Essay on Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener

The film Bartleby represents the themes and characters of the story in numerous ways. Two major themes of the story include choices and morality. In regard to making choices, Bartleby continuously stated the phrase “I would prefer not to”, which shows that he took advantage of his right to make decisions even if they did not please everyone else. This theme was translated in the film because this is a phrase that Bartleby also stated countless times. The theme of mortality was displayed in the short story when the narrator had a difficult time deciding how long he should help Bartleby. Also, he wanted to decide if it would be right of him to give up on their work relationship. However, he did act immorally by firing Bartleby and moving offices

In Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener, Bartleby refuses to do work because he cannot adjust to change in his life, and represents how the entire human race is like Barleby, and cannot change. For example, the narrator describes Turkey, one of the three workers besides Bartleby, “First, Turkey; second, Nippers; third, Ginger Nut…(Turkey) began the daily period when I considered his business capacities as seriously disturbed for the remainder of the twenty-four hours.” (Melville 1104). These workers are symbolic and represent average workers. The worker’s names are not their real names and are called that when they are at work, this symbolizes that they are unidentified, average workers, and are defined by what their job is at work, and

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).

“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

Men and women are faced with inevitable walls as they go through their daily lives, the strength of their character is derived by how they tackle these walls. Herman Melville gives us a glimpse at how walls can eventually destroy us if we give into them. In his short story, Bartleby the Scrivener, the narrator tells the story of a clerk he once employed, Bartleby. At first, Bartleby seemed to be the perfect employee, but he eventually began to shirk his work and depart into himself. Through the narrative, the narrator gives his account of how he dealt with Bartleby and gives the reader a look at the walls Bartleby dealt with in part of his life. The walls Bartleby continuously encounters throughout the text are a symbol of his isolation

Herman Melville, the author of Bartleby, The Scrivener, was born in 1819 and published his novella in 1853 (Biography.com Editors). In his novella, a successful lawyer of Wall Street hires a scrivener, named Bartleby, who begins the story as a very good worker, and then he declines to work by saying “I’d prefer not to” to the commands given to him. After Bartleby refuses to leave his firm, The Lawyer moves his firm to a different location to abandon Bartleby, who is arrested are placed in prison where he eventually dies from starvation. Melville’s intended audience was the readers of Putnam’s Monthly Magazine literate enough to understand his message. Writing for Putnam’s Monthly “enabled him to reach a large number of readers receptive to his literary interests and social concerns” (Talley 81). This time period also marks the beginning of a new idealistic philosophy. The philosophy of Transcendentalism arose in the 1830s in the eastern United States as a reaction to intellectualism (“Transcendentalism”). Its adherents yearned for intense spiritual experiences and sought to transcend the purely material world of reason and rationality (“Transcendentalism”). Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two of the most famous and influential Transcendentalists (“Transcendentalism”). Three of the more prominent characteristics of Transcendentalists are disobedience, isolation, and nonmaterialism. Thoreau supported disobedience in his essay titled “Essay on Civil Disobedience.” Emerson stressed the importance of isolation in his works “Self Reliance” and “Nature.” This movement embraced a belief for a so-called “higher reality” that could not be found in reason, sense, or materials (“Transcendentalism”). Melville was well aware of this new philosophy, and it caught his interest. “Nay, I do not oscillate in Emerson’s rainbow, but prefer rather to hang myself in mine own halter than swing in any other man’s swing. Yet I think Emerson is more than a brilliant fellow (“Melville’s Reflections”). In Bartleby, The Scrivener, Herman Melville persuades his audience that Transcendentalism is not a rational approach to life by creating the character of Bartleby, who exhibits the characteristics

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

In “Bartleby, the Scrivener” the author, Herman Melville, uses indirect references to hint to many historical, literary, and biblical events. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” contains many allusions about important events that help connect this fictional story to actual events in Melville’s time period, before, and beyond. Melville uses allusions frequently throughout “Bartleby, the Scrivener” to help build connections with the real world and the fictitious world of this short story.

In Herman Melville's short story, Bartleby, the Scrivener, the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby is constantly changing, the narrator's attitude is conveyed through the author's use of literary elements such as; diction-descriptive and comical, point of view-first person, and tone-confusion and sadness.

“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

I think the idea from transcendentalism that there is no form of superior intelligence is the reason as to why Bartleby “prefers not to”(6) in all forms of requests. This is the moment in the story where Bartleby assumes the position of a transcendentalist. This point is where he breaks free of societal duties and refuses all help from the narrator, denying money and shelter from him. Although critiques such as Walter E. Anderson argue that Bartleby’s isolation shows “Christian-moral reading is the correct context” to assume, I disagree. There are allusions to biblical texts such as the narrator referring to himself and Bartleby as “sons of Adam”(11). But I think Bartleby is isolated to show how he is alone from everyone, living in a cubical, and being surrounded by walls. Although Christianity gives feelings of isolation with God, Bartleby is isolated with his spiritual self, saying he “would prefer to make no change at all”(21). Bartleby determines his fate by questioning himself and his societal roles. He does not look to Christ in any form, not believing in a higher intellectual form. Instead he finds serenity in his civil disobedience.

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.

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

Refusing to do any work did not deter Bartleby from the office. In fact, he used the office for everything in his life such as sleep, shaving, eating and spending all of his time. Bartleby lived in the office in complete isolation from anyone else in the world besides his coworkers. With seemingly no

Melville’s short story Bartleby the scrivener, describes the narrator as an elderly old man that wishes to give details of the life of Bartleby the scrivener. Bartleby was a completely emotionless human being who refuses to interact with the world around him. These actions shape the short story, picking at its viewers mind as to why Bartleby is disconnected from society. Bartleby worked in the dead letters office this may have triggered his inability to relate to the world around him. This motionless docility covered his inner troubles that he withheld from the world. The narrator states “I have known very many of them, professionally and privately, and if I pleased, could relate divers histories, at which good-natured gentlemen might smile, and sentimental souls might weep.” (Melville’s). In this he means that many persons might choose to smile as they find pleasure in reading “Bartleby” as much as those who might weep because they find the short story to be discouraging. In the 1970’s adaptation is one of those sentimental souls that the narrator is talking about in that it weeps for Bartleby, however the narrator brings the humor to life as he becomes speechless to Bartleby preferring not to do his work.