Previous
Tom Stenton
Eamon Bailey is one of the Three Wise Men who run the Circle. Of the three, he is the most charismatic and—at least according to Ty Gospodinov—sincere. Bailey is a folksy speaker, a pious Christian, and the father of a child, Gunner, who has cerebral palsy. He is passionately devoted to the notion that human beings should share their experiences with one another, and every Friday he makes speeches to his adoring employees about the Circle’s utopian mission to eliminate secrecy and unite the world electronically. In a way, Eamon is the most dangerous of the Three Wise Men, since he seems to be the only one to sincerely believe in the ethics of total transparency (Ty rejects transparency as totalitarian, while Tom Stenton welcomes it because it’s totalitarian). As we see, Eamon is instrumental in persuading the employees of the Circle, including Mae Holland, to surrender their privacy to the company, which bolsters an ideological program that threatens to engulf the entire planet.
Eamon Bailey Quotes in The Circle
The The Circle quotes below are all either spoken by Eamon Bailey or refer to Eamon Bailey. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book One, part 1 Quotes
The more she looked at it, the stranger it became. The artist had arranged it such that each of the Wise Men had placed a hand on another's shoulder. It made no sense and defied the way arms could bend or stretch.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
On her first day at the Circle, Mae Holland encounters a mysterious painting that depicts the three “Wise Men” who run the company together. While it may seem odd for three people to run the same company (wouldn’t one of them rise above the other two?), Mae believes that the three Wise Men balance one another out: one of the Wise Men is aggressive and materialistic, one is shy, and the third is charismatic and generous. As Mae approaches the painting, however, she notices that it’s not a very realistic depiction of how three human beings would actually stand together. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus p
Book One, part 2 Quotes
Now Bailey cleared the screen again, and stepped toward the audience. "You know what I say, right? In situations like this, I agree with the Hague, with human rights activists the world over. There needs to be accountability. Tyrants can no longer hide. There needs to be, and will be, documentation and accountability, and we need to bear witness. And to this end, I insist that all that happens should be known."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Eamon Bailey—the charismatic and likeable Wise Man—gives a presentation to a packed theater of Circle employees. Bailey demonstrates a new technology called SeeChange, the purpose of which is to film a location and post the footage online. Bailey argues that SeeChange will revolutionize the world by preventing tyrants from hiding: their atrocities will be broadcast online for the world to see. Bailey’s unspoken assumption is that, once the world sees tyrants’ atrocities, everyone will work together to fight these tyrants. The problem with Bailey’s philosophy, as we see during the novel, is that people can be very Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas deb
Book One, part 8 Quotes
"And I would argue that any place in the world where gays are still persecuted, you could instantly achieve great progress if all the gays and lesbians came out publicly at once. Then whoever is persecuting them, and all those who tacitly support this persecution, would realize that to persecute them would mean persecuting at least 10 percent of the population—including their sons, daughters, neighbors and friends—even their own parents. It would be instantly untenable. But the persecution of gays or any minority group is made uniquely possible through secrecy."
"Okay. I hadn't thought of it that way."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this long scene, Mae has a conversation with Eamon Bailey. During the course of their conversation, Bailey convinces Mae that privacy is a sign of guilt and deception, and, therefore, that people have a moral duty to be open and honest with one another about their own lives. Bailey uses spurious logic to make his point. Bailey’s arguments are logically confused because they jump from an abstract premise (that, in theory, people could combat homophobia by coming out of the closet together) to the concrete and dangerous conclusion that people have a moral duty to be totally transparent with Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earu
"Was the information he presented incorrect? There were factual mistakes?"
"Well, it wasn't that. It was just . . . piecemeal. And maybe that made it seem incorrect. It was taking a few slivers of me and presenting that as the whole me—"
"It seemed incomplete." "Right."
