Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville

“Bartleby, the Scrivener” is an interesting short story written by Herman Melville for Putnam's magazine at a time when Melville was in need for money (Davis 183). The narrator opens with a description of himself, his employees, and the fact that his business has recently grown. Soon after, the narrator, who is a lawyer, hires an additional employee by the name of Bartleby, the namesake of the story. He then proceeds to tell the reader all he knows of Bartleby: how he started off copying as desired; how he then “preferred not to” do the tasks that were asked of him; how he was eventually fired but refused to leave, even when the lawyer moved his practice; how he was put into prison; and how he died of starvation while incarcerated. The narrator closes the story with a rumor that Bartleby had previously been employed at the Dead Letter Office, and that he, the narrator, feels pity and sympathy for the “poor soul” of Barleby (Melville). After reading the narrative for the first time, the reader is left feeling the same sympathy, but there is also some confusion. What did Wall Street do to Bartleby that made him act the way he did? Could the lawyer have done anything to help him? Was the lawyer the cause of Bartleby's actions? Who was the protagonist; was it Bartleby or the narrator? While I too have many questions about Bartleby, I have found the answer to at least one, and I have chosen to share it with you. Bartleby is not the protagonist, as many believe. Rather, it is the lawyer, the narrator of the story that the reader should root for.
First of all, the lawyer is the narrator of the story, and, although he focuses much of the story on Bartleby, we know more about him than we do of Bartleby through his actions and thoughts. ...

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...him than any other character in the story; all those characters are merely his interpretations of them; and he is the one who experiences the conflict of earthly verses godly conventions. Stemming from this, Bartleby is the antagonist of this narrative. There is little known about him; the reader only knows the narrator’s interpretation of him; and he is the cause for conflict.
Although many scholars look at this question in different ways, now you at least know the answer to one major question: the lawyer is the protagonist.

Works Cited

Davis, Todd F. “The Narrator's Dilemma in 'Bartleby the Scrivener': The Excellently Illustrated Re- statement of a Problem.” Studies in Short Fiction. 34.2 (1997): 183-192. Web. 15 February 2014.
Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” Literature to Go. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 101-129. Print.