Symbolism In Dave Egger's The Circle

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“The Circle” isn’t just a novel that has to do with technology and romance, it has greater meaning behind it. Dave Egger’s writing in the novel captures deep meaning in the words he uses. “This novel is distinct from social satire in viewing moral defects less as flaws of a character than as intellectual previsions.” (Atwood, 1) “The Circle is an ancient symbol that’s had a variety of incarnations. This novel makes the reader put itself in the characters shoes.” (Atwood, 2) Dave Egger’s childhood had an effect on not only the theme, but the meaning behind the character’s names in “The Circle.” Eggers had a series of events happen in a little period of time, which caused him a great amount of grief. In 1991, his father died of brain and lung cancer, and 5 weeks after that his mother died of stomach cancer. Ten years later, his sister, Beth, committed suicide. How much can one man take, right? Soon after their deaths Eggers moved to California with his girlfriend, and brother. He had to take responsibly and take care of his brother. He then started to do temp work and freelance graphic designing for the California newspaper. “Eggers also is the founder of a publishing house named McSweeneys.”(BookBrowse,1) “McSweeney 's has since grown into McSweeney 's Publishing …show more content…

“The purpose of “The Circle” is to remind us that we can be led down the primrose path much more blindly by our good intentions than by our bad ones.” (Atwood, 3) Sometimes it is not good to know everything. Knowing too much information can get you hurt physically, emotionally, and mentally. Mercer killed himself because of that reason. It might seem like a good thing to know everything that’s going on, but one can get themselves in a lot of trouble and hurt. There is so much more to life than having a big head and being the top boss. It takes a lot of responsibility and one has to be ready to take on that challenge. Once one is in and knows information, you cannot just back away, it is with you