Writing this film review now, it is really easy to write. From the initial confusion and dissatisfaction mixed with joy, to the regretful understanding and acceptance at the end, it can be regarded as a commemoration of the lost youth. Although the movie restoration of the book is often unsatisfactory, but with such an attempt, so that more people hear its name, I still have to express my gratitude. This article is a movie review, and it may be more about the completion path of the story and the fullness of the characters. Although I try to take into account the film and the original work, I still tend to prefer the original expression of the original work, which may be too harsh on the film. As the saying goes, the deepest responsibilities of love, and the words of a family are inevitably biased, so let's just communicate here.
is in order.
1. Depth lost due to compromise: For a
good movie that solves problems , there is always a sense of reconciliation . In this era when Spider-Man wants to talk about responsibility, Transformers wants to talk about mutual aid, and even Avatar has to talk about the shameful demolitions, commercial films are embarrassed to come out and mix without a high-level theme. The movie version of "Ender's Game" has made an effort in this regard. To make a rough overview, I think it can be boiled down to two points: anti-war and anti-authoritarian. From the perspective of anti-war, there are not only the aspects of humanitarianism and justice theory such as "should not slaughter an intelligent race at will" and "the means of winning are important", but also the aspect of humanistic care for children's psychological trauma caused by war violence. And Ender's growth is more reflected in the struggle of a small elite "against the authority of the instructor" and "against the bully" due to the compression of the space and the selection of materials. The original work is not weak in terms of themes, and the adaptation generally takes into account the second and third themes of the original work. Considering the limitation of space and film as a means of expression of visual art, it is probably a last resort to delete the first theme of the original work—people’s pursuit of spiritual belonging. It is a pity that the remaining two themes are either improperly edited to reduce the impact, or they are the short board of the story, but some of them are not prioritized, which is a pity.
(1) About the anti-war theme, and discuss the background setting of the original work
Reminding people to think outside the box and try to discuss the possibility of peaceful coexistence is a very important theme in Ender's Game (and its subsequent series, Advocate for the Dead). The original was written in 1985, still in the late Cold War. It can be seen from the fact that there is still a bipolar confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in the world of the original Ender, the long-term world tension and the turbulent atmosphere of the arms race have some influence on the author. At this point in time, the theme of "anti-war" was raised, and the question of "is it possible to kill all enemies in the face of the imagination?" It can be said that it has caught up with the historical trend (of course, it seems to be quite common when it is filmed at this point in time). realistically...). Returning from the imagined world to reality, and returning to oneself by others, has always been the way for science fiction works to come to life. The more moving the imagined world, the more moving the suffering of others, the more it can shake the soul.
Therefore, from the perspective of general reviews, the film almost failed to make the audience (except for the fans of the original book) empathize with the protagonist Ender's sympathy for the Zerg, which can be said to be quite a failure. The reason for this is that, apart from the bad hint of the Zerg's form factor that looks too much like a giant ant/moth, the Zerg's position is only based on Ender's "can communicate with mind" guesses and the "they are" before the final battle. Why did you stop there?” is too weak. The proclamation of the title "When you know your enemy, you also fall in love with him" has a slogan-like ornate coat, but it completely loses the grand humanistic essence of the original work. As a pure movie audience, it is difficult to feel as clearly as the readers of the original work: Ender is not leading an "interstellar war", but a "genocidal invasion".
The original author Orson Card is not a writer with a background in science, nor is he good at describing complex sci-fi settings. Therefore, although "Ender's Game" has sci-fi elements, it is just an old bridge played by others such as interstellar war. The flimsy technological background becomes a flaw in the movie, because even the most interesting indoor strategy game in the novel seems to modern people with savage tastes, but it is nothing more than round spheres, glowing boxes and fluttering. Go for the boring combo for the little ones. The setting that most expresses depth in the original - the racial characteristics of the Zerg - has been opportunistically modified by the film. This may be to keep the "teenage film" concise and understandable, but it has a negative impact on the expression effect.
