Themes

The Circle by Dave Eggers explores a range of themes, which you can read about on the following pages:

Extract

Here, you can read an extract from our study guide:

The most extreme tool using this theory is ChildTrack, the system invented by Francis, where children have a microchip implanted in their ankle bone from birth, so they can be tracked wherever they go. Ty sees this as terrifying:

All the kids get a chip embedded in them, for safety, when they’re infants. And yes, it’ll save lives. But then, what, you think they suddenly remove them when they’re eighteen? No. In the interest of education and safety, everything they’ve done will be recorded, tracked, logged, analyzed – it’s permanent. Then, when they’re old enough to vote, to participate, their membership is mandatory. That’s where the Circle closes. Everyone will be tracked, cradle to grave, with no possibility of escape. (p. 481)

Although Mae does not see this as a problem, others such as Mercer are worried about the Circle pushing the general public to believe in “ever-more radical ideas about the criminality of privacy” (p. 432).

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