Measuring Leadership in Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow

10.6153/EXP.202206_(47).0004

Chingshun J. Sheu

leadership ； leadership studies ； minor characters ； Ender's Game ； Ender's Shadow

Ex-position

47期（2022 / 06 / 01）

59 - 78

英文

Orson Scott Card's science fiction novel Ender's Game has often been held up as a casebook study in good leadership, but nobody has yet attempted to measure leadership in the novel using the theoretical resources of leadership studies. This article approaches leadership in Ender's Game and its companion novel, Ender's Shadow, by examining the actions and mentalities of their respective protagonists and significant supporting characters through the lens of various leadership models. In doing so, it seeks to answer two questions: How can textual interpretation outwit formal misdirection by employing different frameworks of measurement? How can a fictional fabula help us to reflect critically on the notion of measuring leadership? The second question will entail critical consideration of the following: What exactly is ＂good＂ leadership? Can it be nurtured? Is it predictive of success? And is it worth the cost(s)? The article concludes that there is no ideal leader in this story-world, and that the person who comes closest is not, as most readers think, Ender.

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