In the original setting, except for the "queen", the rest of the Zerg individuals are "tools" that do not have the ability to think rationally; the "queen" manipulates them by thinking; There are subtle and important differences. The racial characteristics of "individuals are tools" gives three very important inferences: (1) The Zerg does not have the concept of "every individual is important", and has never imagined the existence of a human race that cherishes individual life , so in fact, this race capable of interstellar colonization has only a few really important "intelligent life forms"; (2) Zerg expands supply through interstellar colonization, so as to provide a foothold for each new "queen" to survive, thus To reproduce, this is their way of survival - and the original assumes that they have not encountered other types of intelligent creatures in the process of colonization, which is ignorance beyond survival; (3) Zerg have no language or writing, and do not use sound or The concept of graphs so that they cannot communicate with, or even understand, how humans communicate - which means "unsumable". The original work specifically emphasized that only the first war had the element of "human-worm face-to-face hand-to-hand combat" - the Zerg felt that they were just sweeping the floor of the new nest, while humans regarded it as killing and encroaching - only the second time The war, because the human interception took place in the process of colonizing the queen with the Zerg, and successfully killed the queen, only then did this race realize that they were actually involved in a war between intelligent races. Faced with such a hasty discovery, the Zerg took measures to stop colonization; the measures taken by humans were to invade the enemy's homeland and eliminate the danger in the cradle! Until the end of the story, no one realizes like Ender that the murder was nothing more than a misunderstanding.
In the novel, we are led step by step by the author to realize the difference in the position of "butt decides the head"; in the movie, the same basic material only shows the survival situation of human beings "in danger" and the strategy of "how to win" Skill. The small details of the Zerg's wisdom and stance scattered in every corner of the novel are not presented in the film, so that the original impact of the story is lost.
In addition, the movie does not consider the audience with no background knowledge at all, and the scene of the national armament and the despised "third child" after the opening scene of a cool big victory seems to be too fast. Because of the lack of foreshadowing, it is difficult for the film to explain why the "third child" has low self-esteem (the atmosphere of "You didn't get the first place in the family dinner, I gave birth to you for nothing" is too weird), it is difficult to explain why A child must be the commander (actually, the original book used "the younger the child is, the stronger the learning ability" is one of the reasons I want to complain, but the movie almost stated that it is because the children play a lot of video games, so they are suitable to be generals. , can it be more rhetorical...), it's hard to explain why Mazerehan needs to drive a fighter to charge into the battle and Ender only uses a drone (who the hell came up with the drone! Smack! Son!) can Play generally wins.
Among them, the deletion and modification of the battleship setting is not only a pity, but also quite inappropriate. In the original work, those warships that set off with the goal of "capturing the enemy's nest as early as possible" and traveled at the speed of light for 80 years before reaching the enemy's base camp were limited by the technology at the time of departure, so they were not at all! Yes! none! people! machine! This means that the sacrifices in all battles in the original book are not numbers but human lives; and the brilliant end of the battle that Ender commanded without knowing it is tantamount to ordering soldiers to commit mass suicide (and the result of suicide is likely to be useless) , this psychological burden is unbearable for a well-informed adult general - which is why Ender must command under the deception of the simulation game. After changing to the drone setting, the simulation game almost lost the meaning of existence - the strategy of abandoning the car to protect the handsome can even be thought of by adults with a little brain!
What's even more abhorrent is that this change has also cut off the tribute to ordinary soldiers in the original book - and the reflection on the "harming others and yourself" of war - as well. In order to clear the source, the author's tribute in "Ender's Shadow" is especially excerpted as follows: "Those ships, on which are individuals who have given up their homes and families, and the world they were born in, they are in order to cross large groups of galaxies. Somewhere along the way it dawned on them that Ender's strategy required all of them to die. Perhaps they already knew that. But they obeyed and continued to obey the orders given to them. In this famous light cavalry assault , these soldiers gave up their lives, trusting that their commanders were using them well. As we sat safely here in the simulation room, playing elaborate computer games, they were obeying, dying, and only For the survival of mankind. Now we still command them in these carefully designed electric toys and have no idea of their courage and their sacrifice. We can't give them the respect they deserve because we don't even know they exist... "
What in the world is more thought-provoking than the sacrifice of war itself? ! It's a pity that after such a big tear was simplified into a few exploding transport ships, it turned into a fog in the distant valley...
Anyway, about the anti-war element, after watching the movie, I can only sigh silently, director, you are actually mainly In order to show off the US precision strike military technology, right? ! It's too naive to sell anti-war only with the tears of the little Zhengtai and the compound eyes of the big bug! ! !
In addition to the humanitarianism of peace and fraternity, "the means of winning is what matters" can also be said to be an important reflection of modern people on war, but it is a bit far-fetched for the movie to force it to Ender - Ender was selected to It is the hard-line strategy of "beating your enemy to death to avoid potential danger". Originally, the most direct benefit of using games as the background of all strategic activities is that you don’t have to consider means. As long as you win within the limits allowed by the rules, it doesn’t matter what means and sacrifices you use. Suddenly the question of “means” appears a bit blunt. However, considering that this is still a very clear and easy to remember slogan, it is not too demanding.
