The Rationale of Suicide in Bartleby

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The Rationale of Suicide in Bartleby

One of the most strikingly confusing details of Herman Melville's "Bartleby" is the repetitive use of the specific form of his refusals; he "prefers" not to comply with his employer's demands. Bartleby never argues for his convictions, rather he refuses on the grounds of his preference. Such a vast repetition, along with its inherent perplexity, leads me to believe that the actual wording is symbolic in nature.

When someone is asked for his/her preferences, the question is directed to the individual's inner motives and desires. Any question addressed as a preference question, usually grants the consideration of the innermost inclinations. The lawyer never asked Bartleby whether he would like to comply or not, yet the latter keeps answering with the same term of preference; a choice of word that comes to show that Bartleby does not regard the demands laid upon him as intrinsically valid, he rather questions them in light of his inclinations and answers accordingly.

The lawyer, on the other hand, does view his demands as intrinsically valid. The lawyer represents society with all its requirements and demands. Society expects us to work for our living under the terms and conditions that it sets, but what if we choose not to? * The lawyer does not make much of Bartleby's choice of words, he does not recognize the real problem; namely, Bartleby is neither interested, nor subjected to the rules of society

Bartleby's state is further clarified by the symbolic use of the walls and the dead letter office described in the epilogue. First, throughout the story he is depicted time and again as facing and staring at a wall. Staring at a wall can mean ...

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As much as we all strive to "see the full half of the glass," for some people the half is either empty, or not full enough. While those of us that have an incentive for life cannot understand how it can elude anyone else (in the way the Lawyer could not understand Bartleby), each reason to get out of bed every morning is unique and personal. Apparently not everyone has a reason, and the mere loss of a reason is a short step away from the loss of life.

* The assumption made by the lawyer, and for that matter, by society, that its values and demands are intrinsically a priori valid, are a matter for another interesting research, yet it diverges too much from our point.

Work Cited:

Melville, Herman. "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street." 1853. Bartleby.com. 30 Oct. 2000. http://www.bartleby.com/129/.

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