Structure
In Ready Player One, the author, Ernest Cline, shows the development of the relationship between Wade and Art3mis. Their relationship starts out as a simple crush, develops into a romance, explodes in a break-up, and ends as a romance again. As they begin to know each other more, they start to contemplate the importance of each other and the OASIS. Wade and Art3mis’ relationship takes many ups and downs. Their relationship keeps getting more and more important to Wade, and it leads to him meeting Art3mis in real life on the last pages of the book. Cline uses this structure to reveal how much Wade loves Art3mis and to show how the importance of the Hunt and Art3mis goes up and down throughout the novel. This development is most prominent in 3 scenes: Wade looking at Art3mis’ blogs and developing a crush on her, the break-up between Wade and Art3mis, and Wade winning the Hunt and meeting Art3mis in real life for the first time.
In the beginning of the book, Wade looks at Art3mis’ blogs, and admits that he thinks of her as his dream-lover. “It probably goes without saying that I had a massive cyber-crush on Art3mis” (35). This sentence takes place when Wade is looking through Art3mis’ blog. It shows how Wade already has thoughts about At3mis, and how he is already thinking of developing a romance with her. This signals the beginning of a relationship between the two. “I knew the crush I had on Art3mis was both silly and ill-advised. What did I really know about her?” (35). This passage takes place when Wade is talking about his cyber-crush on her. It shows how Wade already knew that his love for Art3mis was foolish, and that he knew it wasn’t logical. At this stage in the book, Art3mis isn’t a huge part of Wade’s life yet, and the Hunt is still the main focus in Wade’s life.
Later in the novel, Wade and Art3mis have developed a sort of romance between themselves. And at Morrow’s birthday party, Wade tells Art3mis how he feels, but she is not amused. “’I think we should take a break. Stop spending so much time together” (187). Art3mis is saying this right after Wade had suggested that they meet in real life together. This quote shows how Art3mis has realized that her relationship with Wade has gone too far. She realizes that their relationship should’ve never happened in the first place and that she should end it immediately. “In the weeks since Art3mis had dumped me, I’d had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning” (190). In this passage, Art3mis had just broken up with Wade. It shows how Wade is now feeling depressed after he lost one of the most important things in his life. He can’t believe how their relationship had ended. Art3mis was his favorite person in the world, and the only girlfriend he ever had. Wade needed time to think about what had just happened, and what he was going to do without Art3mis
Finally, near the end of the book, Wade gets back into his relationship with Art3mis, and they connect with each other again. “Somehow, just hearing her voice set me at ease. I think she knew this, and that was why she kept talking to me’” (353). This passage takes place while Wade is trying to beat “Tempest” to clear the Third Gate. It shows how Wade and Art3mis still feel a connection with each other. Wade still has feelings for Art3mis, and Art3mis can sense that. “It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS” (372). This sentence takes place after Wade and Art3mis met in real life and kissed. Wade’s feelings show how Art3mis has finally gained more importance than the OASIS in Wade’s head. Wade and Art3mis have met in real life, and they are probably going to stay with each other for a while.
What started out as a cyber-crush has ended as an actual romance. The Hunt had led to Wade finding “Arty’s Missives”, and that was when Wade first started to like Art3mis. Later in the novel, Wade’s relationship with Art3mis had distracted him from the Hunt, showing the development of their relationship, and how it has changed since the beginning of the book. The symbols of Art3mis and the OASIS have gone up and down in importance significantly throughout the book, and the romance between the two gunters illustrates the changes perfectly.
