Quote 1
“I've got a pretty good idea what children are, and we're not children. Children can lose sometimes, and nobody cares. Children aren't in armies, they aren't commanders, they don't rule over forty other kids, it's more than anybody can take and not get crazy." (8.134)
According to Dink, Battle School is stealing kids' childhood. Dink has memories of his brother and the stuff his brother is interested in (cars, girls). Measured against that, the Battle School students are – to put it mildly – crazy. As he says later, one of their problems is that they’re trying to act like adults.
Quote 2
"I'm not going to let the bastards run me, Ender. They've got you pegged, too, and they don't plan to treat you kindly. Look what they've done to you so far." (8.150)
Here’s Dink talking about how he’s going to stay out of the system by refusing the school’s promotions. At the same time, he loves the game so much he can’t quit – so it’s more like he’s meeting the school halfway. Even if he’s compromising, he’s not being manipulated (according to him) because he knows what they’re trying to do.
Quote 3
"Because as long as people are afraid of the buggers, the I.F. can stay in power, and as long as the I.F. is in power, certain countries can keep their hegemony.” (8.162)
This is Dink being Dink – according to him, if everyone thinks the aliens are out to get us, then the military can effectively have control. And who doesn’t want to have control, right? Man, being in charge of everything is just super great. (Sarcasm alert.) This helpfully reminds us that the war (which Ender never really sees) is considered really important – but that no one else has really seen this war either. (With the exception of Mazer.)
Quote 4
“He doesn't know why anybody wins or loses. Nobody does." (8.132)
This is Dink’s diagnosis of why Rose is crazy (and why everyone else is also nuts). The students at the Battle School have elevated competition to being the only thing they care about. But Dink remembers that this is just a game, even though he loves it; and he recognizes that the uncertainty of the game can be a little damaging to these kids’ psyches. Competition can bring out the best of us, but it can also deform the players.
Quote 5
"Listen, Ender, commanders have just as much authority as you let them have. The more you obey them, the more power they have over you." (8.60)
Here’s Dink’s best line, we think, and he gets a lot of good lines in this book. (We heart Dink.) But here’s Dink’s philosophy on freedom: there are a lot of people out there who will claim some power over you, and you can often retain some of your freedom if you’re willing to deal with the consequences too. (So, for instance, Ender refuses some order of Rose’s that Rose doesn’t have the authority to give; but then Rose gets his revenge by giving Ender an order that he <em>does</em> have the authority to give.)