(2) On the topic of anti-authority
To establish the protagonist of the story, you always have to give him a proper character as a skeleton, and then add muscle and flesh, so that the character can be fresh. Considering that the movie shows Ender's struggle against stronger opponents or superiors (against the school bully, the instructor, the fat Bernard, and the small captain Malid ⊙﹏⊙), if Peter, the representative of violent authority, is also Taking that into account, it's probably safe to say that the movie is shaping the protagonist Ender Wiggin in an anti-authoritarian direction. At the beginning of the film, Captain Anderson (who is also a psycho-evaluator?) makes this comment: "He (Ender) has a complicated reaction to authority, wanting to please arrogant elders, but not willing to be Treating each other with cold eyes" (the English uses quite complicated psychological terms, and the translation is not good, so I can only make do with it), which should be the director's basic interpretation of the role of Ender. In order to reflect such a "complex response to authority", the film created an episode in which Ender stood up against the instructors and fought for the freedom of communication for his classmates, and used this episode as a breakthrough for him to ease his relationship with his classmates; since then , Ender fights wits with bully classmates, fights with instructors, and finally shouts to Colonel Graff "No, the means of winning is important" refutation, but it shows his stubbornness and courage to fight very clearly...
But after careful consideration , this performance is contrary to the original impression. Anti-authoritarian stories are usually best told by small people, and the original Ender dipped in "young" and "skinny" (unfortunately only one "skinny" left in the movie), but was constrained by Orson Card The elitism and heroism tendencies of Ender, and Ender was labeled as a leader from birth. Even his elder brothers and sisters are gifted children (original settings) who turn their hands into clouds and rain. Their IQs are so powerful that it is difficult to resonate. If you want to create a hard-boiled impression of the character's anti-authority under this setting, you need a balanced explanation, otherwise it will be difficult to smooth. Less warmth is farther away, and more soft words are easy to lose control. In terms of actual effect, the original work is considered to be relatively balanced, but the movie has made the mistake of "far away". The movie version of Ender's mind and methods are too adult and elitist, his words and actions reflect his strength and forbearance, and all weak parts have been deleted (the actor's physique also delayed the performance of the character's weak position) hind legs), so that the teenager was a little too angry from beginning to end (although it was angry with tears, but the expression of this expression is slightly subtle...).
Contrary to the film, the original book deliberately emphasizes the naive and vulnerable side of young Ender. In Card's writings, this elite teenager may be more shrewd than ordinary children, but also gentler than ordinary children. After Colonel Graff's isolation policy was initially implemented, Ender did not ask him angrily "You made them hate me" as in the movie, but blamed "I thought you were my friend"; When he received a dispatch order for the purpose of isolating him as soon as he was integrated into the freshman group, Ender did not cry like in the movie (this expression is really subtle!) and asked "what does this mean?", but hugged Close friend Alai confided "I really don't want to go"...
Yes, this little guy always presupposes everyone as potential friends, and always wants to be accepted and integrated, so his anger and resistance are Under many tests, against extremely unfair rules, against constant isolation and exclusion, against aggressive jealousy and oppression - and these anger and resistance always have the taste of "rabbit will bite when pressed." , and maintained to the greatest extent possible reasonableness. This is very different from the stand-up and flag-type struggle in the movie.
One of the important reasons why Ender is the best leader is his natural collaborator temperament. He never takes the initiative to challenge the rules. Candid attitude wins the respect of subordinates and the approval of superiors, which is more respectable than the reckless protesters.
On the other hand, using "please" (the original "please" in the movie) to describe Ender is really an imprudent choice. "Pleasure" gives people the impression of "following the will of others", which is inconsistent with the nature of the characters in motivation, and also misleads the audience's subsequent understanding of the characters. The attractiveness of this young man lies not only in his muscles and bones, but also in his tenacity to find and even create a way out in any adversity. This resilience is not based on the expectations of others. Whoever gets close to and who keeps a distance from him is all based on his own choice, and then he creates conditions to achieve it; and "winning" is only the way or result of his changing the predicament, not to satisfy anyone.
