There are many words that can be used to describe the personality and role of the scrivener Bartleby. A good way to describe him would be a peculiar, robotic man who has given up on being productive in today’s society. All in all, Bartleby is a clinically depressed man and has given up on life by the end of the story. After he was first hired by the narrator, his production of copies is incredible. The narrator describes his production as being “As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light. I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically” …show more content…
He fails to show emotion and happy characteristics. After a while, Bartleby becomes increasingly less productive as his employment continues. Eventually, the narrator will ask him to do something and he will respond with a phrase like “I would prefer not to”. Eventually, he stops working all together when and says, “I have given up copying” (Melville 341). A very strange act by Bartleby is when he refuses to leave the office and instead spends every hour of the day there. The narrator understands something is wrong with him so he tries to assist by offering him more money than he is owed. The narrator says, “Bartleby, I owe you twelve dollars on account; here are thirty-two, the odd twenty are yours—will you take it?” (Melville 341). Unfortunately, Bartleby doesn’t want it. This man is in such a deep state of psychological turmoil that he won’t accept money and he refuses to leave. The narrator cannot deal with the madness any longer so he moves his practice to another office to escape him. The next owners of the office call the police and have Bartleby arrested. While he is incapacitated, he gives up on eating as well as being productive in any
The set up of this environment clearly gives a sense of entrapment as every direction Bartleby faces he is met with another wall and must maintain his focus on copying, on working. The lawyer however, shows no sign of this being a bad thing; he simply sees the sharing of the office as a convenience to be able to call Bartleby to run his errands whenever he calls and doesn’t even have to look at Bartleby, a separation of humanity or social contact. As the story progresses, Bartleby refuses requests like checking the copies or going to the post office and eventually begins refusing to work entirely but this is seen as simply Bartleby being odd and not as a resistance to work but rather there is a cause for his refusal to work, as stated by the narrator, his eyes were perhaps hurt and needed time to recover. As time goes on Bartleby still refuses to work and lives in the office and this bothers the narrator to the point of having him evicted from the premises by use of force, calling the authorities and having him thrown in prison.... ...
Melville's use of ambiguity in "Bartleby" is extreme and prevalent throughout the story. He introduces the reader to the narrator's office before Bartleby's arrival to explain the functional system that exists before Bartleby. The reader gains knowledge of the narrator's two copyists and is able to see that despite problems that each man poses, the narrator is able to control these idiosyncrasies.
After reading about these men first, as a reader, I come to realize more of what type of person Bartleby is. He does not have many characteristics as his fellow companions. He is quiet and his famous “I would prefer not to” decisions make one question is way of thinking. In many ways, Bartleby does what
Bartleby joins the lawyer's office as a scrivener, after having worked for the Dead Letters Office. As explained by the lawyer, the scriveners were paid four cents a folio, and under the employment of the lawyer, the scriveners also had to run errands for the lawyer, as well as help in proof reading the copied documents. The employer did not compensate for these other tasks. Thus, it was obvious as to why "Bartleby was never on any account to be dispatched on the most trivial errand of any sort; and that even if entreated to take upon such a matter, it was generally understood that he would 'prefer not to'- in other words, that he would refuse point blank." (Melville 15). For one thing, Bartleby was not being paid for the errands, but for the writing he did. Also, this defiance is a means through which he was preserving his autonomy. Bartleby was making a decision as to what he was and was not going to do. Bartleby's employer notice...
Bartleby demonstrates behaviours indicative of depression, the symptoms he has in accordance with the DSM-IV are a loss of interest in activities accompanied by a change in appetite, sleep, and feelings of guilt (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 320). Very shortly after Bartleby begins his work as a Scrivener he is described by the narrator as having done “nothing but stand at his window in his dead-wall revery”. (Melville, 126) In contrast, Bartleby had previously been described as a very hard worker and this process of doing increasingly less shows how his a diminishing sense of interest both in his work but also of the perception others have of him. It is also noted that included in this lack of interest is a social withdrawal (DSM—IV, 321) which corresponds well to Bartleby in that his workspace becomes known as his “hermitage”. During small talk which included Bartleby he says that he “would prefer to be left alone”. (Melville, 120) Bartleby only emerges from his hermitage when called upon and quickly returns when faced with confrontation.
One of the literary elements that Melville uses that convey the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby is diction. The author's diction in this short story is very descriptive and is also slightly comical. One of the ways this is used is when the author gently mocks the narrator by having him expose his flaws through his own words. For example, when the narrator talks of John Jacob Astor, a well respected man who complemented him, we find out how full of himself he is and how highly he thinks of himself. "The late John Jacob Astor, a parsonage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point…I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor's good opinion." (Page 122, Paragraph2) Another example of the author's use of diction appears on page 127 in paragraph 2; "At first, Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famished for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sunlight and by candle-light. I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically." Here the narrator's description of Bartleby's writing habits in the office, at first, tell us that he is very pleased with his progress and the work he has done but then it tells us that he is not very enthusiastic but...
