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Literary devices examinable
Literary approach
Literary elements or techniques
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Authors use many literary tactics to evoke emotional responses and deep thought from their audience. One superb example of this is using the setting of a story as a symbol for the overall theme. Many stories focus on brighter aspects of life where the setting is bright and jubilant symbolizing happiness and glee. On the other hand, some authors turn to a darker setting, one where death and darkness overshadow everything which usually symbolizes depression or isolation. Three works in particular, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, “A&P” by John Updike, and “Bartelby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street” by Herman Melville, all use a symbolic setting perfectly and convey an individualized message within their works. Many elementary …show more content…
The story itself focuses on a strange man named Bartelby, a scrivener, and follows him into his slow descent into madness while focusing on his strange personal demeanor. Throughout the story, Melville uses the setting to play on Bartelby’s character. One instance of the setting playing on Bartelby is his personal set up in his office. Bartelby’s boss stations him in “a corner by the folding-doors…”. While this may seem insignificant, his positioning away from human contact has a great deal of symbolism. The theme of isolation is present within such a small detail, and, as the story progresses, comes to embody the character of Bartelby. The theme of death and a life of repression is also present within the story. During Bartelby’s last moments his surroundings have extreme significance. Bartelby is “huddled at the base of the wall” with his “head touching the cold stones.” Such a description hints at the theme of despair that is found throughout the paper while also symbolizing death through the coldness of the stones. Herman Melville uses a symbolic setting throughout his work to hint at the themes of isolation, despair, and
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...
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 for a deeper understanding of the choice death for these characters.
Bartleby, the Scrivener, a story of lawyer and scrivener, questions like: What is worth living for in the world? What does society value or shape, what it means to be successful or of worth in the world that is inhabited? This is done through the various implications of Bartleby’s actions and responses, as well as the lawyer’s, and the descriptions and imagery of the environment. Walls in the story represent the entrapment, a blockade of sorts to prevent focus from wandering elsewhere. Bartleby in the story shares an office with the lawyer/narrator but their line of sight is blocked by a wall set up to separate them and is placed in the corner of the room, against another wall and his desk is facing a window that again, faces a wall.
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...
(Melville, 84) Much of the action revolves around the fact that Bartleby initially does not move from his hermitage, and only stares out the window at the wall. And yet again as the narrator asks Bartleby to check the mail or deliver something to the post office he refuses. While his body is physically in movement, he is stationary in his domicile. As the narrative progresses we learn that Bartleby is staying in the stairway and sleeping at the entrance of the building, despite the fact that the narrator had moved to a new location. (Melville,
Bartleby's state is further clarified by the symbolic use of the walls and the dead letter office described in the epilogue. First, throughout the story he is depicted time and again as facing and staring at a wall. Staring at a wall can mean ...
If we compare William Faulkner's two short stories, 'A Rose for Emily' and 'Barn Burning', he structures the plots of these two stories differently. However, both of the stories note the effect of a father¡¦s teaching, and in both the protagonists Miss Emily and Sarty make their own decisions about their lives. The stories present major idea through symbolism that includes strong metaphorical meaning. Both stories affect my thinking of life.
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.
Herman Melville uses a first person point of view to show the narrator’s first hand fascination with his employee Bartleby, as well as Bartleby’s strange behavior and insubordination.
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.
The story of Bartleby was a very interesting story open for many different interpretations. Melville does and excellent job building suspension towards different thoughts as to what caused Bartleby to become an emotionless incapable worker. Here is evidence throughout the story to reflect the kindheartedness of the narrator. After reading this work the last quote “Ah Bartleby, Ah humanity” stood out as a cry of sadness for failing to understand and further assist Bartleby. After the numerous attempts He describes himself an elder lawyer that has his own office with a total of four employees including Bartleby. The narrator takes the time to learn the qualities of each individual not just on a performance basis however, personally as well.
Melville intends something less black and white with more gray shading. Melville uses dramatic irony and grim humor in “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street. This is to show the reader how the Lawyer assumes he is a safe, successful and powerful man with extensive control in his polite society until he hires a man named Bartleby. This relationship is slowly revealed to be quite a conundrum for the Lawyer and the reader. Melville shows how the Lawyer never had any power or control over Bartleby but quite the opposite; Bartleby held all the power and control in this relationship. I will explore the important of the power struggle and the fight to maintain control between the Lawyer and Bartleby.
William Faulkner takes us back in time with his Gothic short story known as, “A Rose for Emily.” Almost every sentence gives a new piece of evidence to lead the reader to the overall theme of death, isolation, and trying to maintain traditions. The reader can conclude the theme through William Faulkner’s use of literary devices such as his choice of characters, the setting, the diction, the tone, and the plot line.
Bartleby the Scrivener: Why the Narrator Is the Problem Scholars often describe Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” as a tale of passive aggressive resistance, or a tale of mental illness. Readers often look to discover Bartleby’s motivations, much as the narrator does in the story; however, the problem here lies not with Bartleby. Bartleby exists on his own terms, not to defy conventions, but simply because he is who he is. The narrator, and therefore the reader, finds a need to explain “why” rather than accept Bartleby’s actions at face value. Bartleby is not mentally ill, nor does he try to be a nonconformist; Bartleby just seeks to exist.
In "A Rose for Emily," William Faulkner's use of setting and characterization foreshadows and builds up to the climax of the story. His use of metaphors prepares the reader for the bittersweet ending. A theme of respectability and the loss of, is threaded throughout the story. Appropriately, the story begins with death, flashes back to the past and hints towards the demise of a woman and the traditions of the past she personifies. Faulkner has carefully crafted a multi-layered masterpiece, and he uses setting, characterization, and theme to move it along.