Ender's self-loyal character made him never succumb to the easy path of relying on the strong when faced with difficulties and setbacks, so he seemed to have a fighting spirit. However, his struggle is not external and offensive, but internal and defensive. This kind of character is not so much a struggle, it is more suitable to be interpreted as integrity. Therefore, I personally think that the interpretation method chosen by the film for the role of Ender also deviates a bit from the original. However, this interpretation is more personal and is a matter of opinion.
2. Good stories always look deep inside: about psychological descriptions that should not be deleted
Card once wrote in one of his own speeches: Loneliness is at the heart of Ender's Game, the reason it works so well is because it carries with it the firm assurance that even though Ender never feels himself to belong, the reader knows he does belong (see Orson Scott Card, Introduction: Ender's World). The author once sighed before the movie was released that the most moving part of this story is the young Ender's "courage to find a way out of loneliness, the integrity of refusing to compromise under the unjust rules, and the innate righteousness of human beings. longing for love". "Ender's Game" is regarded by many recommenders as inspirational stories rather than pure science fiction literature. The important reason lies in the dazzling "growth" and "struggle" elements of the original work; but the "growth" and "struggle" of this battle theme have been deepened. The important reason for the human heart lies in the psychological motivation of Ender's desire for "belonging".
At home, he is the third child, a child born illegally, who makes his parents unable to lift their heads; among his classmates, he is a strange child with a monitor; among his elder brother Peter, he is a huge giant sticking to his forehead. The label of failure is a guy who should not be born; only in his sister Valentine, he is a child who is cared for with all his heart - but this only caring, not only faces Peter's death threats from time to time, but also because of being elected prematurely cut off by entering combat school. In the school, the instructors took various measures to isolate him and suppress him, but he was not depressed. When he was ostracized by his classmates as a "smart ghost favored by the instructors", he kept a low profile, secretly helped others, and took the initiative to improve The enlightened child showed his favor and successfully reversed the unfavorable existing impression; when he was forbidden to participate in the battle by the senior squad leader as a "useless subordinate", he worked hard to teach himself and took the initiative to disobey orders when the time required. own worth, forcing the captain to change his decision. He is always working hard, he is always unwilling to succumb to the existing predicament, and always tries to do everything possible to win.
In the thinking game (that is, the simulation game with giants and drinks in the movie, which plays the role of showing the subconscious) in the original book, Ender explained the reason why he "wanted to win": "I can ... find a way. through that place...because that's the end of the game, because I can get to a village and play there as a kid, no monsters to kill, no monsters to kill, I'm just there for free live". When the war is over, happiness can be obtained, which is the biggest driving force for Ender to move forward. However, endless predicaments have come, and the peace you want has always been elusive. For ordinary people, isn’t this kind of situation familiar?
When we were young, we always thought that the difficulties in front of us were too many, too many to follow, too invincible, we always mistakenly thought that we were alone, and we always longed to be free from all pressures to live freely... But how much did we finally achieve? , and only each one knows. It is always difficult to find where the soul belongs. Who has not struggled, hesitated, won or lost. However, when we watched the young Ender struggle while being secretly loved and helped, we suddenly felt that maybe we were all the same...
Unfortunately, under the retelling of the film, Ender's upbringing seems to be much more bland, and it has greatly lost its alluring charm. Some people attribute it to lack of space, but I think it should be more than that. In addition to the above-mentioned problem of excessive deletion of the flexible face of the characters, which leads to an image that is too cold and too elitist, for such a work that uses psychological descriptions to a large extent, the director hardly uses voice-over assistance, which may also affect the expression effect. What's more, in order to discuss the issue of good and evil means, the film strives to connect "fighting" with "responsibility as an elite", and hardly shows the protagonist's inner desire for belonging or care, so that this level of thinking is It can't be expanded at all, it's really leaving the book behind.
3. Peter and Valentine: A
Pity Abandoned Subline Since the movie almost completely deleted the story line that embodied the characters of Ender's brother and sister - Peter and Valentine - it may be necessary to quote the original a little bit , from the beginning when Peter deliberately pressed Ender's chest when the brothers were playing games, the original book and the movie are slightly different, as follows:
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"I could kill you like this," Peter whispered, "Just hold it until you die, then I can say I didn't know it was going to hurt you, I
They're just playing, they'll believe me, I'll be fine and you're dead."
Ender was speechless, he couldn't breathe, which Peter may or may not have done on purpose.
"I was deliberate." Peter said, "No matter how you think, I just mean it. I could have been promising, but they have not chosen me, they
just chosen you, they think you're doing better than I Okay. Ender, I don't want a better brother than me, and I don't want your third child."
"I'll tell Mom and Dad," Valentine said.
