Discussion questions for the 2016 Penn State Reads book The Circlegrouped by book

Eggers, D. (2013). The Circle. New York City: Random House.

Book 1 pp. 1-84

  1. The epigraph for The Circle is from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden: There wasn’t any limit, no boundary at all, to the future. And it would be so a man wouldn’t have room to store his happiness.” Why did the author make a connection to this particular book and quotation?
  2. The author does not tell the reader what year or exactly where this story takes place. Use specific evidence from the book to make an educated guess of when and where it occurs. Why do you think the author leaves this vague?
  3. During Mae’s first few days of work, what does the reader learn about her new employer, the Circle? Where did Mae work prior to the Circle? Are either of these places you would like to work? Why or why not?
  4. Mae and Annie are friends. What is their friendship like early in the novel?
  5. The reader learns musicians, comedians, and writers perform at the Circle. Annie remarks, “That’s Bailey’s passion project, to bring them here to get some exposure, especially given how rough it is out there for them” (p.17). Why is it rough?
  6. When Mae questions the budget for artists’ performances, what’s Annie’s reply? What commentary does this make on the value of artists in the tech world of the Circle? Has technology helped or hurt artists in the real world? Give examples.
  7. Annie tells Mae the same “spiel” she gives to “heads of state” about the three founders of the company (p. 20). How did the company become successful? Who are the “Wise Men” (p. 19) and the Gang of 40 (p. 14)?What are the literal and figurative meanings of these terms?
  8. What is TruYou? How did it change the “internet within a year” (p. 22)?
  9. The reader is told that “Overnight, all comment boards became civil, all posters held accountable” (p. 22). What is the connection between anonymity and civility? Are people inherently good or do they become good when others are watching and holding them accountable? What do employees at the Circle think? What do you think?
  10. When Mae meets Francis, she misspeaks. She realizes,”…this terrible thing she said would remain between them, that they both understood mistakes are made by all and that they should, if everyone is acknowledging our common humanity, our common frailty and propensity for sounding and looking ridiculous a thousand times a day, that these mistakes should be allowed to be forgotten” (p.35). Has technology changed how mistakes can be forgotten? How do you know?
  11. How does Eggers build dramatic tension with foreshadowing? Find examples.
  12. On Mae’s second day of work at the Circle, Renata introduces her to Rob, Tasha, and Brandon. Annie introduces her to her team leader, Dan. Dan introduces her to Jared. As the reader, what do you learn about the Circle’s corporate culture from Mae’s interactions with these co-workers? What values and behaviors are commonplace?
  1. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, culture can account for 20 to 30 percent of the differential in corporate performance compared to a “culturally unremarkable” competitor. Research what makes an exceptional corporate culture. Is the Circle in line with these recommendations? Explain.

Reference

Coleman, J. (2013, May 6). Six components of a great corporate culture.

Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from

  1. At the end of Mae’s first week of work, her parents visit her. How would you describe their relationship at this point?
  2. What does Mae see when she stops to kayak in the bay after her visit with her parents? How does the novel use Mae’s interaction with nature to inform the reader?

Book 1 pp. 84-146

  1. Francis describes his pet project, ChildTrack, to Mae. What arguments does he make about its benefits? Do you agree with Francis? Why or why not?Are there others who should have tracking chips? What about the elderly with dementia? Rescue workers? Terrorists?
  2. When Mae first meets Kalden, she remarks “You look lost” (p.92). What does the reader learn about him during this chance encounter? What significance does his name have?
  3. Buildings on the Circle’s campus are named after historical time periods (e.g., the Renaissance, the Enlightenment). New technological developments have names too (e.g.,TruYou, LuvLuv). What is the importance of names in this novel?
  4. Gina sets up Mae’s third screen and teaches her about “message hierarchy” and “PartiRank” (p. 99). Explain these concepts. How does technology aid or hinder Mae’s communication and sense of community?
  5. What work does Mae do in Customer Experience? How is she evaluated?
  6. When she gets in trouble, and Dan summons her to a meeting, what error has she committed?
  7. A description of Mae going through her inner and outer Circle accounts is given on pages 102-105. What does Mae feel about tackling these constant feeds? How do you know?
  8. What’s your reaction when you find out Annie listened to Dan’s reprimand of Mae without her awareness?How is the concept of privacy defined in the novel? Do you agree or disagree with it? Why?
  9. Why was Mae invited to the Portugal brunch?
  10. What is Mae’s reaction to the LuvLuv demonstration? When Mae asks herself why Gus’s presentation was so upsetting, what answer does she come up with? What is her point of view about the accuracy of the information the algorithms produced about her?
  11. Comment on the use of metrics and quantification in the novel. Find specific examples. Do you think all things measureable? What is or isn’t?
  12. Mercer tells Mae, “Your tools have elevated gossip, hearsay, and conjecture to the level of valid, mainstream communication” (p. 133). How does Mercer’s Luddite voice work as a foil to Mae’s character? Whom would you side with in this argument and why?
  13. Mae returns to kayak a second time (p.139). She encounters seals, sea lions, and an unusual couple floating on an “ancient fishing boat tethered to a small barge” (p.140). Why do you think Eggers includes this scene?
  14. The woman on the fishing boat describes Mae as “a nice girl with occasional bursts of curiosity” (p. 142). How would you describe Mae? Do you like her? Why or why not?

