HERMAN MELVILLE
“Bartleby, the scrivener”, is a very interesting reading that shows us in a very clear way the different forms of alienation: alienation from work, alienation from other people, and alienation from the natural world.
Bartleby was a scrivener; in fact, he was “the strangest scrivener ever seen”. He found a job in the bottom of one of the several huge buildings in Wall Street; moreover, his desk was placed in a corner, with a window that presented no view at all, and consequently, a few light. He had two partners: Turkey, and Nippers. However, non of them were the ideal partners for him. Turkey had a “flighty” temper, and Nippers, a “fiery” one.
At first, Bartleby worked very hard, copying an extraordinary vast quantity of writing. As his boss says, for him, “there was no pause for digestion”. However, things changed with time. One day, the boss asked Bartleby to review a paper with him, and to his surprised, Bartleby replied: “I would prefer not to”. The boss ignored such behavior the first time because he needed him, and he worked well. However, such sentence, “I would prefer not to” became more normal, and even familiar. Bartleby carefully revolved any statement that his boss made. As a consequence, after that moment, Bartleby refused many other things: from not going to the post office, to not going next door, and even to not going back home.
At the end, Bartleby preferred not to work, and consequently, he was fired. However, when the boss asked him to leave, he got the same answer: “I prefer not to”. As a result, Bartleby stayed there until the boss and all their partners moved to another place. However, when the new owners of the building came in, and as a consequence of the same answer, Bartleby went to prison. The text ends with Bartleby in prison refusing to eat, and therefore, preferring to die from starvation.
The place where he worked in the bottom of “Wall” Street, his partners, and his unchallenging job alienated him as time passes to the extend that he didn’t want to do anything at all.
It is amazing how two religions, such as Voodoo and Christianity, can be filled with so many awesome differences with respect to time eras, status, publicity, and language, and yet still have an almost identical core ideal. This also demonstrates that this core ideal of the use of humans as a mouthpiece of the divine has been a long lived concept which people, such as Mama Lola and her family, still believe in and practice today. Perhaps this proves there is some truth in the idea, and most likely, we will never know for sure, whether this concept, in it’s many different forms continues to live on, or if it dies out.
... narrator away; although, the narrator is trying to learn about Bartleby and why the Bartleby acts the way he does. This push causes the narrator to become frustrated with Bartleby and soon the narrator no longer wishes to learn about Bartleby or have anything to do with Bartleby; thus, the narrator decides to rid of Bartleby's presence in the office. However, this does not sit well with Bartleby and Bartleby refuses to leave. Thus, the narrator must move the office to a new location. Unfortunately, Bartleby is arrested and death soon consumes Bartleby. The relationship of the narrator and Bartleby is strained and one might wonder why Bartleby just did not try to communicate with the narrator. Depression crept up on Bartleby, took control, and took Bartleby away. Anyone that has a relationship with Bartleby is no longer important and the relationship soon diminishes
His lack of appetite is noticed early where in the narrator notices “that he never went to dinner”. (Melville, 51) We discover later that he has been eating a bit of ginger-nuts and some morsel of cheese, (Melville, 88) however the narrator suggests that this is a pitiable amount of food and that Bartleby is clearing suffering. In fact his refusal to eat ultimately leads to his death; one might infer that it was a form of suicide as he says that he “prefers not to dine to-day... [i]t would disagree with me; I am unused to dinners”. (Melville, 235) This implies that Bartleby hadn’t been eating for a long time. Also refusing to eat, Bartleby is shown to very seldom sleep. The narrator mentions that he is “always there; - first in the morning, continually through the day, and the last at night”, (Melville, 84) he makes his home in the office and the narrator comments that he finally does sleep at the end when he is dead.
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.
Language is the key, crucial part of this short story. Bartleby, the epitome of mystery and frustration in the office, constantly uses the term ‘I prefer not to’, to exhibit his unwillingness to comply with his boss's requests to proofread his rough draft. “The very language that Bartleby uses as he puts aside the tasks demanded of him shows the extent of to which he does not participate in the conventions of the Wall Street World” (Matturi, 7).
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
Bartleby is a man who is in charge of his own life by having a free will and living a life of preference. His infamous line "I prefer not to" appears in the story numerous times. His choice of preference leads to the downfall of his life. Bartleby made several crucial mistakes that lead to his downfall. His first mistake was when the attorney asked him to make copies and run errands for him and Bartleby preferred not to do so. "At this early stage of his attempt to act by his preferences, Bartleby has done nothing more serious than break the ground rules of the attorney's office by avoiding duties the attorney is accustomed to having his scriveners perform" (Patrick 45). An employee is also supposed to do tasks in the job description and when these tasks are not accomplished or done correctly, not once but several times, it usually leads to termination. Bartleby is a rare case because he does not get fired. This in turn results in his second mistake. Since he was able to get away with not doing anything, Bartleby opted to take the next step and quit his job or in his own words, "give up copying" (Melville 2345). Quitting caused him to have more troubles than he had before. Bartleby then...