"No one will believe you."
"They will."
"Then you'll die too, dear little girl."
"Really?" Valentine said. "They're going to believe you when you say 'I didn't know this was going to kill Ender, and I didn't know this was going to kill Valentine.
' Such nonsense?"
The pressure has eased a little.
"You're lucky today, and one day when you two aren't together, I think there's going to be an accident."
"You're just talking," Valentine said. "You won't be serious."
"I No?"
"Do you know why you wouldn't do it?" Valentine said, "because you want to be a government official, you want to be elected, your competitors will discover your experience, they will find Your brother and sister died in a suspicious accident at a very young age, when you would never have been chosen. Plus, I've written a letter about what you've done to keep it a secret where I am, this letter will be opened when I die."
"You are his guardian now," said Peter, "you better watch him, day or night, you better not leave him. " "
I'm not a fool and Andrew, everything we are doing as well as you sometimes do better than you, we are all very clever boy. do not you
be one of the smartest, You're just the biggest one."
"Well, I know. But one day you'll be away from him, you'll forget my oath, and when you suddenly remember, you'll rush to him, and you'll find he's all right. Next time you won't be so worried about him, you'll let your guard down, next time, he's still safe, after many times, you'll think I forgot about it. The days passed slowly, and one day There's going to be a terrible accident and I'll find his body and I'll cry for him and you'll remember what I said, Valentine, and you'll feel bad for not remembering it Shame, you would think it was me who changed and it was a real accident, remembering what I said to you as a child is cruel to you. I'll take a chance, he'll always die, you It's no use doing anything, do you think I'll always be the biggest one?"
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Like all great productions, the out-of-the-line siblings' appearances are short but subtle. What a cunning, dangerous and jealous Peter! What a smart, flexible and brave Valentine! These two are children around ten years old~ Readers can understand Peter's evil conqueror image and Valentine's warm protector image, so that the author throws out "Ender is half Peter and half Valentine ” concept, the reader can easily understand his direction.
Using the theory of Freud's parental complex to interpret such a character setting is a very convenient way, but it is too dogmatic and should not be forced. So feel free to talk about the two things you are most interested in: the importance of sister Valentine in Ender's life (the nympho face) and the evolution of Peter's image.
(1) The meaning of the so-called love -
Valentine, Valentine, in English, is Valentine's Day. In the author's setting, it is a character that embodies "love". Although everyone regards her little brother as a tool of war, she still loves him like a normal brother. She will always remember to celebrate his birthday, she will protect her from Peter with all her might, she will try to understand him with all her might; even if the long separation has left them alienated and alien, she still treats him with unconditional sincerity. (Speaking of "incarnation of love", I really have to highly praise the casting of the movie Valentine. The little girl is so gentle! Her eyes are warm and her posture is soft. I really like it~) If you
think about it, love is originally a duality ; the desire of the giver on the one hand, and the desire of the receiver on the other, and these two sides are intensified by the stimulation of each other. Valentine's love for her brother was heartfelt, unconditional, and unreserved; and Ender respected and depended on her. It's an enviably beautiful relationship. This relationship secretly maintained its tension even after the two became estranged. Valentine was Ender's last pillar of support when he dropped out of combat school because he hated the way he hurt others. His strength and calmness, his shrewdness and self-control, his ability to destroy enemies and read people's hearts... These appearances that make those who don't know him fear, and those who want to challenge him, do not frighten Warren. tee.
Although different experiences are changing each other, as long as the person's heart is still the same, there is nothing to fear. As Valentine left Ender, she said, "No matter what your decision is, I love you, Ender, more than ever." Her tenderness awakened Ender's buried deep feelings and made him remember The initial and final purpose of joining the battle is just to protect the homeland and protect the people he loves. Although both Ender and Valentine understood that they were being used by adults who were eager to win, their feelings of love and protection were the ties they felt from the bottom of their hearts and could not help but face them.
After the war, Valentine's sister, the Guardian, came to Ender and advised him not to return to Earth, saying, "I know what you're thinking, Ender. You're thinking I'm trying to control you, like Like Peter, Graff, or anyone else...No one has total control over their lives, Ender. The best way you can do is to choose to be controlled by good people, and by people who love you. I'm here and Not because I want to be a colonist. I'm here because I've wasted my life living with a brother I hate the most. Before it's too late, before we're not kids anymore, I want a chance to get to know Another of my favorite bros."
