Ready Player One Literary Analysis

Though Money: The Unauthorized Biography & Ready Player One are vastly different books written for completely different audiences, major economic themes shine through in both pieces of literature. Money: The Unauthorized Biography is a non-fiction piece which focuses on the development of currency as we know it today, & the debunking of common inaccuracies in that history which many believe to be true. The novel, Ready Player One, is fiction in its entirety & doesn’t focus on economic themes. The novel follows the story of a teenage boy living in a not far off dystopian future, which inadvertently relays economic issues prevalent in its time period.

Money: The Unauthorized Biography produces several key themes: that money is a social invention, how money can check & balance governments, and the constant struggle between public & private entities over the control of money. The first two mentioned definitely take the driver’s seat within the Money: The Unauthorized Biography, though the latter theme is commonplace within both books. Money: The Unauthorized Biography references the abuse of
In Ready Player One, an energy crisis forced nations to scavenge for the last remaining supplies of fossil fuels on the planet. For the United States, this was a costly endeavor which debased the US Dollar and led to huge issues within the nation. Lack of housing, unemployment, and food shortages led society to escape their poor standard of living and find sanctuary within the OASIS, a virtual reality video game mimicking a much better version of their reality. With the creation of the OASIS came the creation of the credit, the currency used for purchases within the oasis. The author mentions that the credit was the world’s most stable currency, valued higher than the dollar, pound, euro, or