Whether it's exploring Circlers' insatiable cravings for data or their CEO's voracious desire for money and power, The Circle has more than a few things to say about greed. Throughout the novel, Dave Eggers' satirical pen takes aim at a whole culture of people who are greedy for more information, more experiences, more attention, more connections, more status, and, yes—for some like Tom Stenton, at least—more money, more power, and more influence, too.
Although the Circlers don't think of themselves as being greedy—quite the opposite, in fact—The Circle suggests that their perceptions of themselves are far from accurate.
Questions About Greed
- How would Eamon Bailey respond if someone told him that the Circle is fostering a culture of greed?
- How does The Circle demonstrate that Mae Holland has become a particularly greedy person by the time the novel reaches its conclusion?
- What is Tom Stenton's attitude toward qualities like greed, avarice, and acquisitiveness?
Chew on This
Tom Stenton serves as a pretty conventional representation of capitalistic greed. He's super powerful and uber rich already, but he won't stop until he gets more.
Eamon Bailey serves as a far less conventional representation of greed. On the surface, Bailey seems to have strictly socialist values, and he spends a whole lot of time talking about the importance of sharing. That being said, Bailey also believes that individuals should give more and more of themselves for the common good—holding nothing back. By demanding so much from his fellow human beings, he's being greedy in his own way, too.