Herman Melville’s Bartleby is a deceptively complex short story that
shows the misconstrued definition that society holds for charity.
Poor fellow! He means no mischief; it is plain he intends no
insolence; his aspect sufficiently evinces that his eccentricities are
involuntary. He is useful to me. I can get along with him… To
befriend Bartleby, to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost
me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually
prove a sweet morsel for my conscience (Melville, 13).
Herman Melville’s “Bartleby” is a deceptively complex short story that
shows the misconstrued definition that society holds for charity. The
narrator of the story, who is responsible for the above statement,
represents the manner in which many approach the act of helping others
– beginning with the notion of pity, the charitable often assume that
those with fewer material items are in automatic need of assistance,
and then, if the situation presents the potential giver no inhibitions
and possible self-gratification, he feels willing to share with the
less fortunate what he has. Unfortunately, as soon as the donator
begins to feel hindered by the charity in the social aspects of
living, it is very easy for him to brush the charitable to the side.
This representation in “Bartleby” is seen when, at first, the narrator
feels it is his predestinated purpose in life to furnish Bartleby with
office room for such a period as he sees fit – the narrator finds it
easy to think of supporting Bartleby because there was something about
him “that not only strangely disarmed [him], but, in a wonderful
manner, touched and disconcerted [him]” (11), and brought a feeling of
well-being to his conscious....
... middle of paper ...
... such a significantly strong character and presence in this story, it
would be unreasonable for him to seemingly give up and die from lack
of food. However, it is through this sacrifice that the his message
resounds strongest. It shows that even when the narrator treats
Bartleby with undo disrespect, Bartleby stands firm and “prefers not
to quit” the narrator and will instead serve as an example for all
mankind. It gives the rest of humanity a sense of hope: “he whom it
would relieve nor eats nor hungers any more; pardon for those who died
despairing; hope for those who died unhoping; good tidings for those
who died stifled by unrelieved calamities (34).” This shows that
although man is a fallible being, there is something beyond human
comprehension that is willing to forgive humanity for its many
mistakes. In a sense, that is the greatest charity of all.
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 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.
Located in the dark, cold pages of Moby Dick lies evil, an evil by the name of mankind. Mankind snarls its teeth into the face of nature and fellow-man by character development and a thick plot. By diving into the characters and the author, the motives of these individuals is shown clearly through the murky water.
Abstract: There are many Analyst who would agree that the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, the whale is just half of what the novel is really talking about. They would also agree that Melville employs some sort of spiritual read by simply by providing scriptures and rephrasing verses from the Bible into the text. But what is it really about? What made Melville come up with this idea style of writing Moby-Dick? Other analyst who also asked themselves this questions, probably looked deeper into the novel doing tons of research figured out a possible solution. The solution that Melville was influenced by Shakespeare novel ‘Hamlet’ this has been established because of the allusions Melville makes to Hamlet are countless. Moby-Dick may be a contemporary version of Hamlet. This paper will illustrate how the characters of Moby-Dick counterparts with the characters in Hamlet, expanding the reason why the character in one works with the other.
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.
Herman Melville's Moby Dick is a book which can be read as a general metaphor for the battle between the evil powers of the Devil versus the divine powers of God and Jesus, both try to obtain the souls of mankind in order to assist in each other's destruction. In this metaphor, the Devil is shown through the person of Captain Ahab, God becomes nature, Jesus is seen as the White Whale, and the representation of mankind is the crew. The voyage of the Pequod, therefore, is a representation of a similar voyage of mankind on earth, until the death of Jesus, during the whole thing the influences of these three “supernatural forces” are connected. Thus, the basis of this idea is that in the plot of Melville's book, there are also peeks of the "plot" of the Bible.
Written in prose, In the Waiting Room is a story of self-discovery and a journey to understand humankind.
Alienation, the state of being isolated from a group or category that one should be apart of, exists in three forms; man’s alienation from man, man’s alienation from fellow men, and man’s alienation from the world itself. These three classes of alienation are fluid phases of the same process that exists to some extent within every member of society. The intriguing and complex nature of alienation has sparked the interest of many philosophers, artists, and authors around the world, resulting in works of art and literature that attempt to give insight into living life alone. Authors Herman Melville and Frank Kafka both reveal the struggles of functioning set apart from society through the protagonists in their respective short stories; Bartleby the Scrivener, and The Hunger Artist. The overall theme of marginalization in society in both Bartleby the Scrivener and The Hunger
From the time he wrote his first novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald was bound to be a classic novelist, portraying his life from birth, through his youth, and through his older years in mostly all of his novels, including his most popular novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s life from youth to death found full expression in some 160 short stories (Prigozy, 1). The elegiac note that characterizes his reminiscences of his early childhood and struggling adolescence greatly affected his work (Prigozy, 1).
loses anything of value, of victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or
Herman Melville’s stories of Moby Dick and Bartleby share a stark number of similarities and differences. Certain aspects of each piece seem to compliment each other, giving the reader insight to the underlying themes and images. There are three concepts that pervade the two stories making them build upon each other. In both Moby Dick and Bartleby the main characters must learn how to deal with an antagonist, decide how involved they are in their professions, and come to terms with a lack of resolution.
A significant section of the plot of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald unfolds when Nick Carraway is assimilated into the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy inhabitants of East and West Egg. After moving to New York from the Midwest in search of prosperity and happiness, Nick Carraway involuntarily finds himself in the midst of luxury after buying a dainty house right next to Gatsby’s overwhelming mansion in West Egg. Because of his close proximity with the great Jay Gatsby, Nick becomes a detailed observer of the mysterious fellow, for he has never met the man and is extremely curious. Soon after moving into his new house, Nick notices that Gatsby has thrown a magnificent party filled with hundreds of people, who are in constant supply of alcoholic beverages, gourmet foods, and amusing entertainment. Nick surveys the scene from a distance, wondering how Gatsby can manage such a party, and why he is having the boisterous event in the first place.
The lawyer, also the narrator, hires Bartleby to work as a scrivener at his business that involves bonds, mortgages and titles. The lawyer thinks he has all of his scriveners behaviors “on lock”. Although Bartleby started as a hard working employee, he eventually and in a calm manner refuses to do any requested work by the lawyer by simply saying, “I would prefer not to”. The lawyer doesn’t fire Bartleby after he declines to work, instead he gives Bartleby another chance. The lawyer preference to remain calm shows that he chooses to stray from confrontation. Bartleby continuous refusal to work leads to him being fired, but he refuses to leave. The lawyer’s philosophy and careful balancing of his employees is compromised by Bartleby actions. The lawyer moves his entire practice to another building to only find Bartleby there. Bartleby is arrested and continues in his bizarre daze. The lawyer visits Bartleby to convince him to eat and get through to him, but it doesn’t work and Bartleby dies. The lawyer sensitivity and empathy towards Bartleby raises questions to the lawyers sincerity. Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate what was the lawyer’s intent to help Bartleby?
Moby Dick is truly the main character of the book as the title shows. Although he is only in three chapters out of the whole, he takes on a big role to the crewmembers, especially Ahab. Firstly he becomes the focus of the whole whaling trip of the Peaquod. Moby Dick is not an ordinary whale. He has many features that set him apart. With his physical size and stature he towers over the sea, controlling everybody with fear. Other than the obvious physical obscurities, there are many symbols hidden in Melville’s whale. He has religious meaning, along with a national meaning, and an environmental meaning.