Review of: Bramel, D. (August 1981). Hawthorne, the Myth of the Docile Worker

Herman Melville’s short story, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” was written in the mid-nineteenth century, during a time when economic revolutions swept across Europe and class riots erupted in New York. Inspired by this environment, Melville depicts the working class as laborers struggling to survive the game of life and achieve their goals. The working class possesses a very hectic and repetitive life that often leads to unhappiness. This is demonstrated in the office where Bartleby and his coworkers, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut work. They all exhibit signs of depression, they all appear easily bothered, and they all possess an odd and unique quality. The context of the story and the environment in which it was written encourages an analysis from the lens

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.

Andrew Carnegie’s belief in Social Darwinism also affected his treatment of his laborers. Perhaps the only negative quality that is placed upon him is that of oppressor of the working class. Carnegie inspired competition among his workers and fired the managers and work crews that fell behind. His workers believed that upward mobility wasn’t possible—they were stuck as laborers and would never rise higher (“Richest”).

For these strategies to make sense one must understand Olson’s purpose and intended audience. In the essay “Year of the Blue-Collar Guy”, Olson’s purpose is to ask for a little more honor for the Blue-Collar Guys or as he refers to them, BCGs. This is because of their hard, prolonging, and energy draining work

They both emblematize the readers as artifacts of the nineteenth century civilization. Julian was concerned about the twentieth-century association dealing with the problem of motivating workers to do their greatest at their tasks. Julian’s belief was that workers won’t do their job right if they are the same and get the same credit at the end of the year. During the crisis of the nineteenth century, compensation and the hazard of starvation provided the motivation towards the citizens to work hard at their jobs. If they didn’t, they would get fired from not working hard enough and be replaced with someone who can. Doctor Leete clarifies that chaste values regarding tasks have changed by citizens who do their absolute greatest and they are able to receive the same amount of credit as everybody else. Employees who do their job right are considered to be loyal towards the society. With individualism as a choice in the nineteenth century and the twentieth century choses community and cooperation, citizens think that they should do their task in order to bequest to the common good throughout their diligence. The twentieth century has fitted individualism because employees feel dignified with extraordinary apperception for their decent actions through a standardized ranking system. The economy of the nineteenth century disposed incapability and decay through candidacy. A

The conflict of the individual and society is a recurring theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, “The Scarlet Letter”. Despite the societal pressures to abide to the strict Puritan laws and beliefs against sin, multiple characters are conflicted over the idea of conformity. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale serves as a prime example of a character viewed by society as conforming, but internally is made to confront the question of his or her own sin. Dimmesdale’s tension between outward conformity and inwardly questioning his true beliefs demonstrates that although one may not appear guilty, they must eventually confront their sin or be driven insane by it.

The pre-capitalist society in England often meant that employers would reward their employees for their contribution to the success of their business. The plentiful amounts of food and alcoholic beverages like beer clearly show that in the past, employers such as Fezziwig deeply appreciated their employees. On the contrary, Scrooge had little to no appreciation for his employee, Bob Cratchit. In fact, Scrooge did not even keep good working conditions in his office as when Dickens states, “… but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that is looked like one coal”. (CITE 3) Not only does this ridicule Scrooge for being selfish himself, but on a much larger scale this shows how far employers were willing to go to save an extra British pound at the expense of their employees’ working conditions. Yet, this is not the only ghost that ridicules the English business practice of the nineteenth-century.

The Puritanical society is one founded on religion, dedication, and judgement. The harsh straight backboned people took poorly to any shift away from their rules, as demonstrated in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter with the damnation of unwed mother Hester Prynne. Often accompanied with judgement is hypocrisy, and ironically the book they devoted their entire life with states “him that is without sin among you first cast the stone” (John 8:7). Hawthorne exploits this broken society by noting how it changes the two main recipients of grief: Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

The lawyer explains how Turkey is an excellent scrivener in the morning, but as the day goes on he becomes incompetent because he is prone to making mistakes like dropping ink “blots” on the copies he writes (112). Although it is okay because he has Nippers who was a very useful man to him. The lawyer describes Nipper’s efficiency by saying he “wrote a neat, swift hand, and when he chose, was not defioient in a gentlemanly sort of deportment” (115). In addition, the way in which the lawyer addresses his employees are through nicknames that he gives them instead of their real names therefore removing yet another quality that makes his workers human. The names he gives his workers such as “Ginger Nut” and the way he describes his employees is as if their level of productivity mattered more than who they were as a person. The lawyer in this instance is representative of the way in which employers view their employees as if they were selecting an equipment for an assembly

Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” tells a story of a nameless lawyer who has four nicknamed employees. Throughout the descriptions of the four employees, their daily work and the way the lawyer viewed them, it shows that the four employees have been used to symbolize the lower classes and the lawyer have been used to symbolize the upper classes of a capitalist society. Based on the use of symbolization of Melville, the main purpose of this story were to show how the lower class workers were viewed and treated by the upper classes with a class divided capitalist society. In the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” written by Herman Melville, Melville argues that working in a capitalist society dehumanizes the employees because the

The Good Worker: Race and Gender in a 1970s Southern City is an article written by Shirley Harkess and Carol Warren that talks about how employers base their requirements on hiring an employee, mainly based on race and gender. Most of the employers hired white males because back then they were the ideal workers for the hard jobs. Although, some did hire black males because for some, they were considered stronger and better for the though jobs. It all depended on the employer's way of thinking who should be put into what specific job.

Society has always treated women as second class citizens. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the Scarlet Letter, shows vividly that women are looked down upon, even for the littlest things. The women are treated with a double standard. For instance, the Puritan Society is ready to call out a woman as soon as she steps out of line. Through the harassment that Hester faces, Hawthorne shows the negative personalities of the Puritans.

To a large extent, the extract from the Report by Samuel S. Scriven, Esq., on the Employment of Children and Young Persons in the Collieries of a Part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; and on the State, Condition, and Treatment of such Children and Young Persons, 1842 confirms the charges of class bias contained in Jane Humphries article "Protective Legislation, the Capitalist State, and Working Class Men: The Case of the 1842 Mines Regulation Act." This is shown in Humphries description of how the ruling class viewed the working class, the bias contained in the testimony and written reports by the sub-commissioners, and finally tying in Scriven’s words to Humphries’ conclusions. Under the Unit 3 Commentary, found in the Industrial Revolution Study Guide Humphries herself asserts that readers of the testimony need to read carefully and “assess the extent to which class bias may have coloured the analysis that is provided”(48), which will be employed in confirming the charges of class bias.

It strikes the observer of to-day that Hawthorne showed great courage in entering a field in which the honours and emoluments were so scanty

The idea of class consciousness is definitive in The Making of the English Working Class,