Marianas...Circle? (Circle Post 5)

In the wonderful world of young adult novels, authors tend to like to use symbolism to get their point across, emphasize an idea or foreshadow.  Dave Eggars in The Circle is no exception to this.  While we can obviously see that the Circle is a dangerous idea and taking away from the beauty of individuality, Eggars goes as far as exquisitely illustrating this point with gruesome murder scene.

When the shark was placed with the other sea creatures, obviously it devoured them immediately, because of the shark's predator instincts.  This scene was teeming with symbolism.  The shark represented The Circle and its ever-growing and ominous presence in the world.  The octopus and seahorses symbolized basically everyone else in the world.  Everyone is unique and special and everyone has their own place in the world.  As the novel progressed, the Circle went from a new and glamorous institute that everyone wanted to be part of to a huge corporation that was slowly taking over the world.  Its totalitarian-like role in the world acted much like the shark did, it sought out the different people in the world and inevitably "destroyed" them.  In Mae's case, the Circle destroyed her individuality and who she was and turned her into a walking Circle advertisement.  While the shark preyed on weaker creatures, the Circle preyed on anyone who was weak enough to succumb to its overwhelming influence or anyone who was a possible threat to the Circle's existence.

On page 480-481, Eggars describes the death of the octopus.  It doesn't go without a fight, but rather it must be ripped apart before it is finally murdered.  This resistance represents Mae from Book I and those like her.  She did not fully commit to the Circle way of life; she didn't post everything on all social media all the time like the Circle wanted her to.  Just as the octopus struggled to stay alive but was inevitably killed, Mae did her best to remain true to herself and her individuality, but was inevitably engulfed by all that the Circle was.

Later on page 481, Eggars described how the shark very easily ate the seahorse because it was defenseless and delicate.  This reminds me of people like Annie.  She was instantly consumed by the glory of the Circle and that she got to work there and blindly followed the Circle way of life without putting up resistance.

In summary, Eggars did a wonderful job of itnertwining the message of The Circle into the Marianas Trench wildlife scene.  He perfectly summed up how totalitarian governments obtain and keep their power without ever actually mentioning the word "totalitarian".  This scene, carefully placed toward the end of the book, is a great way of epitomizing the theme of the book in a not-so-obvious way.

Trasnparency and Identity (Circle Post 4)

As I continue reading The Circle, I become more creeped out by everything that's going on in the novel.  I knew that when I started reading this, I would get a 1984 feeling.  A huge incorporation that is increasingly become a part of everyone's daily lives?  Yep, sounds like a Big Brother situation to me.  However, I had no idea when I started reading that I would be looking through the eyes of one of the most devoted followers of the company.  From what I've gathered, the Circle's goal is to make everyone and everything reachable and tangible; nothing and no one is hidden from the world.  As I read further, I notice that is also Mae's new goal.

From the moment I started reading the book, I always thought Mae seemed pretty insecure.  She was very shy during her first day on the job and wanted to do whatever she had to do to fit in at The Circle.  It didn't ever really seem like she stopped doing whatever she had to do to fit in, either.  That point was made abundantly clear at the end of Book I when she agreed to go transparent.  Mae's entire life would change after she went trasnparent.  There would be no more privacy for Mae virtually ever.  She would be totally exposed to the world at all times, which is exactly what The Circle wanted.  She was playing right into their dirty little games.  Going transparent was definitely satisfying The Circle and made her fit in more.  When she was on stage when they announced she was going transparent, everyone went wildly crazy.  It's almost as if Mae is doing all of this stuff to validate herself and make herself seem worthwile; if she does what The Circle wants her to do, everyone will love her, no matter if that means doing something morally wrong.

Mae's perpetual role as a Circle ambassador coincides with going transparent.  Becoming an ambassador is just another way to give The Circle what it wants, and of course Mae is eager to do it.  She would get to represent the company she loves so much (the one she gave her life to, quite literally).  This would only increase her popularity in The Circle and therefore make her seem more desirable, at least in the eyes of everyone else at The Circle, and really, that's all that mattered.  The more involved Mae could become with The Circle, the better she felt.  It seems like Mae is almost addicted to getting involved, like she gets a sort of high from it.  I don't know if I'm fully convinced that Mae started out doing all of this for the love of The Circle, but I think that as time went on, The Circle virtually brainwashed Mae, quite like Big Brother did to Winston Smith in 1984.  As Mae lost more of herself, she became more engrossed in The Circle and was more willing to do whatever The Circle wanted.