"Ready Player One" Chapter 0001 Reaction

The first chapter of "Ready Player One" establishes the protagonist and his motives. Given that my blog focuses on heroic traits of characters I would be remiss if I didn't discuss those of Wade Watts.

His name is an homage to popular super heroes - Wade Watts is very much akin to Bruce Banner or Peter Parker, as he tells us. He has a trouble past, being born into poverty and having guardians that are not his parents. Look it up, most heroes have mysterious parentage or some sort of parental back story that estranged them from said parents.

We learn early in the novel what Wade wants, and it is interesting that the character hides behind the boon of the game reward. Really, he wants to get away from his circumstance. He uses the Oasis, this story's virtual reality where everyone goes in a form of standardized MMO reality, to escape his everyday life of poverty in a near apocalyptic future.

Immediately while reading this chapter I noticed that the language from the prologue is a bit different, and the story is told in a more present progressive tense, as opposed to the flash back that felt more like a memory.

I liked that Wade is an intelligent protagonist to whom many can relate. I was not a super genius as he is, and I certainly didn't live in the Wayside School of trailer parks, but he is a character that had to be savvy and use what resources he had to make his life better. It is through his ingenuity that he has found success.

Obviously, there are many parallels to our society as it exists in 2018, but one of the most fascinating similarities I found was how he entertained himself while in poverty. He managed to be happy and find a place for him in the world, no matter how small.

Lastly, I would easily trade our current education system and have a virtual reality school. Singing and dancing to learn the alphabet with Sesame Street Muppets. Where do I sign up?