Bartleby The Scrivener Essay

1021 Words3 Pages

Within Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,” the characters represent different meanings to the reflection of the author. Bartleby is introduced as an enigma to the narrator, and the confusing aura that he has presented to the audience poses symbolism in the way he acts. He is a symbol of physical and emotional isolation who only ever reveals information about himself when he isn’t compliant with the job he is tasked with doing. Although there were several imposing characteristics, Melville’s attitude towards Bartleby’s strange behavior, through irony, is empathetic and shows relatability through the curiosity of the narrator. The narrator is a lawyer who begins the story with three of his employees, comparing their …show more content…

This gives the audience a formal idea of Melville’s approach to Bartleby’s behavior and how the narrator will develop once he is introduced to his new employee. The narrator’s perplexity over Bartleby shows that Melville’s perspective can be perceived to be supportive of Bartleby. He mentions wanting to get along with him: “If I turn him away, the chances are he will fall in with some less indulgent employer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve” (Melville 10). Due to the narrator’s way of thinking, the audience is given the impression that the narrator’s motives are for selfless reasons, but despite the expressions of interest in Bartleby, the narrator introduces him as a frustration rather than with tenderness and the desire to help. This attitude towards him comes off as patronizing; Bartleby isn’t anything more to the narrator than a defying employee at this point in the story. In the beginning, the narrator’s behavior is strict, and he expects his workers to obey and comply with the tasks they are

Open Document