Ready Player One Themes
Versions of Reality
Everyone needs an escape. Whether it's movies, television, books, or something else, everybody has their own method of getting away from reality for a while. In Ready Player One, the de facto escap...
Identity
The concept of identity has always been a bit complicated. As Popeye always said, "I yam what I yam and tha's all what I am." True, but you're also how other people view you, which might be as a fr...
Appearances
People put a lot of time, effort, and money into their physical appearance. Aging celebrities have made entire second careers out of it. You might think that in the world of Ready Player One, where...
Competition
Video game competitions are a big deal, sometimes offering thousands—even millions—of dollars in prizes. And that's just for mastering one game. Halliday's Hunt in Ready Player One requires its...
Friendship
If you think of video games as a solo affair, you couldn't be more wrong. As the pastime has grown and evolved, it's becoming more and more about teamwork, from 4-player teamwork in New Super Mario...
Perseverance
Any contest is ultimately about perseverance. Whether it's training for 18 hours a day to be an Olympic gymnast or buying lottery tickets twice a week for 20 years, the moral is the same: if you gi...
Dissatisfaction
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. If this is true, then dissatisfaction must be necessity's step-sister. Sick of getting up to turn off the lights? Buy the Clapper. Tired of being...
Immortality
Videogame characters have it easy. Sure, they might get shot in the head, dropped into boiling lava, or squished by falling blocks, but they always come back. People on the other hand, not so much....
The Home
A home isn't necessarily a house—it's just where you feel the most comfortable. Just as Harry Potter felt Hogwarts was more of a home than the Dursleys' house ever was, Wade Watts feels more at h...
Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
Some people dream of becoming billionaires. Some people dream of saving the world. Some people dream of being the best video game player the world has ever seen. In Ready Player One, all three of t...