Folks, The Circle is a dystopian novel, and if you know anything about dystopian novels, you know you're going to find a lot of unethical and immoral behavior in here that is misperceived as goodness, kindness, and moral integrity.
On top of that, Dave Eggers raises some fascinating questions about the nature of moral and ethical choices and behaviors in general. If human beings act well out of a fear of being watched or being discovered, is their good behavior actually moral? If we make caring, considerate choices out of a desire to be seen and celebrated for those choices, are we being truly ethical? What exactly are the relationships between morality, ethics, and supervision, anyway?
Questions About Morality and Ethics
- If Mae Holland were asked to name the most moral and ethical person she knows, whose name would she give?
- On the surface, Eamon Bailey is held up as the pinnacle of moral and ethical integrity. What clues does the novel give us to show that Bailey isn't quite as ethical as his true believers believe him to be?
- Throughout The Circle, many of the Circle's programs and technologies were created with genuinely good and commendable intentions. Pick just one troubling program or technology that the Circle creates, and with that in mind, answer this question: at what point, exactly, did this program/technology go wrong? Where did it tip from good to bad?
Chew on This
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Throughout the novel, Dave Eggers suggests that the desire to do good in the world may not protect us from doing great harm.
The Circle suggests that truly moral and ethical actions can't be inspired by fear of exposure or desire for praise.