Similarities Between Modern Times And Bartleby The Scrivener

Lior Khalili

Dr. Haehn

AP Literature and Composition

5 December 2016

Bartleby and Modern Times

Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, The Scrivener” and Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times revolve around a common matter, which is sympathy in workplace. These two stories can be used as time capsules in comparing the sympathy in workplace during the 19th century and today. Bartleby’s story presents workplace during the 19th century, while Chaplin’s story shows the workplace today. Bartleby’s manager, the lawyer, shows sympathy towards his scriveners and pities them despite the problems he sees with them. Chaplin’s manager on the other hand shows no sympathy; he barely gives Chaplin any break time and expects him to work continuously. The presence of advanced

He has three scriveners who work for him and they are known as Turkey, Nippers, and Bartleby. As scriveners, these three people are required to copy the documents given by the lawyer. However, each of these scriveners has problems of their own in workplace. Nippers is uncomfortable working during morning time, and as the lawyer states, “the irritability and consequent nervousness of Nippers were mainly observable in the morning” (Melville, 5). Turkey, however, undergoes “paroxysms only coming on about twelve o’clock,” becoming “reckless” in his work during afternoon. Bartleby does a great job copying the lawyer’s documents at first, but he unreasonably starts rejecting the lawyer’s orders, and he becomes an inactive part of the office. Ideally, the lawyer should fire Turkey, Nippers, and Bartleby and get himself scriveners who are consistent in their works daily. Instead, he pities them and allows them to remain in their

He understands that his scriveners’ work is tedious, and that’s why he isn’t as harsh as the manager in Modern Times. The lawyer then admits, “to some sanguine temperaments it would be altogether intolerable. For example, I cannot credit that the mettlesome poet Byron would have contentedly sat down with Bartleby to examine a law document of, say five hundred pages, closely written in a crimpy hand.” (Melville, 6). What the lawyer means by “sanguine temperament” is that not even a highly passionate and optimistic person, such as Byron, would be able to tolerate a scrivener’s job. Unlike Modern Times, in which advanced machinery is abundant, making the workers’ jobs easier, advanced machinery does not exist in Bartleby’s story, and they have to copy everything manually. The lawyer sympathizes with his scriveners when he admits that copying a numerous amount of papers by hand is exhausting, and he therefore gives credit and pities his scriveners for whatever problems they