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.
Through Bartleby’s flat and static character type, it is amazing how many different types of conflict he causes. From the first order to examine the law copies, to the last request to dine in the prison, Bartleby’s conflictive reply of “I would prefer not to” stays the same (Melville 150). In this way, he is a very simple character, yet he is still very hard to truly understand. Even ...
This final sentence shows a depth of emotion that would have been impossible for the narrator at the beginning of the story. This obvious change gives readers the evidence that Melville was trying to display in support of his view of the negative aspects of the business world. This world and the humanity in it had affected both characters. Bartleby of course was the employee whose constant bombardment with the uncompassionate and pitiless world of Capitalism caused him to lose desire to think for himself and as a response to do nothing. The narrator was the employer whose use of the repetitive and routine tasks of his profession caused him to lose compassion and responsibility. The change in the narrator that one can see take place over the course of the story brings these traits and the institutions that founded them into glaring clarity.
He starts to disconnect himself by refusing to do work given to him by his boss, this comes from his desire to be complacent, which we find out when he says “I like to be stationary,” when talking to the lawyer (127). Bartleby continues to change throughout the story, as he goes from being an employee who won’t do his work, to never leaving the office and essentially making it his home. According to Todd Giles, “Bartleby's silence establishes distance,” meaning that he becomes so out of place that people stop expecting of him (Giles, 2007). What this causes is the need for Bartleby to be removed from the Wall Street Office. The lawyer tries in many different ways to do so, and even offers him more money than he is owed if he will quit. Bartleby refuses and continues to stay in the building, doing nothing, detached from the world around him. Eventually the lawyer changes offices due to Bartleby and leaves him there for the next buyer. Bartleby is forced out by the new owner, and in time it is told the police he is a vagrant and he is thrown into jail. Bartleby’s story ends
Since he will not quit me, I must quit him. "Ah Bartleby, Ah Humanity." (Page 140, Herman Melville) This is the key to Bartleby, written by Herman Melville, for it indicates that Bartleby 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 disturbed scrivener who gives up on the prospect of living life. However, by doing so Bartleby is attempting to exercise his freewill, for he would "prefer not to" work. His relationship to the narrator is thus significant, for as he attempts to exercise his freewill he is breaking from the will of the narrator and the normal progression of life. However, this attempt to exercise his freewill and break loose from the confines of typical societal functions, isolates Bartleby from society, which in turn places him in a state of depression and soon there after, death. Ultimately, by having Bartleby "prefer not to," Melville is commenting on the role of humanity in the work force. If man attempts to break free of his role and exercise his own freewill then he is severing himself from humanity which in turn will lead to depression and perhaps death, for he will have nothing but a wall always obstructing him. From the beginning Bartleby is isolated within the confines of his work place. "I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice."( pg 111) In this quotation the narrator put Arnold, Page 2 up a screen to separate his office from Bartleby’s, which isolates him from the other members of the staff which thus isolates him from humanity. However, this is not the end of the isolation for he is not only detached from those around him, but society as well. "I placed his desk close up to a small side window, a window that had originally afforded a view of certain grimy backyards, but which commanded at present, no view at all. Within three feet of the pains was a wall." (pg 110-111) This quotation demonstrates Bartleby’s total isolation from society, for even his window, usually a form of escape, traps Bartelby behind another wall, which thus reinforces absolute isolation. Ultimately, every aspect of Bartleby’s life further expounds upon the motif of solitude. Bar...
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...
In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” we are introduced to a capitalist world, a capitalist world in which an economic system controlled by private owners with the goal of making profit in the market economy exist. The story is narrated by a man mostly known as “The Lawyer”, the “elderly man” who seeks God’s acceptance by his so called “kindness” shown to his employees (Melville1483). He only sees them as property clearly shown by the following words he uses “myself, my employees, my business, my chambers and general surroundings” (Melville 1484). He tries so hard to be good but one can see through his cloak and find the real person he is, one who seeks good for oneself only. He is a fake in search of what he wants and doing it at no cost. Is his story really about helping Bartleby because he is a good person?
Melville’s use of verbal irony allows for a deeper understanding of Bartleby’s character. Bartleby states that he would rather be assigned a position that is not as confined as a clerk; however, in reality, his behavior indicates that he prefers to be isolated. The narrator cannot understand why Bartleby expresses a disliking for confinement when he keeps to himself the majority of his time. As he
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” is one of The Piazza Tales written by Herman Melville which was one of his greatest works that express the author’s groundbreaking beliefs through a relationship between a narrator and his coworkers. The narrator is a successful lawyer who hires Bartleby. Shortly after, Bartleby manages to drive the narrator crazy by doing absolutely nothing. Doing this, Melville introduces several important prompts for the reader to ponder over. These prompts are introduced to us and justified through Melville’s symbolism. Melville’s great uses of symbolism strongly address three major contentions to his audience: his critique against capitalism, his philosophical stance on the value of life, and his reaction towards his audience’s feedback.