The Circle as an Inferno

There are some clear connections between The Circle and Inferno, that I briefly discussed in a prior blog post. I wouldn't like to go as far to say that Eggers "rewrote" Inferno because that would be rather far-fetched. It appears as if he used a structure strikingly similar to the layers of hell, but not much more, at least explicitly. I think examining the screens that Mae, the main character, is given for her desk reveals that a screen is much like a circle of hell, through which Mae falls during the first half of the novel. In the second half, the popularization of SeeChange, cameras which you can put anywhere for the world to see, throws the population into a metaphorical bottomless hell. In summary, we have six "circle" and then a bottomless pit, essentially. They are very different than the circles of hell in Inferno, which is why I am hesitant to compare the two.

Mae's Screens

First Screen: The screen that Mae first receives to communicate to Circle customers when she is a "Customer Experience" (customer service) worker.

Second Screen: The screen that may receives to communicate to other employees within the Circle.

"This one is for intra-office messaging. All Circlers send messages out through your main feed, but they appear on the second screen. This is to make clear the importance of the messages, and to help you delineate which is which. From time to time you’ll see messages from me over here, just checking in or with some adjustment or news" (52).

Third Screen: This screen is for social participation. It contains all social networks, with users within and outside of the Circle.

"The third screen is your social, Inner- and OuterCircle. But these messages aren’t, like, superfluous. They’re just as important as any other messages, but are prioritized third. And sometimes they’re urgent. Keep an eye on the InnerCircle feed in particular, because that’s where you’ll hear about staff meetings, mandatory gatherings, and any breaking news. If there’s a Circle notice that’s really pressing, that’ll be marked in orange. Something extremely urgent will prompt a message on your phone, too. You keep that in view?" (99).

Fourth Screen: Mae receives this screen when she is promoted. It's where more novice Customer Experience employees may contact her with questions. Her supervisor says:

"Whenever there’s a stumper and it needs to be bounced up to a more seasoned person, you’ll be there. You’re the veteran now. Does that make sense?" (146).

Fifth Screen: This is the screen on which Mae can take and control surveys to help analysts gather data.

"When Mae got back to her desk, a new screen, her fifth, had been set up just to the right of her newbie-question screen. She had a few minutes before one o’clock, so she tested the system. The first bell rang, and she nodded. A woman’s voice, sounding like a newscaster’s, asked her, 'For vacations, are you inclined toward one of relaxation, like a beach or luxury hotel, or are you inclined toward adventure, like a white-water rafting trip?'" (231).

Sixth Screen: This is the ultimate screen on which Mae can view SeeChange cameras of herself and everyone else.

"There were eight SeeChange cameras in Mae’s pod, and within hours of them going live, she and everyone else in the room were provided another screen, on which they could see a grid of their own and lock into any view on campus" (241).

The general trend is that as Mae gets more screens, her personal life and work life become more and more intertwined. With this, her life becomes more and more public, just like the lives of most people in The Circle. That's about as far as I am willing to go in connecting The Circle to Inferno: they have strikingly similar structures and a hell, but very different content.

Written by Seth