One fascinating
theme that Ernest Cline displays throughout his novel is identity. This theme
came to my attention in the most recent reading (Chapter 30). It seems that I
have overlooked what Cline has done regarding an idea that has been blatant
throughout the entire story. The most obvious evidence for identity is that
players (like Wade) can change their appearance to almost anything they want. If
you are a “300 lb. dude named Chuck who lives in his mother’s basement,” you
could appear to be a beautiful, young woman named Art3mis in OASIS (170). However,
we now know that not to be true. Art3mis is in fact Samantha Cook, who lives in
Canada
Now, I would like
to talk about the implications that this freedom to change who you are affects
world and ultimately affects the individual. Art3is “led [Wade] to believe that
she was somehow hideous” (292). This lack of self image comes from her face,
which includes a large port wine stain on the left half. As a result, Art3is
created an avatar that does not have a port wine stain her face. What does this
mean regarding identity? Players (anyone in the OASIS) have the complete liberty
to take all imperfections that they were born with, and change to what they
think to be perfect. They have the ability to create someone who they are not. In
our world, people have all kinds of physical work done to their bodies to “change”
their identity. How is this any different from the OASIS? Is Cline alluding to
our culture here?
It turns out that it
is what is in the inside that matters, not the outside. People judge others based
on the inside more so than the outside. One can seem perfect from a distance,
but when you get closer, the truth is revealed. Humans in Ready Player One are just using the OASIS as another cover to
protect who they are inside. We want to feel secure about ourselves, and that
means creating many walls to protect that security. Cline may be telling us
that we should not worry about our psychical attributes, but concentrate on
what is inside.
Cline is definitely using identity in the novel as a critique on our culture. Aech is a perfect example - she uses the system to ensure more respect and success than she would have had in the real world. In this way, the OASIS offers great benefits. However, there is an implicit sense of mistrust throughout the novel, as avatars may not be who they claim to be. Despite the freedom offered in the OASIS, avatars are also subject to skepticism.
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