I felt like a convict in an old prison movie, returning to my cell each night to tunnel through the wall with a teaspoon.
(Cline 164).
I drew this photo to represent the dual purpose that keys and gates serve in the book. On the one hand, the keys help Wade to move forward in the game. Consequentially, the further in the game he goes, the more Wade distances himself from reality and sanity. As Wade progresses to a new gate, he becomes more frenzied and maniacal, with lower regard for consequences. He, in a way, is selling himself to this fantastical idea of winning the game. He goes so far as to rid his body of all hair, give himself over to IOI (aka the Sixers) as a servant, and shy away from any and all social contact. This is why I portrayed the computer reaching out and leaching onto him, as he is both metaphorically and literally caging himself inside of the game. He makes himself a prisoner of the OASIS. The key is coming out of the screen as though it is tangible because Wade views the game as more than real. However, I made the gate itself remain inside the computer to portray that Wade searches for tangible solutions to intangible problems, which furthers his unhealthy relationship with the game he grows to resent. Keys serve as a symbol of power and domination. If you possess a key, you hold the control in the game, but it's an unsteady autonomy that can crumble under it's own weight.
I drew this photo to represent the dual purpose that keys and gates serve in the book. On the one hand, the keys help Wade to move forward in the game. Consequentially, the further in the game he goes, the more Wade distances himself from reality and sanity. As Wade progresses to a new gate, he becomes more frenzied and maniacal, with lower regard for consequences. He, in a way, is selling himself to this fantastical idea of winning the game. He goes so far as to rid his body of all hair, give himself over to IOI (aka the Sixers) as a servant, and shy away from any and all social contact. This is why I portrayed the computer reaching out and leaching onto him, as he is both metaphorically and literally caging himself inside of the game. He makes himself a prisoner of the OASIS. The key is coming out of the screen as though it is tangible because Wade views the game as more than real. However, I made the gate itself remain inside the computer to portray that Wade searches for tangible solutions to intangible problems, which furthers his unhealthy relationship with the game he grows to resent. Keys serve as a symbol of power and domination. If you possess a key, you hold the control in the game, but it's an unsteady autonomy that can crumble under it's own weight.