All throughout history, the religion of Voodoo, or Vodou, has been hushed, covered up, and considered evil. This background essay will go through the history, the opinions and fears, and a few aspects of rituals. The exact history of the religion is unknown, which only adds to the ignorance and the confusion of Voodoo. Some say it came from the Italian exiles from the Italian Revolution (Hall, 1995) while others say that the origins are elusive (National Geographic). As many as four million individuals practice this official religion. From the early eighteenth century to the late nineteenth century, Voodoo progressed into a feared religion by many in New Orleans and beyond. With zombies, queens, rituals and more, Voodoo has become more popular than ever, however, with popularity comes controversy.
The term “voodoo” is not only vague and confusing, but it has a reputation for being frightening. This is partly because voodoo is complex, with the practice and purposes ranging geographically and over time. “Louisiana voodoo” is the appointed name for voodoo practiced in the United States from the 18th century through the early 20th century. While it is no longer a dominant religion, practioners can still be found, but it has more of a mythical legacy that has blended into New Orleans culture today. Important aspects of Louisiana voodoo include rituals, ceremonies, and religious ties. Voodoo was an important part of African American culture in numerous ways, but most importantly voodoo was a significant form of resistance against both racial and gender oppression during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Within the context of slavery, Louisiana voodoo was used as a tool to resist racial oppression, primarily by practicing as a form of religious worship, which in turn provided a platform for black women to hold leadership positions as respected spiritualists, as evidenced by Marie Laveau’s life.
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...
This version however is different that the Vodou practiced in Haiti. Here we will switch from Vodou to Voodoo, which was highly popular in the New Orleans area in the United States. Voodoo refers to “any form of spiritual beliefs and practices remotely associated with the Black continent.” This Voodoo is particularly limited to the making of potions, dolls, spell, curses, etc. It is less religious based and more about magic and the supernatural and over the years has become a more a profit-based practice as it fed on people stereotypes to voodoo. Osbey backs this up as well in her journal, We Can’t Talk to You About Voodoo, “First of all there are no dolls in Voodoo. That’s a gimmick borrowed from European witchcraft to cheat the real tourists…Voodoo dolls have been built into the local tourism trade.” Historic New Orleans Voodoo Museum for example is a popular attraction, owned by a “Voodoo” practitioner offers visitors an education and background on voodooism as well as articrafts and various other objects available for sale. Charles Gandolfo founded this museum in 1972; He saw an opportunity and seized it to capitalize on New Orleans legendary Voodoo past. The museum is still up and running and visitors are welcome today which the catch of an entry fee. Voodoo like the Vodou in Haiti made its way to the United States in a similar fashion, through the African diaspora via the Transatlantic Slave
...to figure out who Bartleby is. Pinsker also mentions that the lawyer fear of having to confront the isolation and loneliness is the reason behind him wanting to reach out to Bartleby. In some manner I think that the lawyer and Bartleby are alike. In the text its talks about how the lawyer went to Wall Street and found Bartleby in the office. Suggesting that both the lawyer and Bartleby are lonely individuals.
Bartleby was a young man with his life ahead of him who yet he chose to stay to himself and not to socialize with his colleagues. He preferred to stay to himself where he felt safe behind his own self made walls. Bartleby was a social introvert who detached himself from society. He didn’t converse with his co-workers nor did he have any friends outside...
“Bartleby, the Scrivener” uses symbolism to criticize capitalism. “Bartleby the Scrivener” is “A Story of Wall Street” and uses a building next to wall street as the setting. The building is described as a very depressing building, which, “of week-days hums with industry and life, at nightfall echoes with sheer vacancy, and all through Sunday is forlorn.” Melville first attacks capitalism by symbolizing his characters as victims of the corporate world. First it starts off by showing the miserable, yet humorous lives of Turkey and Nippers. Turkey and Nippers both have to work the entire day, but neither of them can fully operate for the entire day of work. Turkey works well in the morning, where “his face was of fine florid hue”. However, from noon to the end of the day Turkey is exhausted after drinking where he “blazed like a grate full of Christmas coals; and continued blazing—but, as it were, with a gradual wane”. Nippers is the exact opposite. Nippers poor behavior was, “ma...
He first denies the task and then he starts refusing to do any work. During Bartleby’s stand to not do any work the lawyer comes back to the office on the weekend and finds that Bartleby lives in the office. The lawyers had these thoughts towards Bartleby, “his poverty is great, but his solitude, how horrible! Think of it. Of a Sunday, Wall Street is deserted as Petra, and every night of every day it is an emptiness. This building, too, which of weekdays hums with industry and life, at nightfall echoes with sheer vacancy, and all through Sunday is forlorn. And here Bartleby makes his home, sole spectator of a solitude which he has seen all populous – a sort of innocent and transformed Marius brooding among the ruins of Carthage” (pg. 1495). This solitude that the lawyer talks about Bartleby is something that transcendentalists believe in. There is a revelation found about oneself when they are able to live in a world outside of the norm and for Bartleby that would be exactly what he decided to be when refusing to do any work for the lawyer. After asking Bartleby multiple times to leave since he will not do work the lawyer decided to move his practice to another office