Herman Melville wrote numerous short stories while, using different literary techniques. Melville brilliantly uses symbolism in his story Bartleby the Scrivener. Melville uses Bartleby as a reference to a Christ-like figure. Melville does this to test the narrator that all people are going to have a hard test in life and that no one is exempted from this. Melville’s throws symbolism all throughout this story. He shows how Bartleby is compared to other people at his work and how Bartleby becomes the ultimate test for the narrator. Melville uses clear symbolism to portray Bartleby as a Christ-like figure, proving to the narrator that there is no easy life for anyone. A critic of Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener, Richard J. Zlogar, breaks down …show more content…
“he lives, then, on ginger nuts, never eats dinner/ vegetarian/nothing but ginger nuts.” (Melville 669). This can be represented as eating the bread in a church. Zlogar states “The closest the scrivener comes to an enactment of Christ's communal Last Supper is his dining alone on the ginger-cake "wafers". (Zlogar 517). The narrator can also be a representation of God to Bartleby’s leprosy. The narrator must get over the nauseating feeling to Bartleby in order to heal him from his disease (Zlogar 517). Bartleby is persecuted from his so-called home, the office, and is taken to a jail. “It has informed me that the writer had to the police, and had Bartleby removed to the Tombs as a vagrant.” (Melville 684). Bartleby was persecuted from his home and sentence to a jail. In the biblical days, Jesus was persecuted and sentence to death. Bartleby was basically sentenced to death as he died in front of the narrator who returned one last time to see Bartleby. Bartleby provides the ultimate test for the narrator as he is someone like a ‘beggar’. Jesus Christ is not going to knock at someone’s door with a fancy suit on. Christ is going to look like a beggar, who is diseased, to see who has the faith to care for
Herman Melville created many characters in his writing that had a mysterious nature to them. Melville himself had a bit of mystery in his own personal character and this quality is shown through many characters such as Claggart and Bartleby. Besides having a mysterious side to him, this author was stubborn. Even though his work wasn’t always praised he remained determined and pretty much always wrote what he wanted to write. This stubbornness was shown through his characters Captain Veere in Billy Budd and Bartleby in the story "Bartleby the Scrivener." Melville was also passively resistant and he shows this through his characters Billy Budd and Bartleby. Herman Melville portrayed himself in his writing by giving personality traits to his literary characters that were similar to the ones he himself possessed.
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.
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...
In conclusion, it was evident that this great work of literature provides many allusions that provide reference to more familiar work and help us understand a clearer understanding to the meaning of the work. Even though the allusions do not all pertain to the entire meaning of the work, but they do illuminate a broader perspective of the characters, setting, and tone. Yet, there were a lot of allusions that did illuminate the entire meaning of the novella, and even though the true meaning remains ambiguous they still reflected what most readers consider the meaning. The meaning of Herman Melville’s well known masterpiece is that one who had suffered was not really the one suffering, but the one who caused the suffer is really the one who is suffering.
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.
Herman Melville’s use of religious images not only demonstrates his genius as a romantic author, but also displays the human capacity for evil. Melville specifically chooses these religious images to make a powerful statement on how evil is used as a weapon against people. Melville’s use of religious imagery is deliberate and even on the verge of calculating. Melville uses religion multiple times to show how being ignorant of one’s surroundings can be incredibly damaging.
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.
Melville, Herman. "Bartleby the Scrivener." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton & Company, 2003. 2330-2355
...ployer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve”(p.8) Bartleby doesn’t want to be saved; Bartleby desires not to conform to the etiquette that the Lawyers society places upon him. Bartleby wins in the end because he goes to his death holding on to his convictions. Bartleby controlled the relationship to the end of it and beyond.
“A symbol is something that has a literal identity but also stands for something else—something that is widely understood and has been developed over a long period of time or by common agreement,” (Clugston, 2010). Symbolism is widely used in all forms of literature to include both short stories and poems. Symbolism is also used to challenge a reader go beyond what is on the page by using imagination and association that is mostly used in everyday life. Also once you have learned what certain symbols represent you may find yourself using them in your observations of everyday life, on the other hand those that have experienced life and have their own account of what symbols mean to them they will be able to bring their literature to life through symbolism as well. "In order to write about life, first you must live it,” (Hemingway, nd), is clarifying that those who have lived and experienced life are better able to write about it and use symbolism from the world around him.
This leads to the lawyer to grow increasingly curious about Bartleby. The idea of capitalist values in “Bartleby the Scrivener” are supported through the way the narrator, the lawyer, presents his employees to the reader, describes meeting Bartleby and Bartleby’s
Symbolism, something that figuratively represents something else, is prominent in many literary works. One piece of literature that stands out as a perfect example of symbolism is Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown." This story is completely symbolic, and provides a good example of an allegory, or a story in which concrete items or characters represent abstract ideas. Hawthorne uses both objects and people as symbols to better support the allegorical tones throughout "Young Goodman Brown."
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...
The infamous ending statement in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” “Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!” (Melville 34), signifies not only the tragic demise of the character of Bartleby, but the dismal ruin of mankind as well. This enigmatic statement can be applied to both “Bartleby the Scrivener” and Melville’s other short story, “Benito Cereno.” Both stories are narrated by unreliable characters, leaving further questions on whether or not the Lawyer was genuinely trying to help Bartleby when he showed signs of depression or if the one-sided story of Captain Delano truly portrayed the slaves and their motives for taking over Cereno’s San Dominick. In each of Melville’s short stories, there is an obvious grayness about each tale, the plots of both stories start out slow and unsuspicious, but are then revealed through a dynamic change in events, and each novella has ultimate realities that are hidden through appearances. Together, “Bartleby the Scrivener” and “Benito Cereno” are stories that possess a deep meaning within them which is intended to make the reader question the definition of human nature.
In the novella Billy Budd, Melville portrays his characters in such a way as to demonstrate the constant conflict between good and evil in the world. He achieves this by the utilization of Biblical symbolism with all of his characters. Melville portrays Billy as a Christ like figure because Billy was the innocent man that was brought into an evil world (the world of a war ship during those times), full of corruption and later on he had to be sacrificed for the betterment of the many. Melville suggests that Billy’s life is comparable to that of Jesus Christ in several ways. One of the examples that Melville compares young Billy’s life with that of Jesus is when Claggart falsely accuses Billy of organizing a mutiny aboard the Indomitable, just