Book 1 pp. 146-192

  1. Time is mentioned a lot in the novel. Find examples. What implicit argument is made by including these details?
  2. Above Dr. Villalobos’s cabinet reads: TO HEAL WE MUST KNOW. TO KNOW WE MUST SHARE (p. 151). What other mottos are on campus? Do you agree with them? Why does the Circle have them?
  3. Did you know that at one time Google’s motto was “Don’t be evil”? Research companies’ mottos, slogans, or taglines.What is their purpose in the real world? Is the purpose similar in the novel?
  4. Dr. Villalobos explains the monitoring systems that are used to support employee care at the Circle (pp. 150-160). What is Mae’s reaction to this visit?
  5. If your employer offered similar monitoring systems to you, would you enlist? Why or why not?
  6. Mae’s parents are able to get better healthcare through the Circle’s plan. How does Mae’s relationship to her parents change when she is the one who provides for them?
  7. Do you think innovative patient monitoring and integrated information systems improve health care? In what ways? Are there downsides? How are these arguments demonstrated in the novel?
  8. A circus act performs on campus. Whom does Mae run into? What is unusual about him? What does Annie think? Why do you think Eggers includes this scene?
  9. The reader learns that Senator Williamson is concerned that the Circle is a monopoly (p. 173). What’s Mae’s understanding of antitrust laws? What’s yours? Do you agree with Mae’s position? Make a logical argument for your perspective using references to relevant antitrust cases.
  10. How do you learn that Annie is not concerned about Senator Williamson’s investigation?
  11. Mae gets in hot water with Dan over missing optional campus events and is invited to speak with Josiah and Denise (pp. 176-190). What is Mae’s response to these conversations? That evening, Mae does not go home; she stays at HomeTown.What does this tell the reader about Mae?
  12. A dynamic character changes over the course of the story, and a static one does not. Which type of character is Mae? Give evidence for your argument.

Book 1 pp. 192-306

  1. Mae is involved with three men: Mercer, Francis, and Kalden. How are each of these men different or similar? What types of communications does she have with them? What motivates her? What affirmation does she seek?How are human interaction, love, and technology portrayed through these relationships?
  2. Congresswoman Santos becomes transparent: “My every meeting, movement, my every word, will be available to all my constituents and to the world” (p. 201).Would democracy improve if our elected leaders became transparent? Would you support an initiative to encourage leaders to provide live feed 24/7? Why or why not?
  3. In the novel, within a few weeks, eighty percent of politicians go transparent, and the remaining twenty percent are under increasing pressure to do so because public perception is that they have something to hide. Is this a legitimate argument? Explain.
  4. According to an article inThe New York Timesmany police departments already use miniature, wearable video cameras with microphones to capture officers’ interactions. It cites a California police department that saw an 88 percent decline in complaints filed against officers compared to the period prior to the camera wearing. Should these positive results be used for greater use of wearable cameras in other applications, such as for politicians as described in The Circle? Discuss.

Reference

Stross, R. (2013, April 6). Wearing a badge, and a video camera. New York

Times. Retrieved from

cameras-for-police-officers.html

  1. Stenton announces that “a certain senator was just revealed to be involved in some very unsavory business” (p.207). Who is it? Does this development reveal something pernicious about the Circle?
  2. Denise and Josiah meet with Mae to determine why her participation on social media is lackluster. They postulate that she has a self-esteem problem. What is their solution? How does Mae respond? Why kind of validation is important to Mae?
  3. As Mae commands six screens, she feels “more needed, more valued (p. 249)?Why do you think she feels this way? Have you ever felt more valued because of technology? Explain.
  4. In an article titled “Social Media: Destroyer or Creator?” the Egyptian Google employee who helped start the Tahrir Square revolution believes that social media is better at destroying than creating. He states, “Today our social media experiences are designed in a way that favors broadcasting over engagements, posts over discussions, shallow comments over deep conversations.” Read the article in The New York Times.Does the novel support or contradict this argument? What about your own social media experiences?

