Bartleby The Scrivener Essay

The character of Bartleby in Herman Melville’s novella “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street” is a person who refuses to become an object in capitalistic society. Initially, he is the perfect example of the objectification and mechanization of humans in the workplace. In essence, Bartleby is a machine that continually produces. Ultimately, he begins to resist the mind numbing repetition of his tasks and the mechanization of his life. The other main character, the narrator, is a facilitator of the capitalistic machine. He dehumanizes his employees by ensuring that their free will is denied in the workplace using objectifying nicknames, providing a workplace devoid of human touch and connection,; and perpetuating mechanized, repetitive work. Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” shows the dehumanizing effects of working in a capitalistic environment and ultimately suggests that one must conform to a standard way of life or will cease to exist.

of Bartleby the Scrivener. The lawyer’s office is divided into two rooms by a ground-glass

In my haste….rapidly stating what it was I wanted him to do-namely, to examine a small paper with me”(379-380) Bartley’s response was “ I would prefer not to”(380). Bartley says I would prefer not to so many times that it actually starts to wear off onto the employees and affect their speech “so you have got the word too, said I, slightly excited”(390).This starts to worry the Lawyer and it begins to affect his mind as well. There are several examples of Bartleby refusing to do even the simplest of task, which causes the curiosity of his boss to grow, but this also cause his patients to wear thin. Bartleby never gives any answers as to who he was or what he

The narrator of the story becomes shocked when he discovers that Bartleby, who only feeds on ginger nuts, has never left the office. This is actually the first time that the narrator experiences the spiritual power that Bartleby possesses. The narrator is so much business oriented that he only looks at the world in terms of profits. However, when he encounters this aspect of the spirit of Bartleby, his attitude towards life changes. He begins appreciating the fact that Bartleby deserves better treatment, not in the capitalist way. The narrator even sees what is a right, just as an asset, but this perception is later changed by Bartleby’s spirit: “What earthly right have you to stay here? Do you pay any rent? Do you pay my taxes? Or is this property yours?” (Melville, 41).

Herman Melville’s, “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” tells the tale of Bartleby, the new scrivener at a lawyer’s office on Wall-Street. In an office of industrious, distressed workers who endlessly perform mundane tasks due to the orders of the lawyer, Bartleby forms a mystifying exception. Bartleby baffles his boss and colleagues by responding to requests with his famous line, “I would prefer not to.” His response demonstrates an unwillingness to work and a willingness to do what he truly desires, which is extremely unusual to both his colleagues and their society and creates a massive social divide between them. Due to the abandonment of those around him resulting from their growing frustration with his inactivity, Bartleby ultimately faces a swift

“Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, is a story about the quiet struggle of the common man. Refusing to bow to the demands of his employer, Bartleby represents a challenge to the materialistic ideology by refusing to comply with simple requests made by his employer. The story begins with the employer having trouble finding good employees. This is until the employer hires Bartleby. At first, Bartleby works hard and does his job so well that everyone has a hard time imagining what it would be like without him. After three days, Bartleby is asked by his boss to examine a legal paper. He replies with “I would prefer not to”. The story ends with Bartleby being discovered occupying the office at weekends and being taken into custody for

In Herman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener, Bartleby refuses to do work because he cannot adjust to change in his life, and represents how the entire human race is like Barleby, and cannot change. For example, the narrator describes Turkey, one of the three workers besides Bartleby, “First, Turkey; second, Nippers; third, Ginger Nut…(Turkey) began the daily period when I considered his business capacities as seriously disturbed for the remainder of the twenty-four hours.” (Melville 1104). These workers are symbolic and represent average workers. The worker’s names are not their real names and are called that when they are at work, this symbolizes that they are unidentified, average workers, and are defined by what their job is at work, and

By the rules of the capitalistic society that he lives in, Bartleby is worthless once he stops working and it is his decision to quit working that lands him in the Tombs, where he eventually dies. The narrator informs the reader that Bartleby has sent to the Tombs with the charge of being a “vagrant” (276), a person without a home or regular work. Bartleby is forced to live in a world where not having work is a crime worthy of prison, even though he chooses not to work. When he finally decides to break out of the capitalistic walls that forced him to work, Bartleby is arrested and placed within the confines of yet another set of walls, those of the

Herman Melville's tale "Bartleby, The Scrivener" intentionally reinforces the idea of capitalism. Melville exposes this aspect in his work by the behavior that is conducted by the lawyer towards his employees and at the end by the death of Bartleby. Working in a capitalist society, the employees end up becoming dehumanized by the upper class. The upper class looks at them as tools or aide devices. The employees are available to help aide in the boss’s success.

Herman Melville is an acclaimed author of the American Renaissance period and his most commendable works include “Bartleby, the Scrivener”. The story of “Bartleby” is not only a revelation of the business world of the mid-19th century but at the same time, it is also the manifestation of the emerging capitalistic lifestyle of perhaps New York’s most prominent street, Wall Street. Bartleby is a rather peculiar yet captivating figure. Bartleby’s life and death contribute to a sort of enigma for the reader and his employer. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a story that criticizes the monotonous day-to-day cycle that the modern working man is forcibly put in by society. With that being said, the death of Bartleby not only serves as a reflection

In a society where work is portrayed as needed, individuals that prefer not to are seen as rebels and enemies of the capitalist way of life. I think that Bartleby is a victim of this capitalist way of life, him and the Queen are cultural rebels, they represent the absurdity of work and the necessity of identity.

In the story, Bartleby has the job of a scrivener, but he alienates himself by not doing the required job and keeping to himself. Scenes like these can be seen in our everyday lives. At school, the one kid who sits at his desk and doesn't participate in a project, or the man in a workout group who keeps to himself while

“Since he will not quit me, I must quit him. Ah Bartleby, Ah Humanity.” (Melville 131) This is the key to Bartleby, for it indicates that he stands as a symbol for humanity. This in turn functions as a commentary on society and the working world, for Bartleby is a seemingly homeless, mentally scrivener who gives up on the prospect of living life, finally withdrawing himself from society. However, by doing so Bartleby is attempting to exercise his freewill, for he would “prefer not to” work. His relationship to the narrator (the Lawyer) and the normal progression of life. However, this

Bartleby chooses to go against the norm by staying in the office while living and breathing work, because he seems to think its wrong to earn a great deal of money with little expense to himself. In class we touched on Bartleby’s passive aggressiveness and how he doesn’t deliberately fight against he used that phrase, “he prefers not to.” His progressive passivity is his objection to partake in the actions of the common traditions. He is going against the rules, but is also a mystery, because no one understands him nor does Melville provide any information

At first, the illusion of a good work ethic is put forth by Bartleby. Nevertheless this commitment is short lived and he begins refusing to do his work stating “I would prefer not to” anytime he is asked to review his copies documents. This is something that The Lawyer chooses not to condemn at first out of some sort of