The character of three Wiggin siblings symbolically represents the main theme of this science fiction that is, love, ruthlessness, manipulation, compassion and competition. Ender serves as good in the novel, as much good as is required in the given circumstances whereas Peter stands for evil as much as a power stricken person could be. Moreover Valentine the middle one is the mixture of her brothers. She has an unconditional inclination towards Ender, at the same time she is following Peter in his hunger for power.
Ender Wiggin is the protagonist of the novel. He is named as, “Third” who bring embarrassment for the family and except Valentine, all feel hate for him and resent him. Ender is half Valentine and half Peter, but he is closer to his sister with reference to love and compassion but he also possesses peter’s anger and hateful nature. We also see him feeling remorse if some wrong is done unwantedly by him throughout the games. Peter is envious of Ender just because he is more intelligent and brilliant than that of him.
Peter is shown as hegemonic and
extra ambitious for power at any cost. Unlike Ender and Valentine, Peter has no
place of compassion in his character. Peter’s cruelty knows no bounds, we see
him torturing not only his own younger brother but also the small animals. He
even not spared squirrels in the yard and skinned them for no reason. We also
see Peter acknowledging his cruel attitude towards his siblings and this
acknowledgement is to convince his sister for winning her trust against his
plan to rule the world. Peter eventually gains power but it rendered him devoid
of humanity. The path he chooses to win is of ruthlessness. He uses his
intelligence in probing others weaknesses to sort out his benefits and to
satisfy his power- hunger. Peter is sadistic with sociopathic tendencies.
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Valentine, the older sister of Ender has more similarities with her younger brother as compared to the older one. She also represents the themes of love and compassion. We see her more protective towards her younger brother. Although she doesn’t share the ruthlessness of her elder brother Valentine’s justifying Peter for torturing small animals shows her pragmatism winning over her compassionate nature.
More or less all Wiggins are the same but Ender is the protagonist. As for his nomenclature, he puts an end to the problematic situations and in the end, he successfully ends his opponents as well. In the end, through Ender, we come to know how important the “Thirds” are in our society.
