Bartleby, The Scrivener, By Herman Melville

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

Office Space is a modern, Hollywood-driven adaptation of Herman Melville’s 1853 short story “Bartleby.” It revives Melville’s story by imagining modern equivalents for the major themes and characters of the original. Whiling comparing the works of Office Space and “Bartleby”, many similarities and differences are shown. Although years passed between the creation of the classic short story and the film, they both possess similarities in plot, theme, and character development.

The narrator of the story becomes shocked when he discovers that Bartleby, who only feeds on ginger nuts, has never left the office. This is actually the first time that the narrator experiences the spiritual power that Bartleby possesses. The narrator is so much business oriented that he only looks at the world in terms of profits. However, when he encounters this aspect of the spirit of Bartleby, his attitude towards life changes. He begins appreciating the fact that Bartleby deserves better treatment, not in the capitalist way. The narrator even sees what is a right, just as an asset, but this perception is later changed by Bartleby’s spirit: “What earthly right have you to stay here? Do you pay any rent? Do you pay my taxes? Or is this property yours?” (Melville, 41).

By the end of the story, the constant refusals wear everyone down and he is left alone. When new people move into the building, Bartleby still refuses to move from his office, leading to his arrest. Locked away in prison, Bartleby still refuses to eat, saying that “I prefer not to dine today”. This is significant because it shows that he still uses polite wording even though he has given up living. He courteously refuses to eat and chooses to live for as long as he prefers to live and curls up against one of the prison walls. This refusal, even in the face of death, shows an almost courageous side of Bartleby. He knows that he will most likely die, but he still musters up the courage to continue his fight. Due to his refusal of food, he will be buried without sustenance for the afterlife, a final nod to his status as a man without power, appetite, or

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

Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener” reveals different themes such as isolation and human morality test. In the story, the narrator runs a law firm and has a new Scrivener [Bartleby] who the narrator describes as“ the strangest I ever saw or heard of” (661). For the first few days, Bartleby is seen to be working fine, however, one day Bartleby just responds with “I would prefer not to” when anyone assigns a task to Bartleby (674). The real problems start to arise when Bartleby sleeps and eats at the office while denying to work or leave. The narrator illustrates the two main themes of human morals and isolation throughout the story with the use of biblical references to Bartleby as a leper and shows symbolism of the

Bartleby, the Scrivener, is a story written by Herman Mellvile. It is about a successful lawyer who hires a homeless, depressed man named Bartleby to transcribe documents for him. The narrator of this story is the lawyer. Throughout the story, Bartleby declines at his job, saying he would “prefer not” to perform his duties. Eventually, the lawyer learns about Bartleby’s homelessness by discovering he has been living in the office. After a while, the lawyer feels it would be best for the business to just move to a different office, so he does. To his surprise, Bartleby follows him there. Bartleby ends up getting arrested and eventually dies while in prison. This story has great meaning to it. The main character displays a great character of

As the story continues, his sympathy for Bartleby’s predicament develops. Throughout paragraph 90, the lawyer discovers that Bartleby resides in the office and feels pity towards how Bartleby sustains such “ miserable friendlessness and loneliness.” Readers can acknowledge how the Lawyer struggles with maintaining the changing attitudes he feels towards Bartleby: “melancholy merge into fear” and “pity into repulsion” (137). The Lawyer intended to fire Bartleby for his refusal to work, but did not, for he feared of being portrayed as a “villain” (138). According to Jack Getman, the Lawyer has “become a different, more appealing person, one who is more responsive to the needs and rights of his workers” (Getman 738). It is evident that the Lawyer undergoes many changes in the interest of Bartleby.

Many individuals is faced with the decision of conforming or choosing personal desire, and it is not an easy decision. It is hard because being shunned by others for being different is not a good feeling. Choosing to conform over personal desire, often leads to loss. On the other hand, personal desire is what sets others apart and gives them joy. In the poem, “The Jackhammer Syndrome”, Al Purdy discusses the good and bad memories he has experienced. He goes through his memories of when he had fun and made mistakes, but he reflects on what he could have done better. The author of “The Jackhammer Syndrome informs against choosing the welcoming joy of conformity over the long-term gains of personal desire. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire may seem easy at first, but if the choice is to conform, the joy it gives will not last. Making the decision to pursue conformity over personal desire Conformity may seem to give joy at first, but it does not last. When Al is playing pool with his brother, he wants to win badly, but losses. However when he did not care to win, Al wins! Conforming can lead to loss but personal desire has much to gain. If the choice is to conform, personal identity may be lost. In my life, I recognize several instances in which I found several similarities between Al and myself. I have made decisions that were not always good ones such as swimming across long distances with friends.

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

“Since he will not quit me, I must quit him. Ah Bartleby, Ah Humanity.” (Melville 131) This is the key to Bartleby, for it indicates that he stands as a symbol for humanity. This in turn functions as a commentary on society and the working world, for Bartleby is a seemingly homeless, mentally scrivener who gives up on the prospect of living life, finally withdrawing himself from society. However, by doing so Bartleby is attempting to exercise his freewill, for he would “prefer not to” work. His relationship to the narrator (the Lawyer) and the normal progression of life. However, this

Later in the book we find Bartleby taking up residence at the office where he worked. When Bartleby's employer approached him about the fact that he was living in the office and asked him to leave the

As conformity becomes ever more common within a society, individuals isolate themselves, but only because the conformists have lost their ability to reflect on their decisions. Similarly, while Bernard and Lenina watch the sea in peace, he makes comments about individuality and its benefits, which startles Lenina, who exclaims, “And how can you talk like that about not wanting to be a part of the social body? After all, every one works for everyone else” (Huxley 91). Here, Lenina is absolutely shocked that Bernard would not want to be with everyone else. However, the sole reason why people only want to conform is that they cannot begin to express their own thoughts and feelings. A person’s individuality is what sets them apart from the rest of society, and when taken away, they become generic. Even though conforming can cause a lot of problems in a person, they are able to agree with a group of people and are able to convey ideas clearly as well as not feel left out. Furthermore, in the story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin, there are many examples of conformity when it comes to witnessing the child that is responsible for the “happiness” in

normal activity as far as society (the office) is concerned, Bartleby refuses because of his