Bartleby, The Scrivener: An Analysis

In both stories, after the characters are introduced, one begins to see situational changes within the characters. Bartleby, who once was a skillful, efficient worker and a valuable asset to the lawyer, has now ceased working and his superficial façade is none changing. He presents his employer with a constant and passive answer of “I would prefer not to” to all request and inquiries presented by the lawyer. He unwilling leaves the premises of his job and the lawyer try to put up with him but he finds his annoyance of Bartleby’s actions unbearable. Such as when he found that Bartleby was staying the office after all others had gone home and refusal to do any work and take any money from the lawyer and leave. Even the lawyer seems to be walled in by Bartleby and Bartleby’s

“Bartleby” begins in an older office at the start of the industrial age, and Office Space begins in an office during the compelling cubicle employment days. In the beginning of “Bartleby”, the narrator, whom is the lawyer in the book, introduces the characters early to allow an understanding of the characters and what to expect during the reading. Mirror this to Office Space as the characters are also introduced early on in the reading. The working atmospheres for “Bartleby” and Office Space are occupied by employees who seem to repeat the same work over and

This aspect of Bartleby’s heroism affects the story by developing a new theme to the story and developing the character of the narrator who is part of the story as the boss to Bartleby. It develops the theme of association between chronometrical time and the world of the spirits. It also changes the character of the narrator because he develops a new attitude towards time, and the world of spirits, which changes his normal way of belief.

“Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, is a story about the quiet struggle of the common man. Refusing to bow to the demands of his employer, Bartleby represents a challenge to the materialistic ideology by refusing to comply with simple requests made by his employer. The story begins with the employer having trouble finding good employees. This is until the employer hires Bartleby. At first, Bartleby works hard and does his job so well that everyone has a hard time imagining what it would be like without him. After three days, Bartleby is asked by his boss to examine a legal paper. He replies with “I would prefer not to”. The story ends with Bartleby being discovered occupying the office at weekends and being taken into custody for

It is both an unarguable and undesirable fact that we live in a society completely remote from our fellow man. There is no longer a sense of community between friends and neighbors — no brotherhood in the presence of coworkers in the commercial workplace. Even the higher, spiritual presence that had once bound together all things in worship and praise has faltered in the face of this profound apathy. It is not that mankind has lost its ability to communicate — modern technology provides us with the ability to speak to one another over tremendous lengths and sustain friendships in staggering amounts. The reason for this chasm of communal indifference stems from man's lost desire to understand one another, as well as the divine presence around

In the narrator’s office, Bartleby is faced with being holed up by his employer. The narrator tells us “I resolved to assign Bartleby a corner by the folding-doors, but on my side of them… 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 owing to subsequent erections, commanded no present view at all, though it gave some light… Still to further satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight…” (Melville, 301). He has essentially cut Bartleby off from any forms of communication by this set-up, alienating him from the other workers in the office and the narrator as well. We see Bartleby deteriorate through his time in the office, starting off as a hard worker, to denying to do certain parts of his job, and finally, to completely cutting himself off and not doing any work, much to the chagrin of the narrator and the others. The work itself could also be compared to that of what he did in the Dead Letter Office, copying dead letters day in and day out for the law. There is no real destination for what he does, the works he copies will end up gathering

The lawyer is not able to focus on anything because Bartleby will not move from the office or do any work. The lawyer then decides to pay Bartleby a “twenty-dollar bill over and above whatever [is in Bartleby’s account] and tell him his services” are not necessary (674).The lawyer throws money at Bartleby instead of handing it to him in his hands. The lawyer is trying to get rid of Bartleby to let the law firm make money. Melville portrays a constant war of conscience in the lawyer's mind regarding Bartleby's actions and the lawyer's reactions. The lawyer goes to church regularly yet does not show the Christian beliefs and ethics.

