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Literature writing in the industrial revolution
Character analysis of the narrator in Bartleby the Scrivener
Character analysis of the narrator in bartleby
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Recommended: Literature writing in the industrial revolution
Bartleby the Scrivener, is a masterfully crafted short story, filled to the brim with character and substance but yet keeping simple enough in it’s ideas so as it could have multiple interpretations. This alone is what makes Bartleby my favorite piece of literature, leaving me lost in thought of my own psyche, contemplating the social commentary for hours after a I had finished reading it. One idea however kept returning to me, until I had decided that it is what Bartleby is to me. Bartleby the Scrivener at it’s core is about the contemplation of purpose and meaning in life. Bartleby himself being the one who portrays this idea the most. As he is the one to realize how menial and pointless all of life has become and will always be.
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I believe it to be his occupations, mostly his previous one of working with dead letters. Reading the last words of hundreds of people, which no doubt had an effect on his psyche, putting many things into perspective for him. Making life far less common a thought to him than life, shrinking his respect and value for life itself. No doubt filling him with the desire to find something in life, besides this depressing existence. It can be inferred that Bartleby left his job and found work as a Scrivener for the law firm, in search of true meaning. Yet he found no meaning, in-fact Bartleby only discovered more monotony and depression in this job than the last. Thus causing him to come to the realization, that there is no meaning to life at all, it is all the same and we are all but dead letters, never to be …show more content…
I would sometimes ponder the same things that lead Bartleby to quit life altogether. If we are but tiny insignificant dots in the grand scheme of both space and time then what is the point of working so diligently? If life itself is nothing more than a compilation of chemically stored memories and reactions in the brain then why care for them? If love itself is the result of millennia of evolution to drive us to live longer than why love, if love itself is fake? These questions haunted my evening after reading Bartleby the Scrivener, putting me into a thoughtful depression. I oddly enjoyed this depression, as contradicting as that sounds, as I was amazed that a story could create these feelings in
People one can never really tell how person is feeling or what their situation is behind closed doors or behind the façade of the life they lead. Two masterly crafted literary works present readers with characters that have two similar but very different stories that end in the same result. In Herman Melville’s story “Bartleby the Scrivener” readers are presented with Bartleby, an interesting and minimally deep character. In comparison to Gail Godwin’s work, “A Sorrowful Woman” we are presented with a nameless woman with a similar physiological state as Bartleby whom expresses her feelings of dissatisfaction of her life. Here, a deeper examination of these characters their situations and their ultimate fate will be pursued and delved into for a deeper understanding of the choice death for these characters.
Bartleby, the Scrivener, a story of lawyer and scrivener, questions like: What is worth living for in the world? What does society to value or shape what it means to be successful or of worth in the world that is inhabited? This is done through various implications of Bartleby’s actions and responses, as well as the lawyer’s, and the descriptions and imagery of the environment.
How to live one’s life is a question faced by any human being with relatively normal cognitive functioning. Some find beauty in every day life, reveling in something as simple as the gentle shaking of leaves dancing to the whispered song of the wind, or waking up to someone they have decided to spend the rest of their lives with. Others only see the mundane and the tedious, growing bitter and resentful as a relentless existential crisis latches on to the deepest parts of their psyche, casting a grim and ominous shadow over every thought and action. This probing question of how to live is at the forefront of Soren Kierkegaard’s “Either/Or: A Fragment of Life.” The aforementioned views are, indeed, reflected in the fragmented perspectives provided by Kierkegaard’s fictional characters, “A” and “Judge Wilhelm,” who perhaps reflect Kierkegaard’s own divided views. Love and companionship are at the crux of how to live for both A and Wilhelm, despite the glaring contrast between A’s calls for a hedonistic,
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.
Through Bartleby’s flat and static character type, it is amazing how many different types of conflict he causes. From the first order to examine the law copies, to the last request to dine in the prison, Bartleby’s conflictive reply of “I would prefer not to” stays the same (Melville 150). In this way, he is a very simple character, yet he is still very hard to truly understand. Even ...
A telling moment about humanity’s dissatisfaction comes when Georgiana reads the volume written by Aylmer. Despite the fact that the book was “rich with achievements that had won renown for its author, [it] was yet as melancholy a record as ever a hand had penned” (Hawthorne 350). The aims set for himself by the scientist cannot be achieved. It is as though he sets out to achieve the unachievable because of an unconscious addiction to dissatisfaction. Before the conclusion of the novel, he has nearly achieved all that he has set out to; however, when he seeks to rid a mortal of her mortality, or at least of the distinctive mark upon her frame that represents her mortality, he fails. It ultimately matters very little whether or not he succeeds or fails because he will not be satisfied no matter what.
While the changes may have been caused by different factors, we can see that both of these men never wishes to return into their communities once their view changing experience occurred. Bartleby removed himself from his work, and from life, by not doing anything which required effort, and Goodman Brown removed himself from his community and his own wife, by no longer interacting with any of them. The problem with the stories of Bartleby and Goodman Brown is they both end with one very dark ending, the death of the main character. Light needs to be shined on why, as this is a writer’s way of saying to the readers that we should not allow ourselves to become distant from our society, otherwise, expect your death to not affect the world. Both of the men in these stories affect those around them, while remaining unaffected by others once their minds had been made. Hawthorne and Melville share a similar view in this case, as they both have the idea that our sense of purpose is to give purpose to the world we live in, and if we do not do so that we will end up like the men in the stories, alone at death. Bartleby and Goodman Brown set themselves at an impasse, never willing to change again, once their situation changes. They both become so mysterious to the outside world that it eventually it gives up on them, just as they did
The story of Bartleby was a very interesting story open for many different interpretations. Melville does and excellent job building suspension towards different thoughts as to what caused Bartleby to become an emotionless incapable worker. Here is evidence throughout the story to reflect the kindheartedness of the narrator. After reading this work the last quote “Ah Bartleby, Ah humanity” stood out as a cry of sadness for failing to understand and further assist Bartleby. After the numerous attempts He describes himself an elder lawyer that has his own office with a total of four employees including Bartleby. The narrator takes the time to learn the qualities of each individual not just on a performance basis however, personally as well.
“ As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and nightline, copying by sunlight and by candlelight (Bartleby, 18).” The narrator states, “ I should have been quite delighted with his application,”, but because Bartleby was a silent individual it puzzled him (Bartleby, 18). When Bartleby is asked to review his work he replies, “ I would prefer not to”. This refusal by Bartleby is seen as a critique of labor and capitalism (Reed, 255). His refusal to do what is asked of him is seen as Bartleby’s rejection of this capitalistic society. A society that has oppressed him and in turn he feels the need to be able to take control of his own life (Reed,
...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.
Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2012. 1483-1509. Print.
Now, reading about humanity as a dismal ruin may seem a bit dramatic and depressing, but it is unfortunately true. Melville was using the character of Bartleby as a symbol for the inevitable fall of humankind in 1853. Today, the same message can be passed through the mysterious character of Bartleby. Times have not changed and the moral values of humans are still showing signs of utter disappointment. “Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!” (Melville 34).
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
What a wonderful time to discuss food eating habits and nutrition while the American people, or at least a fairly decent percentage of them, fight against Monsanto and GMO labeling on their food. This story, “Bartleby, The Scrivener”, to me, describes an elderly man looking over his life and coming to the realization of something that many people fail to comprehend until the damage of their choices have already taken their toll, he came to the realization of his health. I believe that the narrator of the story, like many of Americans once they reach a certain age, take health and nutrition into account after years of carelessness concerning the longevity of a fully functioning, self healing, and properly fueled body.