The Circle and Potential Final Ideas

After reading The Circle, I definitely want to look more closely at it as part of my final project.  So, I thought I'd examine a passage near the end, in which Mae states something kind of contradictory. She tells Kalden/Ty, "Most people would trade everything they know, everyone they know--they'd trade it all to know they've been seen, and acknowledged, that they might even be remembered.  We all know we die.  We all know the world is too big for us to be significant.  So all we have is the hope of being seen, or heard, even for a moment" (490).  So much of what goes on at the Circle revolves around sharing ideas and opinions, and more importantly, that your opinion matters.  Therefore, what the Circle as a corporation does well is tell everyone that they're important and they matter, which seems kind of juvenile--it's like when kindergartners are told how special they are.  I don't want to sound mean, but I'm not someone who believes what everyone has to say is important, myself included.  I don't expect people to pay attention to everything I say, and I think that's for the best most of the time, as I'll most likely end up embarrassing myself.  What I find so intriguing about what Mae says here is that she acknowledges that she is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and her way of remedying that is to be seen and heard by as many people as possible.  If she accepts the idea what the world is too big for her to be significant, I find it kind of strange she would go to such lengths to combat this notion.  I think most people would take this idea and decide to try to make an impact in their own communities, rather than by reaching out to as many people as possible for no particular reason.

This goes against a lot of what Thoreau says and his reasoning for being alone, as Mae slowly decides to never be alone.  Mae wants to be seen by as many people as possible, while Thoreau stresses the importance of solitude and experiencing life for what it is.  In a way Mae is experiencing life in that she is experiencing more people, but superficially.  This then brings into question whether Mae's experiences, which happen in front of millions, differ from how she might otherwise experience them if done alone, or at least not in front of a constant live audience.