“No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful.” 

This is one of Wade's OASIS login prompts; it is also a line from the song "Don't Let's Start" by the band They Might Be Giants. These words highlight the hopelessness experienced by millions of disaffected citizens in Wade's dystopian world. In terms of reality, Wade understands that his immersion rig is an "elaborate contraption" for deceiving his senses, and that his real life is far from everything he yearns for. Essentially, the phrase represents Wade's philosophy about life and his attempt to accept the brutal realities of his existence.

"You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada."

This is Wade's original OASIS login prompt. The phrase references a 1984 movie called The Last Starfighter, where Alex Rogan (the male teenage protagonist) is recruited by the alien Centauri to defend planet Rylos from the Ko-Dan Empire. The troops of Ko-Dan are led by Xur. Similar to Wade, Alex lives in a trailer-park community and finds himself battling evil forces in a bid to preserve individual freedoms.

“That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.”

Halliday's avatar speaks these words to Wade shortly after the latter is given power and authority over the OASIS. Like Wade, Halliday never felt at home in the real world. He was ashamed of his own vulnerabilities and fearful of exposing them to others. Halliday's genius led him to create the OASIS, a virtual reality world that allowed him to revel in a self-ordained obscurity.

However, Halliday's reclusive lifestyle eventually stunted his emotional growth and caused him great personal unhappiness. Because Halliday could not express his feelings to Kira, he lost out on an opportunity to pursue a relationship with her. His reticence also led to great misunderstandings between him and Morrow. Halliday advises Wade to accept life with all its imperfections; while reality can be "terrifying," it also holds immeasurable joy for all who embrace it.

"It is on like Red Dawn!"

Aech speaks these words shortly before the battle at Anorak's Castle. Red Dawn is a 1984 movie featuring American high school students (called Wolverines) who use guerrilla warfare to save America from Soviet-Cuban occupation. At the end of Red Dawn, a plaque is shown commemorating the sacrifices of the Wolverine freedom fighters, who "fought...alone" and "gave up their lives" for their country.

Aech's words are significant because the fight to protect a free dominion (the OASIS virtual world in Ready Player One) is also front-lined by young adults. In the battle at Anorak's Castle, Wade, Art3mis, Aech, and Shoto team up to face an implacable enemy; just like in Red Dawn, teenagers rise to the occasion to protect the only bastion of freedom their civilization knows. 

“She posted these great rambling essays about her search for Halliday's egg, which she called a ‘maddening MacGuffin hunt.’ ”

In fiction, a "MacGuffin" refers to an item or object that drives the actions of characters in a story; it is a plot device. In Ready Player One, the MacGuffin is James Halliday's egg. The MacGuffin was popularized as a plot device by Alfred Hitchcock in his movies, an object he famously termed "nothing at all." In fact, the word "guff" in "MacGuffin" means a load of nonsense or hogwash. The MacGuffin's significance stems from its ability to generate suspense or tension in a story. Similarly, in Ready Player One , the egg...