Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street Summary tells the story of a head lawyer’s scriveners at a lawyer firm. The story is told through the eyes of an unnamed narrator. It is told in past tense and focuses on an especially odd employee he once had. He starts the tell, however, introducing his three other employees, Ginger-nut, Turkey, and Nippers. Who all have varying quirks and problems. The Narrator takes pride in his ability to manage them and in his supposed understanding of how they work. When he hires Bartleby he gets more than he expected. At first, Bartleby does very nice work but he eventually stops altogether saying “I would prefer not to”. The Narrator tries hard to understand Bartleby and help him, but …show more content…
Bartleby is a character that has been in a way that he is completely un-understandable. So it is very easy to inscribe him as anything we want. As Beverungen from Culture and Organization argues there are far too many articles trying to describe Bartleby, all of which are wrong because to defined Bartleby is to eliminate who he is. Because of this, we must be careful when trying to infer his actions and personality for we may drift farther from who he is. We can understand that on the surface Bartleby does not like talking to other people. All his “Prefer not to” items are things that involve talking to others, he won’t review his writing with the others, he won’t deliver the mail, “”Go to the next room, and tell Nippers to come to me.” “I prefer not to,” and will only use minimal words when he is forced to converse. But! We must be very careful here not to define him as anti-social, Bartleby should not be defined. “Bartleby is like Bartleby, a literary enigma and a treasure trove of attempted interpretations.” (Beverungen). Even though it is shown that Bartleby will not socialize if he does not want to, he still does not want to leave the office that causes him such stress “I would prefer NOT to quit you”(20). It is hard to understand oneself as well as others, Bartleby does not know what he wants, only what he does not. How the Narrator deals with him give us a greater understanding of human
In the beginning of each story, characters are both shown as “ideal” characters in that their characteristics give the characters their first perceived amiableness. In “Bartleby the Scrivener” Melville uses distinguishing characteristics to solely represent Bartleby from the others in the story. He enters the story first, as a response to an advertisement for a position as a scrivener in a law office. Melville states, “A motionless, young man one morning stood upon my office threshold, the door being open for it was summer. I can see that figure now – pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn!” (Meyer 149). Here he makes it known that just by seeing Bartleby’s presence when he first enters the law office; he is exactly what the unnamed lawyer was inquiring about. He was by far unlike other characters in the story. He had no vices or hang ups, the first presence and his stature, he came their wiling and ready to ...
Melville, Herman. "Bartleby the Scrivener." The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Ann Charters. Boston: St. Martin's, 1995: 513-539.
The set up of this environment clearly gives a sense of entrapment as every direction Bartleby faces he is met with another wall and must maintain his focus on copying, on working. The lawyer however, shows no sign of this being a bad thing; he simply sees the sharing of the office as a convenience to be able to call Bartleby to run his errands whenever he calls and doesn’t even have to look at Bartleby, a separation of humanity or social contact. As the story progresses, Bartleby refuses requests like checking the copies or going to the post office and eventually begins refusing to work entirely but this is seen as simply Bartleby being odd and not as a resistance to work but rather there is a cause for his refusal to work, as stated by the narrator, his eyes were perhaps hurt and needed time to recover. As time goes on Bartleby still refuses to work and lives in the office and this bothers the narrator to the point of having him evicted from the premises by use of force, calling the authorities and having him thrown in prison.... ...
Melville's use of ambiguity in "Bartleby" is extreme and prevalent throughout the story. He introduces the reader to the narrator's office before Bartleby's arrival to explain the functional system that exists before Bartleby. The reader gains knowledge of the narrator's two copyists and is able to see that despite problems that each man poses, the narrator is able to control these idiosyncrasies.
In Melville’s, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” a lawyer’s idea of relationships is tested. As a bachelor, his disconnection with people is an obstacle he has to overcome. The relationships between his coworkers and himself are simple and detached until Bartleby is introduced. The lawyer is befuddled at the unique behavior that this character displays and cannot help but take particular interest in him. When Bartleby is asked to work, he simply says, “I would prefer not to,” and when he quits working, he begins to stare at the wall (1112). This wall may symbolize the wall that the lawyer has built up in an attempt to ward off relationships, or it may simple symbolize Wall Street. When the lawyer finds out that Bartleby is l...
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.
