Petra Arkanian Character Analysis in Ender’s Game

A sharp, talented soldier in the Salamander Army, and later the commander of the Phoenix Army, Petra is one of the only girls in Battle School. She’s often singled out for being a girl, and seems to work extra hard in the battleroom to prove to her male rivals that she’s every bit as talented as they are. It’s suggested that Petra wanted to hurt Ender after he defeated her in battle, but in the end Petra becomes a loyal follower of Ender in his final battles.

Petra Arkanian Character Timeline in Ender’s Game

The timeline below shows where the character Petra Arkanian appears in Ender’s Game. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Games, Computers, and Virtual Reality Theme Icon

...be using Ender in the teams. As Bonzo explains this, a girl—who introduces herself as Petra—makes a joke about Bonzo. Bonzo slaps Petra and orders her to be silent. (full context)

Love, Empathy, and Destruction Theme Icon

Ender walks with the other soldiers to his new barracks. Inside, he notices Petra, and joins her. Petra explains that she’s a talented soldier—the finest sharpshooter in Salamander—but hasn’t... (full context)

...runs his team. He orders everyone to wear their jumpsuits at all times, except for Petra. Ender finds this absurd, since it isolates Petra from the rest of the team. Ender... (full context)

The next day, Ender proceeds with his practices with Petra, even though other soldiers have warned him that Bonzo doesn’t like other soldiers associating with... (full context)

One evening, Petra leaves Ender to himself. Ender decides to return to his old barracks. There, he finds... (full context)

...by pointing his legs at Condor soldiers—this way, he’s a much smaller target. Ender sees Petra shooting many enemy soldiers. He feels himself being shot and frozen, and watches as the... (full context)

Ender says goodbye to Petra and thanks her for all her help. Then he leaves Salamander, is issued a new... (full context)

...nine years old, and a toon leader in the Phoenix Army, which is led by Petra Arkanian. He’s respected and admired by nearly everyone in Battle School—but this sometimes frustrates him.... (full context)

...day, Ender wakes up to find that he has another battle scheduled, this time with Petra Arkanian’s army, Phoenix. He’s disturbed to see that he’s already late: the battle is scheduled... (full context)

...there are too many Salamander soldiers nearby. Suddenly, Ender hears someone calling his name. It’s Petra, asking if she could talk to Ender. Ender is reluctant to stop, so he keeps... (full context)

Control, Manipulation, and Authority Theme Icon

...smooth relationship with him. Strangely, Ender’s friendship with his commanders weakens during this period: Alai, Petra, and Bean respect Ender and become excellent at understanding his commands, but they cease to... (full context)

One day, Ender commands a battle in which he sustains horrible losses. Petra overextends her fleets, and ends up losing all but two ships. Ender calls on Crazy... (full context)

...kill Ender, but the Russian forces have refused out of respect for Ender. Bean and Petra enter the room after Alai, and explain to Ender that the war is dying down... (full context)

...Dink insists that Ender will always be their commander, whether there’s a war or not. Petra offhandedly mentions that they’ll have to go back to Earth and go to school “by... (full context)