The author creates a sense of mystery, puzzle, which relentlessly attracts the reader through the whole work. When the author described Bartleby's character, he feels apologetic for his isolation and strange behavior. However, the author said that he depended on other people's judgments, Bartleby did not fit into the structure of established society. He would have to explain to every visitor why Bartleby violates someone invented the

The character of Bartleby in Herman Melville’s novella “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street” is a person who refuses to become an object in capitalistic society. Initially, he is the perfect example of the objectification and mechanization of humans in the workplace. In essence, Bartleby is a machine that continually produces. Ultimately, he begins to resist the mind numbing repetition of his tasks and the mechanization of his life. The other main character, the narrator, is a facilitator of the capitalistic machine. He dehumanizes his employees by ensuring that their free will is denied in the workplace using objectifying nicknames, providing a workplace devoid of human touch and connection,; and perpetuating mechanized, repetitive work. Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” shows the dehumanizing effects of working in a capitalistic environment and ultimately suggests that one must conform to a standard way of life or will cease to exist.

Individuality is essential to expressing our desires, passions, and talents to those around us, and the lives of Turkey and Nippers, two of the lawyer’s other scriveners, possess none. For example, in describing Nippers, the narrator includes he suffers from “a certain impatience of the duties of a mere copyist, an unwarrantable usurpation of strictly professional affairs.” Since the characters never express themselves, they can never begin to understand each other, a process that is essential to forming meaningful relationships. Furthermore, the lives of Turkey and Nippers, are dictated by submission to the rules and expectations of the Lawyer. Turkey even begins any questions addressing the narrator with the preface, “with submission, sir.” Working in an environment requiring one to solely follow the orders of a superior inevitably initiates dissatisfaction with one’s inability to ever voice their opinion and feel they’re a meaningful part of their community. As a result, the breakdown of the office community, or the nonexistence of community altogether, is

In the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” which was written by Herman Melville, the character named Bartleby is a very odd, yet interesting individual. In the story, Bartleby is introduced when he responds to a job opening at the narrator’s office. Although there is no background information given about him, it becomes very apparent that he will be the antagonist in this story. Unlike the usual image put on the antagonist, Bartleby causes conflict with a very quiet and calm temperament. This character’s attitude, along with the fact that he is a flat and static character, makes him a very unique antagonist, and this fact is shown through the way other characters approach and deal with his conflict.

In the short story, "Bartleby the Scrivener," Herman Melville employs the use of plot, setting, point of view, characterization, and tone to reveal the theme. Different critics have widely varying ideas of what exactly the main theme of "Bartleby" is, but one theme that is agreed upon by numerous critics is the theme surrounding the lawyer, Bartleby, and humanity. The theme in "Bartleby the Scrivener" revolves around three main developments: Bartleby's existentialistic point of view, the lawyer's portrayal of egotism and materialism, and the humanity they both possess. The three developments present the lawyer's and Bartleby's alienation from the world into a "safe" world of their own design.

In Bartleby, The Scrivener, Bartleby serves as the main character with his distinct nature that everyone is trying to decipher. Despite the attention around Bartleby, much of the story also revolves around the narrator, the lawyer, who tells the story through his perspective; this implies that the lawyer’s ideology and perception of societal norms shape the interactions between the lawyer and Bartleby but also how the story is told. Take for example, if the lawyer disregards Bartleby and fires him on the spot, this story would have ended rather quickly and been much different than it actually is. With this said, the lawyer’s peculiar attraction to Bartleby’s strange behavior can be explained by the lawyer’s innate ideas of social norms and instruction that stems from the behavior of the other scriveners and his own experiences.

Bartleby tells his own boss and owner of the law office to leave his own property while he remains inside. This event solidifies the fact that the boss has no backbone for himself or the company. The boss cannot stand up for himself and tells Bartleby to leave, but rather takes the command of one of his incompetent workers. Bartleby at this point has gained complete control over his own boss.

"Bartleby the Scrivener," is one of the most complicated stories Melville has ever written, perhaps by any American writer of that period. It id a deep and symbolic work, its make you think of every little detail differently. It makes you realize that a little detail actually make a difference and give a meaning to the story analysis.