The Hero's Journey Essay

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The hero’s journey is about the adventures of a valiant hero who faces off against a great evil, emerges victorious from the ordeal, and returns home reformed. Usually, the hero’s journey primarily focuses on ancient myths, but the elements of the hero’s journey are most often woven into modern stories. One of the modern stories that share elements of the hero’s journey with its protagonist is Wade Watts from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Wade Watts displays heroic qualities in this dystopian setting as he leads the charge to rebel against the Sixers and fights for his life in order to obtain the easter egg of James Halliday that is hidden inside the OASIS g.
Wade’s selfish motivation to obtain the egg changes as he realizes that protecting …show more content…

Compared to Artemis’ huminatrain wish of preserving the Earth and its inhabitants, Wade’s wish is selfish because he puts his needs in front of everyone else's. He wants to live in a safe place just in case Earth becomes an unbearable wasteland with barely any resources available to sustain a person’s survivable. While there is nothing wrong with valuing one’s own life as it is a basic survival instinct, this is far from the qualities that make up a hero. After Wade hacks into the IOI servers and learns that Sorrento plans to eliminate Artemis, Shoto, and Aech, he is shocked about the revelation and he makes huge changes to his plan in order to warn the three of his friends (302). The fact that Wade manages to make vast changes to his plan that puts him at an even greater risk of getting caught symbolizes his developing heroic traits. If he had not met his three friends and form irreplaceable bonds with them, then his character would most likely never develop. After the …show more content…

After hearing how Daito has been murdered by the Sixers and seeing that they are covering the third gate to not allow any gunter from entering, Wade manages to come up with a bold and desperate plan to take down the shield that is covering the gate. However, “there was a good chance it was going to end up getting [him] killed” Nevertheless, Wade crosses the path of no return and “was going to reach the Third Gate, or die trying” (266). Typically, most people would want to avoid a plan that results in their ultimate demise, but Wade steels his resolve in order to obtain the easter egg and give the gunters hope. He feels like that letting the Sixers take control over the OASIS is a fate worse than death. Another instance of where Wade shines as a character is when he rallies all the gunters of the OASIS to help him take down the Sixers and reach the third gate. Some of the gunters who are with Wade start to lose hope after seeing the tremendous weapons, armory, and the Mechagodzilla that is on the Sixers side. However, Wade takes up a leadership role and gives them a pep talk of how they would end the Sixers Tyranny. After his great speech, the indestructible shield that is guarding the third gate is destroyed thanks to Wade’s efforts to hack inside IOI. Seeing his chance, he leads the charge with his

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