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Yi, Gloria
Professor Altman
Eng 115 Th 4:00pm-6:45pm
3 November, 2016
The Real and the Virtual: Influences of Space
In the novel, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, the novel introduces a dystopian world,
where the escape from a harsh reality is found within virtual reality in a place called OASIS. The
main character finds that he is delving deeper into the world of virtual reality trying to find a
treasure left by the creator of OASIS and has to adapt quickly to the changes and surrounding
environment. Whether you are in a space set in virtual reality or in real life, space will change the
way you interact with the environment and people, space can influence fluid identity, space can
influence relationships, and can cause the loss of reality within virtual space.
An environment can change the way you behave, for example a space can change the
way you act inside and outside of it as well. In the novel, virtual reality gives way to virtual
space where there are rules and specific ways to behave. The entire planet of Ludus was a noPvP zone, meaning that no player versus player combat was permitted (Cline, 30). Ludus is set
as a virtual planet used for schooling. On Ludus, combat or fighting is not allowed at all, just like
in schools in real life, violence would be frowned upon. A space can influence how one acts, like
how one would fight or retort back when insulted harshly. At school, the main character Wade
encounters his school bullies where they taunt each other. The bullies are pushed to the point of
wanting to fight Wade, but are unable to do so because of the restriction. When I go to school I
act differently than I would if I were home. At school I act more reserved inside the classroom or
when Im with my friends, at home I am more extroverted because that is where I am more

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comfortable. My interactions change based on the environment due to the fact that I have to be
comfortable within the environment. When one is in school, they will act properly and behave
differently as one would expect in a school environment. However, outside of a school
environment, a person could behave very differently than they would in school. Depending on
the space they are in, space can influence behavior, and the way a person interacts with people.
Fluid identity is the act of ones identity changing over time and the inability to stay as a
fixed identity. Virtual identities give anyone the ability to totally transform themselves and be
who they are not, in the novel, virtual identities play a major part in hiding ones true self. Mr.
As avatar looked like a portly, bearded college professorOf course, we didnt know who Mr.
Avenovich really was or where he lived. We didnt know his real name, or if he was really a
man (Cline, 47). Set within the novel, characters such as virtual teachers could be totally
anonymous if they chose to be, and could be anyone for all one knew. Virtual reality can
transform someones identity by giving control to the player that allows them to do whatever
they wish to their character, whether it is making the character ideal, all-powerful, popular, hated,
a hero, or a villain; one is given the ability to be whoever they want. Interacting in real life with
others, I notice that I change my personality, to adapt to whomever Im interacting with. By
adapting, I become more extroverted and less shy, and become more talkative than a listener, or
vice-versa becoming quieter and a listener. One would experience a shifting sense of identity
when one can become whoever they want to be in a matter of minutes, identity wouldnt be fixed
and set. Rather it would be fluid, and ever-changing, which in the case of virtual reality can
create a loss of identity.

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Space can even influence relationships, on how you act in one depending on the space,
and how one interacts in a relationship in real life and online. The main character Wade
experiences his first real relationship inside OASIS, where he befriends a fellow gunter or
Easter egg hunter and delves into a relationship with the character. Id heard all the clichd
warnings about the perils of falling for someone you only knew online, but I ignored themAnd
then one night, like a complete idiot, I told her how I felt(Cline, 179). Relationships online are
the most ambiguous due to the fact that online you can masquerade as anyone and be a perfect
Adonis or goddess if you wanted, or you could be yourself. Space, that is virtual space, can
influence how far you can delve into the relationship because in the end you only interact
through technology. Space outside of technology can make the distant interactions of online
relationships become real and intimate. Online, one can act as a completely different person than
how they truly act in real life. In real life there are such interactions as talking with more
empathy, kissing, and just simple loving interactions, compared to online where talking would be
texting and sending photos, or using emoticons leaving a distant and cold interaction. Due to the
fact that the interaction is implemented through virtual space, it can influence the relationship to
become more of a fling that one does rather than being committed to a physical and real
relationship.
Within a virtual reality, one can see the influence of virtual space, most of the OASIS
public school teachers seemed to genuinely enjoy their job, probably because they didnt have to
spend half their time acting as babysitters and disciplinarians. The OASIS software took care of
that, ensuring that students remained quiet and in their seatsTeachers could take their students
on a virtual field trip everyday...(Cline, 47). This can be seen in the classroom as well, how a
virtual classroom can shape the way one learns and comprehends what is being taught whereas

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compared to reality, the struggle and effort is put into learning and comprehension. Wade
experiences shaped learning due to the fact that he previously attended a public school. Within
virtual reality, Wade experiences virtual tours daily, while in a public school outside of VR
(virtual reality), Wade learns in the usual fashion, of utilizing books and notes. Virtual reality has
perks to it: giving a new start to people, a utopia through a different reality, and a sense of
purpose. Virtual reality, however pleasant can also be very damaging, and can lead to a
misplaced sense of reality. I rarely go onto social media, but when I do, I find myself spending
an hour or two immersed in checking updates and messages, rather than doing my assignments.
Discerning virtual space from real life becomes hard to distinguish between what is true and
what is just imagination and false. Using virtual space can make ones interactions boundless, in
a sense that there is a whole new world to connect to, and thousand, if not millions of people to
interact with. It is also limited, where anyone has millions to interact with, it is not a real
interaction, and the interaction becomes virtual and dispassionate. Between the choice of virtual
space and real life, one would most likely choose virtual space. The problem with that is that one
would become immersed in virtual space, using it as an escape and would become unable to
differentiate what is paradise in their mind or online, compared to real life. Virtual space
displaces actual reality, and can become hazardous, leading to limited real-life social interactions,
and a mind that cannot differentiate between what has become real to the person, virtual space,
or reality.
Whether one is inside a classroom, in a library, at home, or in a coffee shop, the
environment around you can shape the way you interact with the people and environment around
you. The novel, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline can influence changes in interactions,
influence shifting identities, and create a sense of being lost within a different reality. The novel

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indicates a big change when it comes to social and virtual interactions between people, it can
either become more intimate or more closed-off and distant.

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Works Cited
Cline, Ernest. Ready Player One. New York: Broadway Books, 2011.