire novel. They say that naming something gives you power over it. No, Valentine's power was not a result of her nicknaming Ender, but it is a symbol of that power.

At the end of the novel, Ender returned to his real name, Andrew. Not only was he beyond Valentine's control at that point, he was pushing himself away from it. So Andrew became Ender under Valentine's influence. Once that influence was gone, Ender was free to become Andrew.

Posted by Diana Geleskie at May 8, 2007 3:50 PM
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