Bean Character Analysis in Ender's Shadow Essay Example

Have you ever experienced something difficult, but prepared you for something else? This is what happens to the character of Bean in Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. In the book, the world is overpopulated and children are being trained to command spaceships to attack the Formics, an alien species which attempted to colonize earth. Before he got trained in Battle School (the space station where they get trained), he had lived on the streets and learned many things there. Throughout Bean’s journey, he uses many pieces of knowledge from his life before Battle School and incorporates them into situations in Battle School.

Bean learned Spanish from his old life and uses it to gain information. Bean was born in an organ farm (secretly a genetic experiment) and hid in a toilet’s tank when the scientists started to kill off all the children. A janitor named Pablo De Noches found him and took care of him. During his stay with Pablo, “[Bean] listened to Pablo de Noches talk to fellow immigrants in Rotterdam who visited his apartment, and on the telephone to family members back in Valencia” (pg.99). This sets him up when he asks a boy named Bonzo Madrid for information about another boy named Ender. Bean asks Bonzo this in Spanish: “[s]eñor Madrid, puedo hablar convozco” (pg.99)? Bean knew that speaking “Bonzo's native language [would have] the desired effect” (pg.99). These examples show that Bean knows how to use the skill of speaking another language.

Bean toughened up his digestive system on the streets. This is indicated when Bean was on the space shuttle to Battle School. The null gravity made everyone retch, “[b]ut [Bean] had schooled himself on the street not to succumb to nausea -- a lot of the food he had to eat had already gone a little bad, and he couldn't afford to throw it up” (pg.72). This skill teaches him to not retch, a skill which proved invaluable on the streets. Bean also eats “only as much as his body wanted, letting his hunger be his guide, and it kept him sharp and quick. That was the only nutritionist he trusted. Let the whiners get sluggish” (pg.79). This quotation shows that Bean keeps his mind sharp and quick, ready for what’s next in life. It also shows that his stomach has grown smaller and to digest food more efficiently. The “whiners” in the excerpt were the children who wished to have more food than necessary, in other words, the opposite of Bean. These two quotes show that Bean’s stomach has grown tougher from eating all the food on the street.

Bean learned to be careful and plan escape routes, and when he failed to be careful, he learned to never make those mistakes ever again. Bean has plenty of imagination because “[h]e had to imagine danger around every corner, a bully ready to seize every scrap of food” (pg.62). That was his mindset in his past life. He also continued this mindset in Battle school when “[h]e got his fingernails under the rim [of the vent cover] and carefully slid his fingers around it, prying it out” (pg.86)... He had a sense of urgency to have a backdoor in Battle School as well, courtesy of his imagination on the streets. Another citation that shows how careful he is, is when he thinks that “[t]here [would] always [be] danger. And since the teachers had all the power, the danger would come from them” (pg.77). Although careful, even Bean makes mistakes, but rather than just ignoring them, he ensures that he won’t make it again. This is proved when Bean “wept in front of [a kind nun named Sister Carlotta], [and] he let go of himself and spoke freely -- that had been a mistake that he would not repeat. Life was better, but he wasn't safe, and this wasn't [his] home” (pg.61). Sister Carlotta taught Bean knowledge and yet Bean was still careful– that's extremely careful. This paragraph shows how Bean is careful and learns from his mistakes, and also plans escape routes.

Bean uses many of his past life’s skills in Battle School. Ultimately, whether it was using Spanish to gain information, strengthening his digestive system, or being careful, the book shows us that sometimes, experiences can prepare us for something else in life.