"Mae, I'm very glad you put it that way. As you know, the Circle is itself trying to become complete. We're trying to close the circle at the Circle." He smiled at his own wordplay. "But you know the overall goals of completion, I assume."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Eamon Bailey continues his conversation with Mae Holland; they discuss Mae’s uncomfortable episode with Francis Garaventa, during which Francis volunteered personal information about Mae to an audience of thousands of people. Bailey alludes to the concept of “completion”—a concept that reappears later in the book (where the word is capitalized), and seems to allude to a world in which human beings are perfectly integrated with their virtual reality lives. There are many subtle things to notice here. First, notice that Mae shouldn't have to say why Francis’s actions made her uncomfortable, and just because Francis doesn’t do Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus
Somewhere in the stampeding applause, Bailey managed to announce the capper to it all—that Mae, in the interest of sharing all she saw and could offer the world, would be going transparent immediately.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
At the end of Book One, Mae has finished giving a presentation with Eamon Bailey to a packed theater of Circle employees. At the end of their demonstration, Mae and Eamon have “concluded” that secrets are lies, and that privacy is a form of theft. As the audience cheers, Eamon shouts out that Mae will be volunteering for a program, during which she’ll be required to wear a camera on her body at all times so that anyone in the world will be able to watch her at any time of the day. One interesting thing about this passage is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaqu
Book Two, part 3 Quotes
"But there are a thousand protections to prevent all of this. It's just not possible. I mean, governments will make sure—"
"Governments who are transparent? Legislators who owe their reputations to the Circle? Who could be ruined the moment they speak out? What do you think happened to Williamson? Remember her? She threatens the Circle monopoly and, surprise, the feds find incriminating stuff on her computer. You think that's a coincidence? That's about the hundredth person Stenton's done that to. Mae, once the Circle's complete, that's it. And you helped complete it. This democracy thing, or Demoxie, whatever it is, good god. Under the guise of having every voice heard, you create mob rule, a filterless society where secrets are crimes."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Mae has learned the truth about Ty Gospodinov: the person she’s known as “Kalden” is Ty. Ty was one of the original founders of the Circle, but now he has become disillusioned with the concept of information transparency. He believes that the Circle is going to become so powerful that it will rule the world and become a totalitarian dictatorship. Now, Ty is trying to convince Mae to use her global influence to speak out against the Circle and prevent it from seizing power. When Mae hears Ty name all the potential dangers of the Circle, she’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in.
Get the entire The Circle LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Eamon Bailey Character Timeline in The Circle
The timeline below shows where the character Eamon Bailey appears in The Circle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book One, part 1
...young Circlers.” Stenton’s style of conspicuous consumption clashes markedly with the lifestyles of Ty and Eamon Bailey , the third Wise Man.
(full context)
The third figure in the painting, Eamon Bailey , seems happy, earnest, and “merry.” He’s universally beloved for his folksy way of talking,...
(full context)
Book One, part 2
...middle-aged man wearing a sweater and jeans walks onto the stage and introduces himself as Eamon Bailey . People shout out, “We love you, Bailey!” and Bailey replies, “I love you as...
(full context)
Book One, part 4
...work on Francis’s child safety project he and will be presenting on his new research. Eamon Bailey comes out, welcomes the Circle employees to their weekly meeting, and introduces Gus. Gus greets...
(full context)
Book One, part 7
...adds, “felons don’t work here.” Sighing theatrically, Dan tells Mae that her irresponsible actions inspired Eamon Bailey himself to meet with her—Mae will meet with Bailey that evening.
(full context)
Book One, part 8
...She feels guilty for having taken the kayak without telling anyone. Just before six pm, Eamon Bailey ’s assistant leads Mae—who’s feeling intensely nervous—to Bailey’s library. Mae pretends that she’s never been...
(full context)
Inside the library, Mae meets Eamon Bailey . Immediately, he asks her if she’s ever been here before; Mae denies that she...
(full context)
Book Two, part 1
...adds, “You can bet that has an effect on the regime.” The sculpture, commissioned by Eamon Bailey , is uncharacteristically earnest, optimistic, and monumental—it’s altogether unlike the artist’s early, sardonic work. It...
(full context)
...building, where she greets the Gang of 40, the group that approves new Circle projects. Eamon Bailey greets her warmly, but Annie does not greet her at all. Previously, Mae has been...
(full context)
Book Two, part 3
Ty explains that Eamon Bailey genuinely believes that life will be “perfect” when the Circle is closed and “every soul...
(full context)
