Michaela Salamone: Post #2
As I continue to read, I can't help but notice more and more parallels between this novel and Inferno. I do not believe that David Eggers wrote The Circle completely based off Dante's, but there are some obvious similarities between the two. Ironically enough, the first line of this novel is:
"My God," Mae thought. "Its heaven."
Little does Mae know, her new workplace is going to be her "Hell." Mae's best friend, Annie, who got Mae her position at The Circle is her guide throughout the entire novel (Virgil). Each advancement she makes in her job, Mae is also advancing deeper into Hell.Throughout the book, Mae turns to Annie for guidance and advice along the way, since Annie happens to be a "big deal" at The Circle. The employees envy Mae for being so close with Annie, and this is a major advantage for Mae in her job. She begins her first few weeks on the job at a computer- answering customers' questions, and receiving ratings for her answers (The first circle). At this time, Mae is not well-known at the company allowing her to blend in with everyone else. As she advances in the company, Mae is introduced to her "PartiRank." This is an online ranking which tracks every employees' participation in almost everything- from how many company parties attended, to how much the employees' are posting on social media (Second circle). As she continues to move up and succeed, Mae begins to lose her sense of identity. She finds herself losing touch with everyone around her and begins to focus her entire life on The Circle. Since The Circle emphasizes "transparency," Mae is eventually forced to wear a video camera around her neck to show the entire world what she is doing throughout every day. Mae now has to watch herself in every step, every action, and especially the things she says, since the whole world can see what she is doing. As the book progresses, Mae seems to have less and less privacy and is becoming more brainwashed by The Circle. I am eager to see what happens as Mae descends further into "Hell" and to find out how this book ends.
I too see many parallels to Dante’s Inferno. Egger’s clearly wanted the reader to take note of these similarities by naming the novel, The Circle. By opening the novel, with Mae thinking “Its heaven” when seeing the Circle's company campus for the first time, Eggers sets the company up to be viewed as just the opposite, hell. The structure in which the company is set up also has many connections to Inferno. Mae moves deeper into hell as she climbs the ladder of the company and loses her self more and more. Mae with the help of Annie has been on a fast track to the upper ranks of the company since her first day when she scored a record 197 for performance. One thing I would disagree with is the notion that Annie is a Virgil type character that is trying to bring Mae to Salvation. While yes she is there for Annie as a type of mentor, she is deeply intertwined within the company (Already a member of the “Gang of 40”). I think Egger’s may have been inspired by Heart of Darkness and how Conrad used the character Mr. Kurtz. Like Kurtz and Marlow, Mae is put in awe by Annie. At the beginning of the book, immediately after Mae is described as an uptight person who had to be the best and like her parents would not take anything from anyone, Annie is characterized as a gregarious free spirit who seemed to not have a care in the world. Eggers describing Mae and Annie’s time on the track team at during college wrote, “Mae laughed at everything Annie said, and it kept Mae’s mind off the meets, where she, unlike Annie, had to win, or at least do well... With Annie having forgotten what race she was meant to run, or whether she really wanted to run at all.” Annie seems to be what Mae wishes she could be, care free yet still extremely successful. Although Annie’s motives are good, she is only going to get Mae wrapped up in this dystopian company, not guide her to salvation or “out of hell” like Virgil did for Dante.
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