More handpicked essays just for you.
Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener
“Bartleby the Scrivener” is in what point of view
Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Bartleby the Scrivener: Why the Narrator Is the Problem Scholars often describe Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” as a tale of passive aggressive resistance, or a tale of mental illness. Readers often look to discover Bartleby’s motivations, much as the narrator does in the story; however, the problem here lies not with Bartleby. Bartleby exists on his own terms, not to defy conventions, but simply because he is who he is. The narrator, and therefore the reader, finds a need to explain “why” rather than accept Bartleby’s actions at face value. Bartleby is not mentally ill, nor does he try to be a nonconformist; Bartleby just seeks to exist. Melville shows this through Bartleby’s interactions with the narrator, both on his own terms and the narrator’s, through Bartleby’s limited interactions with others, and …show more content…
The narrator constantly attempts to explain Bartleby’s behavior through various medical explanations, thinking that his eyes hurt or he has indigestion. He constantly makes demands on Bartleby and only once comes to Bartleby on Bartleby’s terms, yet even then cannot understand the significance of this breakthrough. Both characters are doomed from the start because the narrator assumes something is wrong with Bartleby. It never seems to occur to him to try to understand Bartleby as Bartleby understands himself. Though Bartleby says, “I would prefer not to,” it is not his choices that drive him out. Because society cannot include people who do not fit this “social norm,” they are pushed to the outside of society. The story’s ending shows that when people do not fit in, they end up on the outside, alone, and eventually the die unnoticed. Yet the real tragedy is that the narrator goes on, even after Bartleby passes away, trying to understand
Bartleby- The Scrivener In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the author uses several themes to convey his ideas. The three most important themes are alienation, man’s desire to have a free conscience, and man’s desire to avoid conflict. Melville uses the actions of an eccentric scrivener named Bartleby, and the responses of his cohorts, to show these underlying themes to the reader. The first theme, alienation, is displayed best by Bartleby’s actions. He has a divider put up so that the other scriveners cannot see him, while all of them have desks out in the open so they are full view of each other, as well as the narrator. This caused discourse with all of the others in the office. This is proven when Turkey exclaims, “ I think I’ll just step behind his screen and black his eyes for him.”(p.2411) The other scriveners also felt alienated by the actions of the narrator. His lack of resolve when dealing with Bartleby angered them because they knew that if they would have taken the same actions, they would have been dismissed much more rapidly. The narrator admits to this when he said, “ With any other man I should have flown outright into a dreadful passion, scorned all further words, and thrust him ignominiously from my presence.” (2409) The next theme is man’s desire to avoid conflict. The narrator avoids conflict on several occasions. The first time Bartleby refused to proofread a paper, the narrator simply had someone else do it instead of confronting him and re...
McCall focuses his argument within the way in which Melville has written Bartleby, The Scrivener, he goes into detail about the comical aspects within the story and uses Melville’s description of Bartleby’s saying “I prefer not to,’ he respectfully and slowly said, and mildly disappeared.” (272). McCall suggests that the adverbs Melville uses, “respectfully” , “slowly” and “mildly” , “create[s] a leisurely little excursion into the uncanny” (279). I agree that the lawyer must have had some wit and good intentions in making the claim about Bartleby up to a point, I cannot accept this fully because many people still believe that the lawyer is unreliable. Most critics within the majority, as McCall reinstates, “believe, “the lawyer is “self-satisfied”, “pompous”…”a smug fool” who is ‘terribly unkind to a very sick man’ “(2660. I disagree with the idea that the lawyer was unkind and Bartleby was sick. The lawyer was fascinated by Bartleby’s responses to the job, and Bartleby, I feel knew exactly what he was doing in stating his responses. McCall acknowledges that “these cure two central problems in the story: the nature of Bartleby’s illness and the lawyer’s capacity to understand it,”
Bartleby demonstrates behaviours indicative of depression, the symptoms he has in accordance with the DSM-IV are a loss of interest in activities accompanied by a change in appetite, sleep, and feelings of guilt (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 320). Very shortly after Bartleby begins his work as a Scrivener he is described by the narrator as having done “nothing but stand at his window in his dead-wall revery”. (Melville, 126) In contrast, Bartleby had previously been described as a very hard worker and this process of doing increasingly less shows how his a diminishing sense of interest both in his work but also of the perception others have of him. It is also noted that included in this lack of interest is a social withdrawal (DSM—IV, 321) which corresponds well to Bartleby in that his workspace becomes known as his “hermitage”. During small talk which included Bartleby he says that he “would prefer to be left alone”. (Melville, 120) Bartleby only emerges from his hermitage when called upon and quickly returns when faced with confrontation.
...e into his soul in order to help him and possibly to understand him better. " I might give alms to his body; but his body does not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach." (Page134-135, Paragraph 4) This is the real struggle the narrator is facing, the narrator confusion and frustration with Bartleby would all go away if only he knew what was wrong so he could help him but it isn't a physical pain but a spiritual pain in which Bartleby would have to open up in order for the narrator to help. Tone is just one of the literary deceives used that help convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby.
