Some Closure

When I was younger one of my all time favorite things to do was to complete a puzzle. Having one piece of the puzzle missing was probably my biggest pet peeve of all time; why would anyone want to leave one piece out?! Little, young me felt like the world was ending when I'd lose a piece and I would call one of my parents into whatever room of the house I was in to have them help me look for my missing piece. In similar fashion, Mae felt that Ty not wanting to complete the circle was like leaving the piece of the puzzle out. She wanted the Circle to come to competition just as a puzzle would fall into place. 

Mae's selfishness is the ultimate downfall to her personal life and the relationships she had once held dear to her heart. The New York Times review says that “Mae, then, is not a victim but a dull villain;" this is entirely true since Mae has turned her back on every person she loved throughout the story. She went from being the lovable new member on campus to a seasoned worker that would do anything for people to view her on social media in a positive light.

Now, I'll be honest, I don't care for Mae too much. At first I was rooting for her, I have a feeling most of us were! We all know what it's like to be new and start off a new life in a new place; it's tough to start out not knowing anybody and coming to a new place. Eventually, Mae became a protagonist that just rubbed me the wrong way. She treated the people who raised her terribly and her selfishness even resulted in the preventable death of Mercer and coma of Annie. I guess this is what makes a good protagonist, though; a main character that really captures your attention and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout reading the novel is the best kind of character.

Mae can be seen turning into a "dull villain" on multiple occasions, but most notably when she does not appear to be too phased by the death of Mercer and coma of Annie. Mae is the one that caused Mercer to drive off of the bridge since drones were hunting him down; eventually "something like determination, something like serenity" took over his face and he drove off to get away from it all. Annie was her strongest relationship throughout the novel and is the reason why she even begins at the Circle in the first place and she seems to not care to talk her out of a stressful situation. She only pushes her further which leads her to falling into a coma that the doctors cannot even pinpoint the cause of.

This shows that she is thinking more herself and what was important to her viewership than to those in her personal life. Even when Ty tells her that reading his letter to her millions of viewers could prevent more deaths like Mercers, she decides not to do it so she can complete the Circle instead. Okay, first of all I would like to know everything that was written on that piece of paper, I have a right to know. Second of all, what the hell, Mae?! You choose being transparent over the lives of others? 

Mae was not the victim of this story, but instead turned out to be a villain. She did what she felt was right for herself and her social media presence, but did not take others around her into consideration. She may begin the story as a protagonist, but she ends it as an antagonist.