Both physical and psychological control of the protagonist by dystopian societal leaders are presented in 1984 by George Orwell and The Circle by Dave Eggers. In 1984, the reader follows the story of Winston Smith and his anarchic battle against the omnipresent Big Brother and the merciless fate that he receives. In The Circle Dave Eggers whimsically guides the reader through Mae Holland’s new occupation at the ever developing internet company called ‘The Circle’. Eggers explicitly describes how despite Mae’s euphoric feelings of power and control as she rises through the ranks of the company, ‘The Circle’ is undoubtedly controlling her. Due to these circumstances, a wide range of critics could claim that dystopian societal leaders in both
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For example, in The Circle, Eggers describes that Mae moves in on campus because she could not cope with the “chaos of an order-less world” outside of the company walls. This gives the reader the impression that Mae has become so accustomed to the hugely impressive technology and hygienic conditions, that she could no longer cope with “machines that didn’t work” and “seats that had not been cleaned”. Here Eggers presents the juxtaposition between Mae’s new utopian and manicured lifestyle and the dystopian motives of the company. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of settings and motives is also presented when Mae attends her first party on the campus and “found the buffet, and found it in shambles”. She metaphorically describes the buffet as “a feast raided by animals or Vikings”. This induces the reader to question the utopian façade masking “The Circle”, and whether the employees create as much “chaos” through their animalistic ways as Mae believes the outside world does later in the …show more content…
This initially becomes apparent in The Circle when the “TruYou” scheme is introduced. The scheme forced people to become “transparent” and reveal every detail of their daily lives to whoever may desire to “see everything”. When Mae was compelled to turn “transparent” after an illegal kayaking trip, she started behaving in a certain way to impress people and started focussing on what other people want to see instead of what she wanted to do. For example, when Mae “would’ve reached for a chilled brownie”, but after considering “what everyone else would be seeing, she pulled back” proves that Mae allows herself to lose her ability to make choices on behalf of herself, and ends up living for them instead of living for herself. Another illustration of the policing of individual expression in The Circle is presented when Gina opens up a “Zing” account on behalf of Mae, disallowing Mae to name herself on a global scale. . An equalised way of living presents the policing of individual expression in 1984. For instance, Orwell depicts the outer party workers as wearing “blue overalls” and having the same routine of waking up at the “usual getting up time for office workers”. By introducing an equalized way of living, the Party has been allowed to remove the option for the protagonists to live in the way
For example, in The Circle, Eggers describes that Mae moves in on campus because she could not cope with the “chaos of an order-less world” outside of the company walls. This gives the reader the impression that Mae has become so accustomed to the hugely impressive technology and hygienic conditions, that she could no longer cope with “machines that didn’t work” and “seats that had not been cleaned”. Here Eggers presents the juxtaposition between Mae’s new utopian and manicured lifestyle and the dystopian motives of the company. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of settings and motives is also presented when Mae attends her first party on the campus and “found the buffet, and found it in shambles”. She metaphorically describes the buffet as “a feast raided by animals or Vikings”. This induces the reader to question the utopian façade masking “The Circle”, and whether the employees create as much “chaos” through their animalistic ways as Mae believes the outside world does later in the …show more content…
This initially becomes apparent in The Circle when the “TruYou” scheme is introduced. The scheme forced people to become “transparent” and reveal every detail of their daily lives to whoever may desire to “see everything”. When Mae was compelled to turn “transparent” after an illegal kayaking trip, she started behaving in a certain way to impress people and started focussing on what other people want to see instead of what she wanted to do. For example, when Mae “would’ve reached for a chilled brownie”, but after considering “what everyone else would be seeing, she pulled back” proves that Mae allows herself to lose her ability to make choices on behalf of herself, and ends up living for them instead of living for herself. Another illustration of the policing of individual expression in The Circle is presented when Gina opens up a “Zing” account on behalf of Mae, disallowing Mae to name herself on a global scale. . An equalised way of living presents the policing of individual expression in 1984. For instance, Orwell depicts the outer party workers as wearing “blue overalls” and having the same routine of waking up at the “usual getting up time for office workers”. By introducing an equalized way of living, the Party has been allowed to remove the option for the protagonists to live in the way