One of the literary elements that Melville uses that convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby is diction. The author's diction in this short story is very descriptive and is also slightly comical. One of the ways this is used is when the author gently mocks the narrator by having him expose his flaws through his own words. For example, when the narrator talks of John Jacob Astor, a well respected man who complemented him, we find out how full of himself he is and how highly he thinks of himself. "The late John Jacob Astor, a parsonage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point…I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor's good opinion." (Page 122, Paragraph2) Another example of the author's use of diction appears on page 127 in paragraph 2; "At first, Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famished for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sunlight and by candle-light. I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically." Here the narrator's description of Bartleby's writing habits in the office, at first, tell us that he is very pleased with his progress and the work he has done but then it tells us that he is not very enthusiastic but...
He starts to disconnect himself by refusing to do work given to him by his boss, this comes from his desire to be complacent, which we find out when he says “I like to be stationary,” when talking to the lawyer (127). Bartleby continues to change throughout the story, as he goes from being an employee who won’t do his work, to never leaving the office and essentially making it his home. According to Todd Giles, “Bartleby's silence establishes distance,” meaning that he becomes so out of place that people stop expecting of him (Giles, 2007). What this causes is the need for Bartleby to be removed from the Wall Street Office. The lawyer tries in many different ways to do so, and even offers him more money than he is owed if he will quit. Bartleby refuses and continues to stay in the building, doing nothing, detached from the world around him. Eventually the lawyer changes offices due to Bartleby and leaves him there for the next buyer. Bartleby is forced out by the new owner, and in time it is told the police he is a vagrant and he is thrown into jail. Bartleby’s story ends
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...
In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” we are introduced to a capitalist world, a capitalist world in which an economic system controlled by private owners with the goal of making profit in the market economy exist. The story is narrated by a man mostly known as “The Lawyer”, the “elderly man” who seeks God’s acceptance by his so called “kindness” shown to his employees (Melville1483). He only sees them as property clearly shown by the following words he uses “myself, my employees, my business, my chambers and general surroundings” (Melville 1484). He tries so hard to be good but one can see through his cloak and find the real person he is, one who seeks good for oneself only. He is a fake in search of what he wants and doing it at no cost. Is his story really about helping Bartleby because he is a good person?
For decades scholars and writers have attempted to find the historical analogies and symbolic figures that created Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street”. The story describes the setting of a small “law-copyists or scriveners” office on Wall Street and the unexpected arrival of an unknown character named Bartleby (Melville...
Melville’s use of verbal irony allows for a deeper understanding of Bartleby’s character. Bartleby states that he would rather be assigned a position that is not as confined as a clerk; however, in reality, his behavior indicates that he prefers to be isolated. The narrator cannot understand why Bartleby expresses a disliking for confinement when he keeps to himself the majority of his time. As he
The lawyer, also the narrator, hires Bartleby to work as a scrivener at his business that involves bonds, mortgages and titles. The lawyer thinks he has all of his scriveners behaviors “on lock”. Although Bartleby started as a hard working employee, he eventually and in a calm manner refuses to do any requested work by the lawyer by simply saying, “I would prefer not to”. The lawyer doesn’t fire Bartleby after he declines to work, instead he gives Bartleby another chance. The lawyer preference to remain calm shows that he chooses to stray from confrontation. Bartleby continuous refusal to work leads to him being fired, but he refuses to leave. The lawyer’s philosophy and careful balancing of his employees is compromised by Bartleby actions. The lawyer moves his entire practice to another building to only find Bartleby there. Bartleby is arrested and continues in his bizarre daze. The lawyer visits Bartleby to convince him to eat and get through to him, but it doesn’t work and Bartleby dies. The lawyer sensitivity and empathy towards Bartleby raises questions to the lawyers sincerity. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate what was the lawyer’s intent to help Bartleby?
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
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” uses symbolism to criticize capitalism. “Bartleby the Scrivener” is “A Story of Wall Street” and uses a building next to wall street as the setting. The building is described as a very depressing building, which, “of week-days hums with industry and life, at nightfall echoes with sheer vacancy, and all through Sunday is forlorn.” Melville first attacks capitalism by symbolizing his characters as victims of the corporate world. First it starts off by showing the miserable, yet humorous lives of Turkey and Nippers. Turkey and Nippers both have to work the entire day, but neither of them can fully operate for the entire day of work. Turkey works well in the morning, where “his face was of fine florid hue”. However, from noon to the end of the day Turkey is exhausted after drinking where he “blazed like a grate full of Christmas coals; and continued blazing—but, as it were, with a gradual wane”. Nippers is the exact opposite. Nippers poor behavior was, “ma...