Meritocracy In Dave Egger's The Circle

In The Merits of Meritocracy, by David Brooks, Brooks discusses the lives of middle-class children growing up in America. He opens up with an anecdote about his daughter, to lead into one of his main points: middle-class children have busy and protected childhood, filled with many opportunities supervised by adults (193). For instance, his daughter has four different helmets for biking, pogo sticking, skateboarding, and playing baseball (193). She is a prime example of how the middle-class is presented with opportunities and busy lives; because of this, Brooks claims the general middle-class parent fears their child is too spoiled by abundance, and will never have to commit to one thing (194). Another large fear Brooks states they have, is

Meritocracy, the system where each person's progression is due to their achievements, is seen constantly throughout society and it is suggested to be in Australian higher education. This essay will argue that rural students who attend or plan on attending university challenge this suggestion of meritocracy in Australian universities, as rural students are unequal compared to urban students. This essay will show that universities are not based on merit alone, as rural students are disadvantaged in areas such as distance, family & community values, course availability and university availability.

Throughout life we go through many stepping stones, Maya Angelou's autobiographical essay "Graduation", was about more than just moving on to another grade. The unexpected events that occurred during the ceremony enabled her to graduate from the views of a child to the more experienced and sometimes disenchanting views of an adult. Upon reading the story there is an initial feeling of excitement and hope which was quickly tarnished with the abrupt awareness of human prejudices. The author vividly illustrates a rainbow of significant mood changes she undergoes throughout the story.

Elementary and middle school years (6-12) are Erikson’s fourth stage in which the child must resolve the crisis between industry and inferiority. During this stage, a child becomes more aware of themselves as individuals. It is important that a child learn the feeling of success; if not allowed enough success, they might develop a sense of inferiority or incompetence. Again, it is about the balance of industry and inferiority that leads to competence both intellectually and socially. Despite the fact that the Welsh school administration placed Jeannette in classes for students with learning disabilities, she knows she is smart. She was in honors classes in Phoenix and continues to excel academically under the guidance of her parents. She reads on her own and understands that education is important. Despite her placement in the lower classes and not having any close friends, she is able to develop a sense of industry.

As the story opens, already the reader is confronted with the topic of concealing the truth. The narrator speaks

Rose obtained broad learning all around as much academic years. His work consisted of studying psyche and human performance which made the groundwork for Investigation whom his family lived in the blue-collar society. Rose willingly exposes his adolescence to illustrate an approach that shows the multifaceted nature of such jobs, furthermore that it is much more than physical work. Rose Additionally endeavors that just because you come from a blur-collar life does not put a limit on success, and a quest for higher learning.

To Hayes the failure of meritocracy comes from its focus on equality of opportunity over equality of outcome. Thus, as inequality escalated, the meritocracy ended up becoming so entrenched and isolated that it is no longer even much of a meritocracy. Hayes cites his elite NYC alma mater, Hunter College High School, as a prime example. The only admissions requirement is passing its entrance exam, yet the percentage students from minority and low income backgrounds has been steadily declining due to the expensive test taking prep courses that more affluent students can afford. Meanwhile the increasingly wealthy “meritocratic elites” isolate themselves from the rest of us in the 99% by living and traveling privately – in gated communities, exclusive clubs and resorts, corporate jets, etc., blaming the masses rather than themselves for societal woes.

Today, thousands of kids grow up with hardships, but have potential to be successful. One example of this is in The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. The book is a memoir that tells stories about Jeanette and her family. For the most part Jeannette’s child hood was filled with hardships, but did this make her as successful as she is today? Jeannette Walls is successful because of her hardships she experienced as a child, which shaped her into who she is today.

In modern society, we often face competition to survive. We may forget our own truth because of our selfish behavior. However, no person can say that people who value their integrity highly are good people, and no one is curious about what is and is not really ethical behavior. There are always certain experiences that shape a person's moral standpoint and integrity. In Old School by Tobias Wolff, he expresses this message in the book. The main character of the book, is a fictional alter ego of Tobias Wolff. Throughout this novel, He is trying to provide the basis of truth by using various scenes, characters, and other incidents, he expressed it. Reading this novel, the audience will probably be curious about what is true and untruthful. Wolff did not say the name of the protagonist in this novel, but by writing in the first person, he portrayed the main charger as another self of himself, and through this manner, readers have had the opportunity to lead themselves. Readers are left to ask, “what is the truthfulness and false in our live.

The myth of meritocracy has been proven true in multiply sources. Studies have hypothesized this before when relating to upward mobility. Upward mobility in the last forty years has been more and more unlikely for years and years now. Factors like race, socioeconomic status, household makeup, and economic conditions of this country play a big role. I will go more indepth about this study by showing more facts in the following paragraphs.

In the novel Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the acting characters rely on others for their identities, including the protagonist, the ‘invisible man’. As an example, the narrator begins his story by relating an instance in which he mugged a man who had insulted him. In describing the event, he says that it wasn’t he who was to blame. He didn’t exist. The man had provoked an invisible assailant. Various other characters also exhibit this reliance on others and a pointed lack of responsibility in the face of wronged events. In the case of Mr. Norton, a founder of the college, he proclaims to the narrator that the narrator is his destiny. By this, he meant that the educational career and future of the speaker would ‘make’ Mr. Norton, or propel his career; “you are my fate,” he related to him at one point (Ellison 42). Mr. Blesdoe, similarly, ‘makes’ himself through his white superiors. He kisses up to the board of education, all the while knowing he is in charge of them. He even equates himself with the whites, once referring to the narrator as another race and calling him the infamous N-word, the victim horrified at the treachery. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator correspondingly recalls the words of his grandfather. He urges the

The racial income gap illustrates that the United States is not a meritocracy society. A meritocracy society would be an area where everyone no matter what color or background they are from have the chance to succeed based on their own ability. Although it is certainly appealing and a magnificent way of viewing our society, in reality no society can ever truly function as a meritocracy and therefore having no control at birth and the environment where we grow up, and who we get surrounded with puts major races, especially in the United States in disadvantage, a country that is far from meritocratic compared to other nation.

She discusses the result of students not being taught how to take care of themselves. A report by a business-research group by the name of, The Conference Board, found that incoming graduates were lacking skills such as communication and decision making (Whelan 258). Employers want to hire strong, skilled leaders who can perform tasks in the correct manner. When a fresh college graduate is put into the job market, who knows if they will be able to make important company decisions, communicate effectively on the phone or in person. If an over involved parent has done these things for their son or daughter all their life, they are not going to know how to handle specific situations in which they will need a select set of skills.

Truth and honesty is the aspired driving force within one’s life but it can be as destructive as deceit and dishonesty. People always yell, “Tell the truth, be honest with me!” but when all things are said, their first reaction is to call out the lack of sympathy of the person. In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault lives his life through truth and honesty but societal morals and values often bring him down in more ways than one.

The same way a parrot enters its cage with a blank mind, devoid of any calls or phrases, Mae approaches her job at The Circle with an open mind, not influenced by any previous work experiences. When thinking of the occupation she previously held prior to working at The Circle, Mae expresses extreme discontent. “Her final day at the public utility in her hometown had been only three weeks ago-- they’d been stupefied when she gave notice-- but it already seemed impossible that she wasted so much of her life there. Good riddance, Mae thought, to that gulag and all it represented” (pg 4). The passage above indicates that Mae loathed her previous job, considering it a waist of her life and likening it to a “gulag”. This shows that Mae felt little passion or allegiance to her old job, and thus approaches her new job at The Circle with a blank mind, not considering her previous experiences valuable to her in any way.