Literary Devices

Literary Devices

Throughout their text, authors put to use literary devices in order to help the reader grasp a concept or idea in a more in-depth way. One of the qualities that Ready Player One is mostly regarded for is it's plethora of cultural references and allusions. 

Seriously.

This book is riddled with allusions. There's a specific paragraph in particular where it's just allusions and references to other works or fictitious universes. This paragraph is found on page 49 and begins with "GSS had their own preexisting virtual worlds so content that had already been created like Everquest and World of Warcraft was ported over to the OASIS...Users could now teleport back and forth between their favorite fictional worlds. Middle Earth. Vulcan. Pern..." While initially, it may just seem like just a cool reference in order to appeal to readers, but it really is crucial to the plot. These cultural references alo help characterize James Halliday and Wade Watts as both of them are obsessed with geek culture and technology. 

In fact, Halliday's egg hunt revolves around having the knowledge of all of these pop culture references and allusions. Throughout the book, Cline also explains a good portion of the references for the readers' benefit as well!

It may seem strange to put a allusion to Tolkein in your dystopian novel, but hey, it fits!