Reference

Friedman, T. (2016, Feb. 3). Social media: destroyer or creator? New York

Times. Retrieved from

or-creator.html?_r=1

  1. Stenton initiates a “lark” of a project: counting the sands in the Sahara. Why?
  2. Does the novel comment on the quest for and the limits toour knowledge? What, if anything, does it say? What do philosophers say about our quest for and the limits to our knowledge? Do you think there are things we can know and things that we can never know? Explain.
  3. The reader learns that anyone who levels a complaint against the Circle is discredited: “…every time someone started shouting about the supposed monopoly of the Circle, or the Circle’s unfair monetization of the personal data of its users, or some other paranoid and demonstrably false claim, soon enough it was revealed that that person was a criminal or deviant of the highest order” (p. 241). Because third-person limited narration is used in the novel, whose thoughts are these? What tension is set up between the reader and Mae?
  4. Gina explains Conversion Rate and Retail Raw to Mae? What are they? Do such things exist outside of the novel? Michael Lopp, Pinterest’s head of engineering, reports in the Wall Street Journal on new visual search skills that build “serendipity” for users because it helps them “find things they didn’t know they liked.” Do you like technology that builds serendipity for you? Why or why not?

Reference

Koh, Y. (2015, Nov. 8). Pinterest sharpens its visual-search skills. The Wall

Street Journal. Retrieved from

1447015155

  1. When Mercer and Mae meet up at her parents’ house, they have an argument. Mercer points out that the “usual utopian vision” includes some benefit, such as reduced waste, but “carries with it more control, more central tracking of everything we do” (pp. 260-1). Is Mercer paranoid? What does Eggers’s think? What do you think?
  2. After an argument with Mercer, Mae goes on her third kayak trip. How is this kayak trip different from the previous two? How has Mae changed since the beginning of the novel?
  3. What is your reaction to Bailey and Mae’s performance on stage during Dream Friday? What do you think of these three lines attributed to Mae: Privacy is theft; secrets are lies; and sharing is caring? What examples are given to support these ideas? Choose one of these statements and argue for or against its validity. Make sure to include your own examples.

Book 2pp. 309-385

  1. In Book II, Mae is transparent. Describe what this means. How does Mae respond to this new development?
  2. How does Mae define what it means to be “noble” (p. 331)?
  3. Overall, would you say Mae is relaxed or anxious? What does Mae do to relax? Can you relate to Mae’s experience?
  4. What is the significance of the octopus, the shark, the lobster the sea turtle and the seahorses in Stenton’s aquarium?
  5. SeeChange affects journalism. “There were now over a hundred million cameras functional and accessible around the world, making in-person reporting unnecessarily expensive and dangerous, to say nothing of the carbon expenditures (p. 322). How do you know the narrator views this as favorable? Do you agree?
  6. Has technology influenced news gathering and reporting in the real world too? How has public discourse been affected? Is this type of raw news more or less likely to have bias?Are people more or less informed than they were prior to the internet, social media, and other technological developments? Explain.
  7. Cryptic messages pop-up across campus: THINK COMPLETION; COMPLETE THE CIRCLE; and THE CIRLCE MUST BE WHOLE (p. 325). As the reader, what do you understand this to mean? At this point in the story, are you rooting forthe Circle’s completion? Why or why not?
  8. Do all Circle members agree that completion is a good thing? How do you know this?
  9. Mae becomes “one of the hundred Settlers,” or Circle employees that move onto campus permanently (p.334). Would you like an arrangement like this? What would you be willing to give up to live like this?
  10. According to the American Psychological Association, the distinction between Americans’ work and nonwork lives continues to blur. Is this a favorable or unfavorable development? Find credible sources to support your position.

Reference

The line between people’s work and nonwork lives continues to blur. (2015,

Nov.). American Psychological Association. 46(10). Retrieved from

  1. How does YouthRank work? Do you think this program would enhance academic performance? Would it have helped you in high school?
  2. In May 2015, Forbesreported that some educators worry that market forces and private capital as it relates to education technology are harmful forces while others believe it will bring new efficiencies and help solve problems. What do you think? What roles should big data and technology play in education? What roles should the government and the private sector play?

Reference

Perdue, B. & Hansen, W. (2015, May 11). The only metric that matters in

EdTech: Student outcomes. Forbes. Retrieved from

metric-that-measures-the-success-of-education-

technology/#5140b7027596

  1. Annie explains PastPerfect to Mae and her followers. What is it?
  2. Make a list of the Circle’s projects. Rank them from your most favorite to your least favorite. Give the rationale for your rankings.
  3. What happens to Mae and Annie’s friendship? Is Mae more or less connected to Annie at this point?
  4. Does Mae’s relationship with her parents change? What evidence supports your position?
  5. Francis asks Mae for a rating on his sexual performance. Is she truthful? Why do you think this detail is included?

Book 2 pp. 385-466

  1. When Bailey announces the Circle’s plan to improve voter participation, the reader learns that “It was important, Mae had been told, that the entire event seem natural….” (p.386). Is it natural or is it choreographed? How do you know?
  2. What is Demoxie? What are the benefits according to the Circle?
  3. Mae is given credit for the idea of Demoxie. Yet the narrator states, “Had she invented this? She wasn’t sure” (p.401). Why do you think Mae isn’t sure?
  4. Avi Rubin, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University, says computer scientists are universally opposed to online voting without a paper record. Listen to hisinterview on NPR’s Here & Now. Would the Circle agree with him? Do you think Rubin or the Circle is correct? Support your position.

Reference