How we cite our quotes: (Book.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Mae, let me ask you a question. Would you have behaved differently if you'd known about the SeeChange cameras at the marina?"
"Yes."
Bailey nodded empathetically. "Okay. How?"
"I wouldn't have done what I did."
"And why not?"
"Because I would have been caught."
Bailey tilted his head. "Is that all?"
"Well, I wouldn't want anyone seeing me do that. It wasn't right. It's embarrassing." (1.44.32-39)
Throughout The Circle, Dave Eggers presents us with a serious and hard-hitting question. If we do the right thing only because we know that someone else may be watching, is our behavior actually moral or ethical?
Quote #5
He put his cup on the table next to him and rested his hands on his lap, his palms in a gentle embrace. "So in general, would you say you behave differently when you know you're being watched?"
"Sure. Of course."
"And when you'll be held accountable."
"Yes."
"And when there will be a historical record. That is, when or if your behavior will be permanently accessible. That a video of your behavior, for example, will exist forever." (1.44.40-44)
Although Dave Eggers clearly has some doubts about whether true morality and ethics can ever be inspired by fear of discovery or punishment, Eamon Bailey isn't troubled by any such concerns. If people are behaving well because they don't want to be caught behaving badly, that's good enough for him.
Quote #6
"Okay," Bailey said, "for now, we can't think of good secrets between friends. Let's move on to families. In a family, is a secret a good thing? Theoretically, do you ever think, You know what would be great to keep from my family? A secret."
Mae thought of the many things her parents were likely keeping from her—the various indignities her father's illness caused them. "No," she said. (1.44.64-65)
Even after having had some time to cool off from the anger she felt after being sent away from her parents' home after her father's accident, Mae Holland still hasn't taken the time to consider that her father's right to dignity might actually trump her right to intervene when she's not wanted. Unfortunately, Eamon Bailey's "wisdom" makes Mae even surer of herself and her own rightness.