The Concealed message behind the Oasis Goggles in Ready Player One
In any book you come across, there are definitely going to be Symbols present. However, there is always going to be that one huge symbol you just can’t stop thinking of (for me at least). In ready player one, the deepest of these symbols is the Oasis Goggles.
So, what does it mean..?
At the beginning of the book, Wade describes a reality with “widespread famine, poverty, and disease” (Cline, 1). He describes a world folding into itself, waiting to die at any moment. However, when Wade speaks of the Oasis, it is as if he is describing paradise. He referred to the Oasis as “an escape hatch into a better reality”, the Oasis “kept [him] sane” (Cline, 18).
Ok so this makes sense and all, but what do the goggles actually represent?
The goggles represent the blind eye the world turns on society’s problems. When Wade is describing how he equips the Oasis visor onto his face he mentions that “it fits snugly around [his] eyes, like a pair of swimmer’s goggles, blocking out all the external light” (Cline, 26). To the naked eye, this quote seems to show no symbolic meaning. However, to an analytical mind such as myself (I know, I’m so cool) this quote proves my theory. When Wade is narrating that the goggles block out all external light, he is essentially saying that once you put the goggles on you become blind to the world around you and you can only perceive the perfect world which is the Oasis. Instead of focusing on trying to save the world, people find it better just to put on their Oasis visors and escape their dreadful reality. Considering the fact that everyone values the Oasis more than reality (see my article on top three themes in ready player one for more context), and the fact that Oasis visors blind you from seeing the real world the Oasis goggles do in fact represent the blind eye the world turns on society’s problems.
This symbol reminded me of how we as a society just disregard the world’s problems. Climate change IS our reality. Famine DOES exist. Poverty DOES exist. However, we as a race do nothing to help improve it. Instead, we spend our resources fighting wars for fuel, exploring space when we should be reinforcing our foundations on this planet first, and exploring the deep sea. Although all those are important, having a home to live on is also pretty important. I feel as if our governments turn a blind eye on climate change solely because it isn’t profitable to use resources on trying to fix these issues. This symbol in Ready Player One is as relevant in real life as it is in the book, which is what makes it the most valuable symbol in the book.In conclusion
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Bibliography:
Samsung VR Headset Lineart. (n.d.). Dribbble. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://dribbble.com/shots/6927808-Samsung-VR-Headset-Lineart