Mercer vs. The Circle

Periodically throughout the book, Mae leaves the Circle campus and goes home to visit her parents. This is really the only glimpse the reader gets of the world outside the immediate Circle community. Every time she goes home, Mae also runs into an encounter with her ex-boyfriend, Mercer. He is one of the few surprisingly nonexistent characters in this world who opposes the Circle's ever-increasing foothold in society.

Mercer is characterized in a very interesting way, which often makes him seem like he's out-of-date with the times, and quite a bit of a social outcast. He builds chandeliers out of antlers for a living, writes letters by hand, and dresses like a lumberjack. None of these make him an appealing character, and Mae's perception of him as am ignorant, stubborn, and jealous ex almost make it seem like Eggers was trying a little too hard to prove the acceptable social norms in this Circle-dominated world.

However, because Mercer is the only voice of reason in this world, I couldn't help but connect with his logic and descriptions of social media. I even found some striking contrasts presented between his dialogue, and those of the Circle staff.

Mercer

"Here's the thing, and it's painful to say this to you. But you're not very interesting anymore. You sit at a desk twelve hours a day and you have nothing to show for it except some numbers that won't exist or be remembered in a week. You're leaving no evidence that you lived. There's no proof" (Eggers 260).

The Circle 

"Not good. I know that. But I was at the circus event and that was great. So great." [Mae] 

"It was great, wasn't it? And it was great to see you there. But we have no record of you being there. No photos, no zings, no reviews, notices, bumps. Why not?" [Dan] 

"I don't know. I guess I was caught up in the--" [Mae] 

"Dan sighed loudly. "You do know that we like to hear from people, right? That Circlers' opinions are valued? "(Eggers 178).

There is a startling contrast between these two passages. Mercer tries to tell Mae that everything she does through The Circle is not actually real or important. The smiles, reviews, and zings exist only in The Circle, and without it, they mean nothing. Mae's boss on the other hand, tries to show her The Circle's point of view, that everything that hasn't been documented hasn't actually happened. Despite the fact that Dan actually saw Mae at the company party, he says that there is no record of her being there because there is no electronic trace of her. The very definition of what is or is not "real" has changed in this society.

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Mercer

"You know what I think, Mae? I think you think that sitting at your desk, frowning and smiling somehow makes you think you're actually living some fascinating life. You comment on things, and substitutes for doing them. You look at pictures of Nepal, push a smile button, and you think that it's the same as actually going there. I mean, what would happen if you actually went? Your CircleJerk rating or whatever-the-fuck would drop below an acceptable level! Mae, do you realize how incredibly boring you've become?" (Eggers 261).

The Circle

Josiah leaned forward. "How do you think other Circlers feel, knowing that you're so close to them physically, that you're ostensibly part of a community here, but you don't want them to know your hobbies and interests. How do you think they feel?" 

"I don't know. I don't think they feel anything." 

"But they do!"Josiah said. "The point is that you're not engaged with the people around you!"
"It's just kayaking!" Mae said, laughing again, trying to bring the discussion back to a place of levity. 

Josiah was at work on his tablet. "Just kayaking? Do you realize that kayaking is a three-billion-dollar industry? And you say it's 'just kayaking'! Mae, don't you see that it's all connected? You play your part. You have to part-icipate" (Eggers 188).

The contrast between these two passages is more ironic than anything else. Just like in his previous quote, Mercer tells Mae that living through The Circle does not substitute for real life. He tries to make Mae understand that there is more to life than she's allowing herself to see. Josiah, on the other hand, makes the same point for a completely different reason. He tells Mae that she is not engaged with the people around her, because she isn't participating in the Circle's online community enough. Her physical presence and experiences with people are not enough to constitute as "engaging." Mae is bombarded with these differing views, but somehow manages only to see logic in what she wants to see, The Circle.

After looking back at these passages, I realize that one of the things that annoys me most about this book is the lack of Mercer-type characters that exist in this world. Eggers completely ignores the fact that everyone does not think alike in real life, and that large groups of people have differing views. Mercer is alone in his way of thinking, while the rest of the world jumps right on The Circle's bandwagon.

--Sanjukta