Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story Of Wall Street

“Bartleby. The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street,” written by great American writer Herman Melville, entailed the story of a man who eventually lost the interest do things as simple as living. This short story by Melville carries a theme of isolation, physically and mentally, and what Herman Melville experienced in his life was mental isolation. The idea of Bartleby in this story is the reflection of Melville, a man who was lonely on the inside just as Bartleby was. “Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street” opens with an elderly, unnamed narrator, who quickly introduces his current employees, Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut”(Melville 1104), then jumps into telling the story of his newly hired scrivener, Bartleby. The narrator describes

No, Melville did not exactly experience loneliness the way Bartleby did; Melville’s loneliness was more mental, whereas Bartleby suffered more from physical isolation. David Van Leer, a student at the University of California writes in his biography and analysis that “often the opinions of Melville’s wife or sister are offered as his own.” Simply put: what Melville said himself was not taken into account. Herman Melville is valued as a great writer and poet today; however, during the 19th century that was not always the case. Van Leer goes on to discuss that the “rise and fall of Melville’s literary reputation with [particular] attention to certain biographical cruxes- [especially Melville’s purported homosexuality, his relations with the strong women who support him,] [along with] the rumors about his father’s bastard daughter, and the trauma of his son’s suicide” could have been a factor that played a part of Melville’s career, and contribute to his mental isolation. The way mental loneliness can be seen about Melville from the biography and analysis written by Van Leer is the way it tells about the pretty traumatic experiences Melville had. Melville had support, but having people there does not always take away from the greater issues – Melville had to face his son’s suicide, the rumors, as well as accept the truth about his father’s daughter. For any individual, that is a lot to