Valentine's "being controlled by someone who loves you" is an interesting point; maybe love itself involves control, but when that control presupposes understanding and respect, it become a useful protective force. Ender, who obeyed Valentine's persuasion, will never be able to return to the earth he protects, nor will he ever see his family and the friends he met in battle school again. Completely unfamiliar place; this kind of life may not be the shape he originally wanted, but it is the best compromise for him. All thanks to Valentine.
The ultimate destination of a hero is the side of those who love him, which is probably the greatest happiness.
(2) the context of the so-called evil - Peter
Peter's appearance, the general image of wolves. Ordinary villains are not scary. What is scary are sociopaths with high IQ and high emotional intelligence, and Peter was originally such an image, he threatened to kill his brother and sister, set fire to it, and disemboweled a little squirrel...
But the author didn't write like this out of control, but opened up an interesting path (the movie has no energy to develop Peter's line, which is a pity...). In addition to using Graff's mouth to say that "Peter is not completely bad", the original also specifically describes a small scene on the night of parting:
"(Peter) came to the bed, he did not climb on his own The bed, but stood at the head of Ender's bed, but he didn't pick up the pillow to suffocate Ender, he didn't have a weapon in his hand, he said softly: 'Ender, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I understand you Feelings, I'm sorry, I'm your brother and I love you'".
This little bridge subtly softens the image of the "mortal enemy" brother who is the eternal fear in Ender's heart, so that when Valentine advised De "Don't be afraid of Peter, you can defeat him", Ender replied, "You are not at all. I don't get it, I don't want to beat Peter at all, I want him to like me" seems reasonable and believable.
Ender is not naive and blindly seeking comfort, he just cherishes the things around him more, understands the enemy better, and hopes to get along peacefully; and Peter is not an inhuman violent person, he just values power and status more than others. , more fighting spirit, more faithful to their own desires, more proud. In Card's writings, Peter is more like a naked, original, more vicious "man" than a simple "big bad guy"; Card also admits that people are recognized, respected, and loved under desire. The emotional appeal of need, and in the words of Valentine's words, "he (referring to Ender), Peter and I are all the same kind of people", suggesting that they may complement each other.
It is precisely because of such a well-intentioned and enlightened interpretation of the evil of human nature that the tone of the story "thinking in the shoes of your enemy" is possible. The means of evil lay in Peter, more of a scheme to control others and establish authority than "absolute evil"; it was quicker, more direct, and more general than to win respect--even Ender needed the help of thoroughness. Fighting the enemy to establish authority over the strong suffices to demonstrate this. However, it is precisely because Peter's intention is to "control" rather than "destroy" that it gives another possibility to take advantage of this characteristic of him. This is exactly what Valentine discovered:
"A few years ago, Valentine would have been frightened by Peter's threats, but now she's not scared anymore. It's not that she doubts Peter's ability to kill her, she can't think of anything scary. Peter wouldn't do it. But she also knew that Peter wasn't a lunatic, he wasn't out of control, maybe he was more in control than anyone but herself. Peter would keep suppressing as long as necessary His own desires, he can hide any emotion. Therefore, Valentine knows that he will not hurt her in his rage. He will only do so if the benefits outweigh the risks, which is not yet there. In fact, for that reason, she has a bit of a crush on him in a way. He's always doing what he likes, so to keep her safe, all she has to do is convince Peter of her survival More interesting than death."
Peter dreams of power, and Valentine is precisely (intentionally or not) forcing him to "get power with moderation", "make peace with peace" by taking a more radical position than Peter. The identity of the person will endure forever". The control that Peter seeks is practical, and therefore constrained; Valentine, too, seeks control, but that control is abstract and therefore expansive. At this point, it can be said that they are similar, but they are actually different, and we cannot say which is absolutely "good".
This delicate dialectical relationship is the greatest significance of Peter's existence. Understanding Peter and understanding Zerg are actually taking the same route, that is, "transposition thinking". This requires open-mindedness and humility to learn from opponents, which is actually extremely difficult to achieve. The author uses the sub-line of Peter and Valentine as an aid to interpret the main line, from the same race to the alien race, from one form of apparent evil to another form of apparent evil, which is really subtle.
It is a pity to have to sigh again that Peter Valentine's line was deleted due to time problems, but the author's stupid qualifications can't think of a good way to better integrate this line. Written into a book review), if it can arouse the interest of non-original readers in the two, that is enough merit.
PS: Regarding the scoring, although I only wanted to give three points, but for the sake of Amway's original work (ah...this is intentional...), it is better to give four points :P
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