The Glass In Dave Egger's The Circle

One of the most interesting properties of glass is that of it being able to bend and reflect light. Through the bending and reflecting of light rays, an image is created. What happens though when the image formed is not the focal point but rather is the source of the image, the glass itself? In the commencement of Dave Eggers’s novel ‘The Circle,’ there is recurring images of glass. The lustrous, pristine, and progressive visage that glass supplies encapsulated the Company’s essence of high quality and rapid advancement, and as such comprised most of the physical structure of the building. However, the high-end aesthetic that glass provides is not the only idea that Eggers is attempting to promulgate through the glass images. The less obvious

Likewise, one thing can be defined in many different ways and have multiple meanings. A secondary idea being translated is that of the Circle taking upon itself the role of law and order. With transparency comes continuously being watched. The Company has stepped away from the fundamental scope of a typical organization, and has become a microcosm of the government of a society. To some extent it has even transcended beyond that, taking on the role of God. With the see-change, the circle is able to monitor anyone’s actions at any given time. “Would you have done it had you known people were watching,” (Eggers 298). This creates a biblical illusion of sorts tantamount to an ever-watching God. In both cases the induced response is for those being watched is to be circumspect of their actions. Glass has the ability to reflect light from its surface and in response create an image. Similarly, figuratively, the glass depicts a reflection or projection of the Circle’s philosophy onto its fellow Circlers as well as the rest of society. In this instance, the entire Company itself is the manifestation of glass, and the light is the ideologies of the company being reflected both internally and externally. “Secrets Are Lies, Sharing Is Caring, Privacy is Theft,” (Eggers 305). This is a conversation between Mae and Bailey, where Bailey is seemingly trying to condition Mae’s mind to uphold their ideals through the

In the novel ‘The Circle,’ Eggers use images of glass to foreshadow the ideology of total transparency coined by the Circle. On the other hand, the images of glass are not only introduced by Eggers to illustrate solely the hunger for transparency, but also to draw attention to role in which the company operates as revolutionaries to law and order. The company resides in the ‘fast lane’ and is perpetually growing and as such even transcend above that of law enforcement and into that of a watchful creator. Taking a closer look on the reflective property of glass, one of the less obvious ideas being depicted by Eggers is the reflecting or projecting of the Circle’s belief every member of society that is with its scope of influence. Therefore, at face value, the images of glass within the Circle are purely for aesthetic purposes. However, in essence, the images have an underlying function of revealing some truths about the