Now, we know that Ender thinks that he’s Bean’s secret friend.  But the end of Chapter 11 is the first time that Bean realizes that he’s Ender’s friend. What makes Bean realize this is that Ender shows his, ahem, softer side – that he’s not just an invulnerable commander, but he’s really a vulnerable kid. Also, they have a sleepover, which drives home the point that they’re friends. This is a bit odd, because Ender can’t be friends with any of this other soldiers, so why can he be friends with Bean? Why can he show Bean that he’s vulnerable?

This is like a one-two punch, reminding us how good Ender is at what he does. How good? Well, for one thing, he’s so good that he can no longer learn from humans. (Which is a fun line we suggest you try out in class: “Can I be excused from class – I can no longer learn from humans.”) For another thing, Ender is so good that he can pick out problems with the buggers’ strategy. For us, this is a reminder that Ender’s so good that he’ll win everything. But this does raise a question: if we’re so sure that Ender is going to win, why do we keep reading?

This is not the first time that the book makes the connection between something smart and something stupid. (See also 7.269.) See, if everyone uses the same strategy (which is the buggers’ method), then there’s not going to be <em>any</em> good way to win. Ender – who is so darn smart and skillful – sees that there might be some value in trying out new things that seem stupid. This shows us how smart Ender is. He can see potential value where others can’t, and he seems to realize that the games are a good place to experiment.