Ready Player One: Reflections of the Past

Colin Hayes

EN.387.01

Dr. Juniper Ellis

27 February 2018

Ready Player One: Ernest Cline

            Throughout the entirety of the dystopian novel, Ready Player One, Ernest Cline skillfully threads reference from the past throughout the workings of the novel. Cline establishes reflections on different time periods by discussing 80’s pop culture and fast forwarding to America in 2044, suffering from overpopulation and global warming. Not only does Cline have a great appreciation for his homage to the 80’s but Wade Watts the main protagonist seems to appreciate what came before him as well, holding it in extremely high regard.

From the commencement of the novel Cline is persistent on making the 1980’s a consistent theme stemming from Halliday’s interest in this era. Halliday skillfully hides many of his clues and codes for finding the keys and Easter eggs within pop culture allusions to this period. The differences in time periods is drastic but I think that Cline intends to have this large gap between periods in order to shows the progressive nature of time, but also the sacredness of the culture of the past. While reading, Cline makes the reader think to the past references while simultaneously contemplating the future of what our world will transform into by the year 2044. He creates an entire subculture from the 1980’s against the backdrop of the frail and crumbling society of 2044. As Wade navigates through the virtual world of the OASIS he begins to learn the cultural references and gain a great appreciation for these ancient aspects of life before him. Watts reflects on them saying, “But I was a gunter, I didn’t think of them as low-res antiques. To me they were hallowed artifacts. Pillars of the Pantheon. When I played the classics, I did so with a determined sort of reverence” (Cline 13). Wade holds the cultural artifacts of the past in extremely high regard. As a result of the rarity of the 1980’s games like Pacman and Dungeons and Dragons he has a new-found appreciation for what they are.

I personally believe that many people, including myself, believe that the objects and culture of past times are extremely valuable and should be appreciated. Looking back on my parents lives from the 1960’s-80’s it is extremely interesting to see what they experienced and how it is different from the time period that I am growing up in. I often look to my older brothers too, as they grew up in the late 80’s and all of the 90’s which again, hold many different memories, stories, and references for different people to commemorate.

Cline effectively alludes to the fact that as things age they are considered more precious because of the fact that their time is running out. Whether it be a trend of music, fashion, or video games those that were popular in the past hold a feeling of nostalgia when seen or played again. This also applies to people that are aging, we consider them more precious as their time begins to run out yet we can always look back on them and all of the fond memories and stories that they bring back to life when we reflect. The passing of time often calls for the longing for what we once had and cherished yet it seems to be a necessary evil. In order to truly appreciate what we have time needs to pass. It helps to ensure that we appreciate what we have in the present, and look forward to what is to come in the future.