To where I have read so far, I have noticed connections to Dante's inferno, Heart of Darkness, and Existentialist ideas in general. The longer Mae is involved with this company, it becomes quite obvious that her ideas towards it change. (Much like Marlow's ideas changed about his company) Her initial view of the company, with its cozy dorms, amazing dining halls and beautiful aquariums, is that it is heavenly. But as the story progresses, the company seems to be more hellish. (Possibly why the book is titled "The Circle", referring to Dante's interpretation of hell) As she stays with the company longer, she is separated from her family and friends, and becomes isolated. The existentialist ideas I noticed are how Mae loses her sense of self and lets her career take over her life. I am excited to read more and see what events take place.
I couldn't agree more, Zach. It seems as though Mae is being brainwashed by the Circle. As we get deeper into the novel, we notice how Mae's morals and beliefs are manipulated and transformed, as this company begins to subconsciously "control" her in a sense (Deeper into "Hell"). Her bosses brainwash her into even thinking that privacy is a bad thing- that the desire for certain things to be private is selfish, even. They drill the two phrases "privacy is theft" and "all that happens must be known" into her head and make her actually believe them. What I find most interesting in this book so far is the fact that the Circle is so controlling, that they are able to take Mae's passion for kayaking alone, away from her without her even realizing it. Before she earned her position at The Circle, Mae would spend her free time kayaking. Mae found peace while kayaking- it was what she would do when she was stressed, to solve her problems, or just to think. It was her "happy place." Since The Circle is able to track every employee, they become angry with Mae that she did not document any footage of her kayaking experiences. They convince her that it's wrong not to "share" her experiences with the world since she is "depriving others" from the experience who may not be able to have the opportunity to kayak themselves. They convince her she is selfish, and that she is "stealing" from those people in a sense. The next step for Mae in her career is shocking- it will change her life forever.
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