Isolation Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener Bartleby Scrivener Essays

Isolation Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener

"It is dangerous to isolate oneself; dangerous for an individual and

for a nation."- Jawaharlal Nehru. The quotation says that isolating

oneself can be dangerous, as in the case of Bartleby, a character in

Herman Melville's novella Bartleby. Bartleby's isolation was

dangerous; it led to his depression and his death. The motif of the

story is the isolation of Bartleby from society. Three literary

devices support the motif: symbolism, descriptive passages, and irony.

The walls symbolize Bartleby's isolation from society; descriptive

passages convey his loneliness; irony further expounds upon the motif.

Symbolism supports the motif of Bartleby being isolated from society.

The symbolism is in this quotation, "Still further to a

satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen,

which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though note

remove him from my voice." In this quotation, the narrator put up a

screen to separate his office from Bartleby's, isolating him from the

other members of his staff and thus from humanity. The phrase, "I

prefer not to," also tells the reader about Bartleby isolating

himself. The phrase shows his lack of involvement, another form of

isolation. The narrator tells the reader exactly what he did to

Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below.

In the novella, the author tells the reader, down to the smallest

detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He

tells us in this passage, "I placed his desk close up to a small side

window in that part of the room, a window which originally had

afforded a lateral view of certain grimy backyards, and bricks, but

which, owning to insubsequent erections, commanded at present, no

view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the

panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above between two

lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still

further to satisfactory arrangement, I procured a green folding

screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though,

not remove him from my voice." The quotation describes how the

narrator secludes Bartleby from society. Even his window, usually a

form of escape, results in Bartleby being trapped behind another wall,

thus reinforcing his total isolation.

The irony lies in the fact that the narrator, while trying to

isolate Bartleby, becomes affected by it, so much so that he appears

almost human. Instead of dismissing him on the spot for refusing to

copy, proofread or leave the premises, he tries to find other

employment for him, and even considers inviting him to live in his

residence as his guest. The narrator develops before our eyes into a

caring person, very different from the cold, unsympathetic person at

the beginning of the story. "To befriend Bartleby, to humor him in

his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay

up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my

conscience." The narrator would normally befriend Bartleby or any

other "sucker," but Bartleby has given him a conscience. The

narrator has realized that a common blemish in a person does not

determine the person. In the beginning of the novella, the narrator

only cared about his work, but now he realizes that people have a

life outside of work, except Bartleby. The narrator then changes into

a caring person, and tries to know Bartleby, and his odd ways, even

going the extra yard to help him. In the end, the narrator tries to

save Bartleby from his doing, Bartleby's undoing, Bartleby's

isolation.

In conclusion, in real life, the strange are always isolated from

the normal. During the 1950's and 1960's, blacks were isolated, or

segregated, from society. Now, many people are isolated: retarded,

ugly, "uncool," the deformed, and people with contagious, deadly

diseases. In Bartleby's time, the strange were looked down upon or

ridiculed at (as in Freak Shows), so Bartleby isolated himself and

permitted others to isolate him from society. Even though the

narrator isolated Bartleby, Bartleby brought the isolation upon

himself by living an abnormal life. By not fitting into mainstream

society, Bartleby left himself open to isolation. The three literary

elements, symbolism, descriptive passages, and irony, described how

Bartleby's isolation from society fit in the novella. Jawahrlal Nehru

said that isolation is dangerous, as in Bartleby's case. Isolation

can drive a person insane, make him mute, or even kill him. The

theme is not to let yourself succumb to the prejudice of others, and

let yourself be isolated.