Understanding the World of Ready Player One
Ready Player One is a young adult novel by Ernest Cline. The story follows the protagonist, Wade Watts, as he hunts for Easter eggs in the virtual reality world OASIS in order to win a large fortune. Chapter 001 provides the contextual information for the world Wade inhabits. It describes the housing he lives in, a trailer park with trailers stacked on top of each other. It also describes his home life with various family members, as well as introduces the world and capabilities of the OASIS. The first chapter covers a lot of ground for the world-building and gives us some insight on who Wade is, what he is interested in, and how he views the world he lives in. It also delves into some of the relationships Wade has, such as his relationship with his aunt and his deceased mother. There is also a brief history of how the world became the desolate wasteland it currently is, and provides the reasons for why the OASIS is the perfect escape for the people in this futuristic society. This chapter also introduces Arthurian themes that resurface throughout the novel through Wade’s choice in his username.
The Stacks/Environment/Wasteland
The world of Ready Player One is described in a way that allows the audience to visualize in great detail what type of environment Wade is living in. In the first chapter, Ernest Cline meticulously outlines what the stacks look like and how growing up and living in this type of world affects those in it: "We lived in the Portland Avenue Stacks, a sprawling hive of discolored tin shoe boxes rusting on the shores of I-40, just west of Oklahoma City’s decaying skyscraper core. It was a collection of over five hundred individual stacks, all connected to each other by a makeshift network of recycled pipes, girders, support beams, and footbridges" (12). There is another quote later on in the same page where Wade explains that some stacks collapsing from the amount there was not uncommon, and that is a regular fear that citizens have to live with. The environment is not a safe or fun one, and this is established early-on in the text.
While the area that Wade lives in, Oklahoma City, is surely a wasteland at this point in time, the rest of the world does not seem to be fairing much better. Wade discusses this later on in the novel, and we feel that it connects with our exploration of the themes presented in the first chapter: "The view was perpetually bleak, and each decaying, overcrowded city we rolled through looked just like the last" (123). The environment is not just a haze of smoke and decay where Wade lives. No, it is the entire world. Or at least, all that the audience can see through Wade's eyes. If there were a better-off area in the world, surely that would be mentioned or the characters would make some attempt to gravitate there if at all possible. Instead, their escape comes in a virtual reality.
Wade also mentions slightly earlier in the novel that the Earth is essentially doomed: "The reason so many people are starving is because we've wrecked the planet. The Earth is dying, you know? It's time to leave" (136). This sets up the dystopian theme of the young adult novel. The Earth is a wasteland and there is only one escape: OASIS.
OASIS
OASIS stands for Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation. This is the online world that people use to escape the problems of their world. Developed by Halliday, the creator of the contest, players can do anything imaginable. Some of its capabilities include educational materials. Users can watch educational videos, play interactive educational games, and they can even apply to attend school in the OASIS. They can also perform a plethora of jobs within the virtual reality world. When users are not learning or working, they can explore the different worlds imbedded in the OASIS, as well as play any game, watch any movie or TV show, and go anywhere they want to go. Because of these features, Wade describes the OASIS as a place to escape the terrible things happening in the world. He also says the OASIS has helped him develop a stronger relationship with his deceased mother:
Wade spends the majority of his time interacting with the online world. He goes to school, extensively studies 80’s pop culture for Halliday’s contest, and hangs out with other users on the platform. However, a lot of the OASIS’s capabilities require money, such as visiting the other worlds, so Wade is somewhat restricted in what he can do. However, the features available to him still allow him to escape the Stacks and the horrible environment he has to live in.The OASIS is the setting of all my happiest childhood memories. When my mom didn’t have to work, we would log in at the same time and play games or go on interactive storybook adventures together. She used to have to force me to log out every night, because I never wanted to return to the real world. Because the real world sucked. (Cline 18)
Arthurian Themes
In Ready Player One, Wade goes on a quest to find an Easter Egg in a virtual reality game that many before him have tried to do as well. His journey throughout the novel is extremely comparable to the quest of Percival, the Arthurian knight, for the Holy Grail. Percival is one of the knights of Arthur’s round table entrusted with the task of searching for the Holy Grail for King Arthur. His quest and the journey of Wade throughout Ready Player One have multiple parallels.
One of the first indicators that the novel will function somewhat like an Arthurian text would is when Halliday explains his challenge to all users of the OASIS. He states his riddle in a way that is clearly meant to be reminiscent of Arthurian times:
Three hidden keys open three secret gates
Wherein the errant will be tested for worthy traits
And those with the skill to survive these straits
Will reach The End where the prize awaits. (Cline 6)
This riddle very much reads like a medieval text would, given the language and the opacity of the passage. This quote marks the beginning of the quest for all users who feel compelled to attempt to find the keys that Halliday references therein.
Another early sign that this text will have Arthurian themes throughout is, as aforementioned, the name that Wade decides to give to his avatar in the OASIS: Parzival. This is more of an in-your-face type of reference to medieval literature, as anyone who has ever heard of the Grail Quest will be sure to pick up on the slight change from Percival to Parzival.
The World of the Novel
The first chapter of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline sets up a lot of the themes and details for the rest of the novel. All of these themes and details are explained early in the novel to give the reader a real sense of what exactly they are about to get into with this novel. Ready Player One is indeed a dystopian novel, yet there is so much more to it. There are themes from medieval literature and trying topics that are relevant in today's culture as well, such as climate change. Cline's novel brings forth a lot of detail and questions to the reader, and this is just a taste of what readers can gain from exploring its world.
Works Cited
"Carl Sagan Cosmos Intro". Youtube, uploaded by WeAreStarStuff51, 4 Jan. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzS39oghcnY.
Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. Broadway Books, 2015.
“Family Ties.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 22 Sept. 1982, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083413/.
"Galaga - Arcade Gameplay". Youtube, uploaded by neckshredder1, 15 Dec. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyo88Iy7n9g.
“Myths and Legends.” Origins of Sir Percival - The Knight in Shepherd's Boots, http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/origins8505-sir-percival-the-knight-in-shepherds-boots.html.
"Sesame Street- Episode 1(Opening, Sally Introduction, Bert and Ernie)". Youtube, uploaded by sesamestreetfan69, 12 Mar. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dc_91eUUSY.