I want to bring up the idea of religion and beliefs of both the characters and the business of The Circle itself. I first think of Kalden when this idea comes up due to his mysterious and "sketchy" behavior and word choice. I think that both the business as a whole and the employees who work there dont seem to have any religious beliefs at all. This puzzled me slightly because of the similarities between Inferno (a prominently religious story) and The Circle. Granted there are similarities with hell in both stories but there was a huge lack of self reflection in the characters on The Circle. The three beasts in Dantes Inferno resembled three characteristics of Dante that brought him to hell. I didn't see these beasts or reasons why Mae was there, however while she was in The Circle her actions were in no way reflective of any type of religion. For example, sleeping with Kalden seems to be a bit corrupt for a workplace. This intrigued be because the actions of the employees reflect the business as a whole. The Circle is very clearly depicted as unprofessional as well as manipulative and just plain wrong. Sex in the workplace, video taping employees in the bathroom and manipulating their lives are all examples of the lack of religion and morals in The Circle. At the same time, this was impressive to me how Dave Eggers was able to make so many connections to two texts while leaving out a critical part of Dantes Inferno.
Any thoughts?
I think this was done on purpose. The importance put on religion has steadily declined in society through the last 30 years or more and Eggers knows this.
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