In the beginning, the Circle’s intentions are all seemingly good, but when you take a step back, you realize otherwise. As the book goes on, it is clear that the Circle is becoming much, much larger and powerful with the hopes to make Circle memberships mandatory for all of society, essentially taking over all aspects of the government and world for that matter. But that is the larger picture, when you look at the smaller picture, Mae’s persona for example, you see that the Circle has a way of changing people—for better or for worse. Though to the aspects of the Circle, the changes they instill via nonchalant brain washing are great for the company, but I believe they are bad for the person. Their goal it to transform each employee so they become great assets to the company. By the end of the book you can see that Mae has transformed tremendously not only her personally, but how she interacts with those she cares about, and lastly, her visions for the future. Sure enough, Mae was a dedicated, hard-working individual from start to finish and the strength in her work too grew with time. She became an iconic figure throughout the Circle community, so much so that I believe the attention and praise she got, ultimately made her less of a person. She had gotten lost in her work and in return lost herself. She was no longer caring or concerned about her loved ones that she forced into her lifestyle, thus pushing them away, she also became entirely too self-absorbed.
Shortly after Mae started working at the Circle, Mae went home to visit her mother and father and was surprised to see her ex-boyfriend Mercer there. The conversation she had with Mercer was a crucial moment in which he addressed Mae’s changes in communication since being a part of the company
“Every time I see or hear from you, it’s through this filter… It’s always a third party assault. Even when I’m talking to you face-to-face you’re telling me what some stranger thinks of me. It becomes like we’re never alone… I just want to talk to you directly… I have to sit across from you and it’s like we’re looking at each other through this strange fog… And [social media’s] eliminated my ability to just talk to you” (Eggers 131-135).
At this point, Mae was in denial because she believed that her involvement with the Circle and actively posting on the internet was viable and for the good of society. She could not grasp anything Mercer was saying because she just could not understand how someone could view technology as bad for it is everything she and the Circle stood for. Mae believed Mercer was dumb and antisocial, antisocial because of his lack thereof involvement in the internet and social media platforms, and dumb because they shared different takes on technology and life itself. Social media, of course allows you to be social, however it is purely through a computer or phone screen. The amount of face-to-face interactions, such as meaningful conversations, have decreased immensely—creating a world where the bulk of “socializing” is done via the internet. Caitlin Dewey, writer for The Washington Post, wrote an article entitled “36 ways the Web has changed us” in which number 15 states “We socialized, party and relax less,’ (Dewey). Back in the day, parties were for socializing and interacting with one another, nowadays, parties are for people to hang out in the same room and stare at their phones the entire time. It is as if social media has helped increase antisocial behaviors, however, Mae is blinded by the glory of it all, that she cannot see that it is not all it had cracked up to be.
In the beginning, Mae’s concern for her family was extensive, she worried for both father who was suffering from multiple sclerosis and her mother who was his caretaker. The fact alone that her father had multiple sclerosis was saddening for Mae, but it was even worse knowing all he had was her mother to take care of him and that he did not have to proper health insurance to assist in affording treatments and medications. After Mae’s father’s stroke and being caught up on how her parents were doing, Mae felt she needed to help, she wanted to help. Shortly after the visit home, Mae had taken the step and included her parents to the Circle’s healthcare plan. Being a part of their healthcare plan involves a lot of “knowing everything,” to the point that SeeChange cameras were installed in her parent’s home, which left them uneasy and rather violated. Because the cameras made them uncomfortable, they covered them (all of which happened after Mae became transparent). Mae again could not understand why her parents felt the need to cover the cameras for they are supposed to help with healthcare, let alone feel uncomfortable with their presence. She did not see the void she had placed on their lives the minute she put out their email addresses and requesting her fan base to send them their thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement, etc… because her life was so wrapped up in it, that that kind of feedback was normal to her. Mercer had left a note for Mae with the intentions of opening her eyes to all she has done “If you saw your parents… then you saw the effect your stuff had had on them, both of them strung out, exhausted by the deluge you unleashed on them. It’s too much, Mae. And it’s not right…” (Eggers 369, 370). Knowing her parents were upset, she tried to address it, but after the awkward walk-in situation, there was not a conversation. Mae’s efforts to be involved in her parents’ lives became less important to her—her parents’, too, did not try to contact her very often. She pushed them away after overwhelming them with her life style.
The Circle, without a shadow of a doubt, transformed Mae immensely and rapidly. She was the ideal worker, a less personable, tech-robot face of the company. The Circle is the shark, it devours everything and turns it to dust, including their employees. Near the end of the book, Mae was so brainwashed by the Circle, she was no longer herself. Instead of doing what was right by those she cared about, she did what was right for the Circle. She became an entirely different person.
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Article by Caitlin Dewey “36 ways the Web has changed us”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/03/12/36-ways-the-web-has-changed-us/