...longer write. The narrator did not immediately take this as rebellion; however, he viewed this as a result of Bartleby sitting in the sunlight causing his vision to become impaired. This is another example of his desire to help Bartleby. Instead of letting him good because of his odd behaviors he allows him to stay and stare out the window.
Wendy Galeas Professor Geddes The Study of Literature: Essay 2 April 9, 2015 In Herman Melville’s work “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street”, the idea of a capitalist agenda is intentionally reinforced. This short work tells the story of a lawyer on Wall-Street and those of his employees, but he is particularly fascinated by Bartleby. Bartleby at first a hard worker who divulged tirelessly in his job as a law-copyist begins to “ prefer not” to do what is asked of him.
...ployer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve”(p.8) Bartleby doesn’t want to be saved; Bartleby desires not to conform to the etiquette that the Lawyers society places upon him. Bartleby wins in the end because he goes to his death holding on to his convictions. Bartleby controlled the relationship to the end of it and beyond.
The infamous ending statement in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” “Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!” (Melville 34), signifies not only the tragic demise of the character of Bartleby, but the dismal ruin of mankind as well. This enigmatic statement can be applied to both “Bartleby the Scrivener” and Melville’s other short story, “Benito Cereno.” Both stories are narrated by unreliable characters, leaving further questions on whether or not the Lawyer was genuinely trying to help Bartleby when he showed signs of depression or if the one-sided story of Captain Delano truly portrayed the slaves and their motives for taking over Cereno’s San Dominick. In each of Melville’s short stories, there is an obvious grayness about each tale, the plots of both stories start out slow and unsuspicious, but are then revealed through a dynamic change in events, and each novella has ultimate realities that are hidden through appearances. Together, “Bartleby the Scrivener” and “Benito Cereno” are stories that possess a deep meaning within them which is intended to make the reader question the definition of human nature.
His efforts though are fruitless because he was not able to get to Bartleby and never truly understood him, even in prison as the man eventually dies of starvation. Although after his death the lawyer does learn of Bartleby’s previous and listless job at a ‘Dead Letter Office’ which made the lawyer sympathize for him and wonder if that job is what made Bartleby so distant. Bartleby was a loner who distanced himself from everyone, even in death, he was aloof and never interacted with anyone which is not considered normal human behavior because humans are supposed to be social. This story went a little deeper and gave the idea of humanity as a whole being apathetic towards each other, because only the lawyer showed any sort of humane concern for Bartleby while the others cared less. Bartleby himself displayed apathetic behavior as he showed little to no care for how his behavior affected others or even himself. Outside in the world, many people who are stressed out and constantly working tend to only focus on themselves and have little to no care for other people most of the time. It’s another negative view on humanity, but at the same time it’s not that wrong, as society made by humans also makes others so busy and stuck in tedious schedules that they gradually become more jaded and some even become distant and
As in life, Melville clearly recognizes the world is filled with parallels. In his story “Bartleby, the Scrivener” each character has his own defect. Alone they are imperfect but as a set, they compliment and mirror each other. Melville carefully introduces the characters, Turkey, and Nippers, first, in order to foreshadow the dissimilarities and equivalences between the narrator and Bartleby.
The only way to formulate any conclusion or understanding of Bartleby is to guess or assume his identity, and recalling to an earlier quote by Nudelman, “staging multiple readings of “Bartleby” might seem ill advised” (Nudelman,
At first Bartleby seems like a very productive worker, but through time loses complete interest in performing the duties of his job. In 1853 when Herman Melville writes the short story of “Bartleby, The Scrivener” there is a simmering undertone of resentment growing against the capitalistic society. By looking at the depression and apathetic nature Melville applies to his protagonist Bartleby’s feelings towards his career as a law clerk along with his relationship to food. It can be seen how Melville uses these issues to exemplify passive resistance against industrialized, capitalistic
The narrator cannot deal with the madness any longer so he moves his practice to another office to escape him. The next owners of the office call the police and have Bartleby arrested. While he is incapacitated, he gives up on eating as well as being productive in any
1. Herman Melville was a brilliant author during the Renaissance period that wrote and published many stories that were perceived to be controversial during those days but in retrospect are known to be popular in today’s times. One story that was part of Melville literature work is “Bartleby the Scrivener”, which a story told exclusively by a narrator who was a big part of the story including Bartleby. One of the most important lines in the story is when the narrator describes a scene when Bartleby first exposed himself for who he was. The narrator says, “In this very attitude did I sit when I called to him, rapidly stating what it was I wanted him to do—namely, to examine a small paper with me.
Bartleby the Scrivener Analysis “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville was written in 1853. The main character Bartleby is an odd individual that was hired by the unnamed lawyer to work in the office on Wall Street, New York. The lawyer, who is also the narrator of the story desperately needed a person to be consistent with their work and be the middle ground between Nippers and Turkey, who cannot perform equally good between morning and night shifts. Bartleby becomes an antagonist of the story when one day he refused to do his daily tasks by saying “I would prefer not to” (8). He caused the conflict with quiet, calm temperament without putting forward any legal counter arguments, only says that he "prefers" to remain on