Wade Watts Character Analysis in Ready Player One Essay Sample

In the book Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline, I found the character Wade Watts to be my favorite character in the book. His character shows the characteristics of what a true friend should strive to be. Wade also accomplished his own personal goals while still being a good friend. In Ready Player One, Wade Watts was the main character whose goal was to collect all three keys through Hallidays game to win the OASIS. Wade is a relatable character from Ready Player One because he is an ambitious, generous, and understanding friend. 

One of the things that Wade did was never give up on his dream of finding the copper key. Even though others gave up slowly on the hunt for the copper key over the years.“ Then, on the evening of February 11, 2045, an avatar’s name appeared at the top of the Scoreboard, for the whole world to see. After five long years, the Copper Key had finally been found, by an eighteen-year-old kid living in a trailer park on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. That kid was me.”After five long years, Wade finally made it on the scoreboard at eighteen years old after receiving the copper key. Like the OASIS, The world has accomplishments that you're expected to one day reach.  In the OASIS that’s Finding the first key but in the real world; my world it’s getting into a college. It's like after four years of your life in high school you have to find out what you're going to do with the rest of your life and where you're going to college to earn a degree. Just like Wade, I accomplished it at eighteen-years-old. I got into college to earn my nursing degree and Wade found his Copper Key to win, Hallidays game that he is so mesmerized with, putting him one step closer to his end goal. Wade and I both have goals that we are working to complete one step at a time starting.

Wade Watts is an understanding friend especially when hit with news that would most likely  break friendships apart. “A wave of emotion washed over me. Shock gave way to a sense of be- trayal. How could he—she—deceive me all these years?I felt my face flush with embarrassment as I remembered all of the adolescent intimacies I’d shared with Aech. A person I’d trusted implicitly. Someone I thought I knew.” Wade learns that after several years that his friend Aech is actually a girl and not a boy. All of this new information embarrasses him because of the intimate details he shared with Aech. Wade now wonders how he could have shared things with someone he thought he knew completely. In the OASIS it is easy to hide your identity from other players.  This is also true in my life because on the internet people can hide who they are or can change who they are by just a click of a button. Just like Wade, this makes you wonder if you truly know the person on the other end, especially if you've never seen them in real life. This is also the same for people that may change the way they look to catfish you or look the way they think you want them to look. This is sad because I see people do this to fit in with others or they are ashamed of who they are in others eyes. In all reality there are people like Aech hiding their true identity because they feel that they fit in better with Society, meaning a higher status. You should have to pretend to be something you're not.

Another characteristic that Wade has is his selflessness to give his winnings to his friends instead of being selfish and keeping the money all for himself. We help you clear the gate, and in return, you agree to split the prize money with us?” “Wrong,” I said. “If I win, I’m going to split the prize money with you guys, regardless of whether you help me or not. So helping me is probably in your best interest.” Wade mentions that if he wins the prize money he will split it with the High Five. No matter if they help him or not. Like Wade, I feel that no matter what you accomplish even if you accomplish it by yourself. That in the end, you owe it to the people that helped you get there in the first place. In Wade's case, the High Five were his group of friends that helped him along the way. I relate to this because if I win something and I had help I'm going to share it equally among those who helped.  Like the good person, Wade promised just that. 

Overall, Wade Watts is a relatable character because of his ambition, generosity, and understanding characteristic towards others. While at the same time being ambitious,  towards accomplishing his goals. I can relate to this because I tend to put others before myself and don’t judge my friends for things in their life. Like Wade he didn’t judge his friend Aech who ended up being a girl in real life. I also relate to Wade because when I get something I tend to share it with my friends. Wade does this when he wins the money at the end of the book and promises to share winnings. My favorite characteristic Wade has is his ambition to reach his goals but treat his friends the way one should. At the end of the day, Wade Watts is who we all should strive to be for one another.