Ready Player One Character Analysis

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Ernest Cline uses the literary element of characterization in order to develop his advanced and complex characters in his novel, Ready Player One. The story is centered around Wade Watts, an adolescent in the year 2044, and his passion for playing the virtual reality video game known as the OASIS. This complex gaming system allows players to escape their dull, mundane lives and start a brand new one filled with both excitement and adventure. And that is exactly why Wade Watts plays it. After the death of both his parents, Wade spends all of his time alone, hiding his socially awkward, overweight self from the rest of society. With the exception of Mrs. Gilmore, his next-door-neighbor whom which is in her mid-seventies, Wade has a struggle making friends and meeting new people. This loneliness corresponds with Wade’s difficult life at home. The only reason why Wade is still living in his Aunt’s cramped RV along with 15 other people is to receive food vouchers. In the text Cline writes, “I selected an episode of Family Ties, an ‘80’s sitcom about a middle class family living in central Ohio[...]I’d become addicted to the show immediately, and had now watched all 180 episodes, multiple times. I never seemed to get tired of them. Sitting alone in the dark, …show more content…

In the novel Cline writes, “Best of all, in the OASIS, no one could tell that I was fat, had acne, or that I wore the same shabby clothes every week. Bullies couldn’t pelt me with spitballs, give me atomic wedgies, or pummel me by the bike rack after school. No one could even touch me. In here, I was safe” (Cline). The OASIS is able to cover up Wade’s deepest insecurities. It is revealed through his thoughts that with this virtual reality, Wade is able to transform into a whole new person with a more positive outlook on life in general. This new Wade can finally love himself, stand up for himself, and feel safe in his own

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