ender vs. sundjata (P) (L)

foreword

in seventh grade language arts, we read ender's game by orson scott card and the epic of sundjata, an oral tradition from mali, africa. the class was assigned an essay comparing and contrasting the two protagonists. this spoof essay, written in collaboration with one of my classmates, is the result of many afternoons' work.

the labels

this is really geared towards current and former Prism students (you know who you are), but anyone who has read ender's game and the epic of sundjata will understand it.

the essay

Sarahs 2.33 and 3

Ms. Benzinger

LA/SS, Per. 1/2

6 March 2009

Ender/Sundjata Compare Contrast Essay

In a book, called Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, in which Ender is a boy, Ender goes to Battle School, and in an epic from somewhere around Africa, there is another boy; its Sundjata, who is African, and Ender is Greek. Both boys are very similar, but they are at the same time both boys are very polar opposites. Ender goes to Battle School. In Battle School, he meets other intelligently smart kids, which isn't saying much because Ender's pretty dumb. Ender is like some kind of genius, and I believe Battle School's pressures don't have a very good positive impact on him, and stuff. Also, Ender ends up fighting the buggers, they are aliens who he didn't want to cruelly kill. However, the buggers were killed by Ender, and Ender becomes very sad; I think this shows that killing buggers, this had a negative impact on him. Before the buggers were killed by him, Ender was forced by the leaders of Battle School to unhappily undergo strenuous training to make him more staturesque. Sundjata is a guy, who lives with his mom, and he has to take over his legacy, as king, which was taken from him by someone else. Someone else also known as his brother whose mom (his stepmom (because his real mom is a buffalo (not really but still (anyway the third his means Sundjata (and by the way his brother is Dankaran (Dankaran is a loser)))))). The reader should be able to see by now that Sundjata has to quickly prove himself and gain back more power. Like the stuff his relative took from him (once again his relative is Dankaran (his stepbrother (or half brother))). I think Ender and Sundjata are both given very stressful lives by the people around him. Ender is met by a bunch of kids, like Bean and Petra and Bonzo. Bonzo is killed by Ender, though, but Bonzo hated Ender, so it was fine for Ender to kill him, because Bonzo was mean, anyway, so nobody really cared. Sundjata also has a sidekick dude, but as you can tell when he's captured, the sidekick is pretty bad, not like Sundjata's one who I think is really good, only he dies and anyway, Batman and Robin sounds cooler than Ender and Bean, right? Don't you think so? I think so, and I couldn't care less what the reader thinks, the reader could be Mr. Black! The reader should know that Ender and Sundjata both have some really useless and incompetent sidekicks. However, Ender's name starts with an "E". Unlike in Ender's name, "S" is the first letter of Sundjata's name.

I think Ender has some sidekicks who are really incompetent and who limit him. I think this because Bean has a dumb name and isn't gonna be all like OMG I'm so amazing and gonna save you, Ender because who wants to be saved by a kid with a legume-related moniker? On page 133, "Bean says" (133). This shows that Bean's name is Bean. And this shows that Ender isn't a real good owner-of-sidekick for Bean. Because analyzing it you can see that Bean never says anything, so he seems like he's quiet. And that's why I think Ender has some incompetent sidekicks and also he needs a better sidekick because Bean limits him, can't you see how if he had a good sidekick (like Petra didn't even remember his birthday, I mean what kind of a sidekick does that?!) then he wouldn't be limited? I believe Sundjata has some really incompetent sidekicks, too, who die, a lot. Balla Faseke is incompetent because he gets kidnapped. This shows that Balla Faseke gets kidnapped. This shows also that Balla Faseke was incompetent. Balla Faseke would rather play the xylophone than save Sundjata. Not that he WOULD save Sundjata. Instead Sundjata gets a buffalo companion. But the buffalo lady who also is his mom died. And that showed that she died a lot and is incompetent because dead sidekicks aren't as helpful, as alive ones.

"E" is the first letter of Ender's name. Sundjata's name starts with an "S". The concrete detail to support that Ender's name starts with an E is on page 4 "Ender sat" (4). This shows that Ender's name starts with an E. Also the concrete detail to support that Sundjatas name started with a S is "Sundjata stood." That showed that Sundjata's name started with an S. There was some contriversy over what Sundjata's name was spelled like, because some things said Sundiata but can't you see how it starts with an S either way? I think S is a cool letter. I think E isn't as cool and I'm not biased. Because if I was biased I might write a current event where the bias section said "the author likes the Hajj" or "the author is against car crashes". But I don't so this shows I'm not biased. Don't you think I'm not biased?

In conclusion, as the reader should be able to clearly see, Ender's name is really stupid because it starts with an "E". I think Sundjata's name is way better, can't you see how it starts with an "S" and not an "E"? "S" is a really cool letter because it starts names like "Sarah 3 Hg" and "Sarah Yhrx 2.33 Ribship." So Sundjata is a lot better than Ender because Sunjata's name is cooler. Also, the sidekicks are really bad. The sidekicks weren't needed by Sundjata at all because they messed a lot of stuff up for Sundjata. The sidekicks of Ender aren't any better or anything either. Neither Ender or Sundjata are real though, so their names and sidekicks are fake, because they obviously aren't like real. This is insignificant because even though they don't exist, Ender and Sundjata are still the subjects of a bunch of essays. What if Ender was real? Would we care more? I doubt it. You know, I think Sundjata is pretty insignificant too. If nobody wrote an essay on Sundjata, he wouldn't be cared about by you or any reader. Epics supposedly have a positive effect on a culture, but I think you or anyone should realize that if the sidekicks are incompetent (even Batman and Robin are better than Petra!) and the names are the only kind of good things about the character, the epic is pretty pointless. I don't think no 13-year-old cares about a several-thousand-year-old epic. Except for if their name starts with "S" because I think "S" is a cool letter. And obviously, Ender is a weird name. So Ender has a dumb name and Sundjata has a really bad sidekick. The end. PS, "E" is also a pretty cool letter cuz it starts words like "Elephant" and "Emo." Ender is emo, did you notice? -.- I mean, he's really weird like that. Except "S" starts the word "Start." But "E" starts the word "End." But "Start" is longer. Plus it sounds more like "Sarah." The real end. PSS, Mrs. Benzinger is a great teacher. She's very generous with the points, you know. I think she should give this essay a lot of points, because she's such a kind, generous person. Have a nice day! The end. For real. I mean it. XD

GO BRONCOS