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Bartleby In The Office

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For the first time in the story Melville begins questioning human existence through the narrator’s response to discovering Bartleby living in the office. Thomas Mitchell author of the article Dead Letters and Dead Men best described this event in is his statement, “Stricken by his sudden awareness of the immensity of Bartleby's solitude, his total isolation from all human contact, the narrator is shocked out of the "snug retreat" of his own isolation by his realization of the "bond of common humanity"” (Mitchell). Discovering Bartleby in the office creates a mixed feeling of emotions for the narrator. In his statement "Yes, thought I, it is evident enough that Bartleby has been making his home here, keeping bachelor's hall all by himself. Immediately …show more content…

Throughout the story walls become a key element both physically and metaphorically. An example of Melville’s use of walls in the story is expressed by Thomas Mitchell who said, “Bartleby's refusal to connect with others, his decision to isolate himself behind a wall of silent despair, rejecting any and all overtures of kindness and help” (Mitchell). The concept of Bartleby isolating himself behind a wall is demonstrated in a physical manner in the story due to living in the office as well as working in a corner secluded from the other copyists. Also, through the narrator’s inability to understand Bartleby’s refusal to work and copy papers anymore there is a metaphorical wall established. The narrator tolerates Bartleby’s behavior for a certain period of time as suggested by Mitchell, “At one point, his sympathy for Bartleby's plight leads him to the totally unconventional decision that though he cannot help him, he can allow him to stay in the office without even the pretense of working” (Mitchell). However, as time progresses the narrator begins to realize he no longer can keep Bartleby around and needs to end the relationship. The narrator’s efforts to get Bartleby to leave the office are unsuccessful. Bartleby’s unwillingness to leave further enhance the symbolism of walls. Bartleby becomes a wall or rather barrier to the narrator and thus leads the narrator to move his office to another

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Bartelby becomes somewhat of a hermit, living in the office in which he refuses to work. He wants to be free of his burdens, but only passed them on to his boss, the narrator. The narrator, burdened by Bartelby, tries his hardest to cast him out of his life and take back his independence, eventually passing his onus to another. In the case of Bartelby the Scrivener, one can see that to obtain freedom, a burden must be passed to

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In Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville uses direct and indirect characterization to give a more powerful meaning to the characters and dialogue of the short story. Melville also uses appearances and names to get his descriptions across. In the story the narrator plays a key role in which he is not just the narrator but also a character. The narrator tells the story through indirect characterization.

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After reading Melville’s short story Bartleby the Scrivener, I started to think about how the story is relevant to today. Melville is able to capture the tedious and repetitious work environment of people who work in offices not only through the description of the office, but also through the interactions of the workers. In the story, Bartleby is put in an office space without a view to the outside world. Instead the lawyer positions him facing the a wall. The wall symbolizes the class difference between the two men.

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This provides a first detail of Bartleby’s character to the narrator, as he has a chance to see his disinterest in anything but working. Following this moment came a series of events in which the narrator proposes something to Bartleby and he responds with “I would prefer not to.” The narrator asks Bartleby to examine copies with the other men, go to the Post Office in the place of the usual errand boy, answer personal questions about himself, and lastly—upon Bartleby’s announcement that has given up copying—tells him to leave his law firm. Bartleby refuses, but the police eventually arrest Bartleby after frightened other tenants of the building report him to the station—Bartleby has sat at the banister outside of the office, refusing to

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The story has come to a point where Bartleby has refused to work and the narrator lets this slide by. This refusal to work would result in dismissal of one’s job, but the narrator continued Bartleby’s employment. However, this charitable act may just be a feint so the narrator’s “can cheaply purchase a delicious self-approval; to befriend Bartleby…will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience”. (Melville 56). Rather than for the good purpose, the narrator is conforming to what he thinks society would like him to do in this kind of situation.

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The Narrator justifies keeping Bartleby and ignores his internal issues with confrontation. When Bartleby refuses to do anything but copy the Narrator forgives the behavior because Bartleby asked so politely. When Bartleby refuses to work all together the Narrator allows him to stay because he thinks it is a good thing to help Bartleby. Even when the Narrator realizes the he can’t have Bartleby in his office anymore he moves offices instead of making Bartleby leave. All these acts show us that the Narrator does not know how do deal with confrontation

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Bartleby’s personality is based off of those observations because he rarely speaks about his background, his likes or dislikes or his actions. From the beginning he is described by the lawyer with words like “motionless young man…pallidly neat…incurably forlorn” (Melville 1488) or even as a figure thus making him seem unhuman-like and this continues throughout the story. Bartleby was said to have shown up on the front door of the lawyer’s office to answer one of his advertisements. The lawyer hires him on the spot because of the first impression he gets. “After a few words touching his qualifications, I engaged him, glad to have among my corps of copyists a man of so singularly sedate an aspect, which I thought might operate beneficially upon the flighty temper of Turkey, and the fiery once of Nippers” (Melville 1488).

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To Bartleby, the walls represent his upcoming death. Bartleby feels lost; he does not know what will happen in the future. Every time Bartleby looks at the wall, he sees the limits of his puzzle life, leading to his breakdown. Knowing that he will disappear soon, Bartleby decides to not come out of his office, “a certain unconscious air...of pallid haughtiness” (14). The walls symbolize Bartleby’s isolation from the office, the world, and the society.

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Critical Analysis The short story “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville, showcases the protagonist, Bartleby, as a scrivener who is inundated with the demanding expectations of his job while being employed by an overbearing mercenary boss. Ultimately, Melville illustrates the protagonist’s sanity and moral value deteriorating as Bartleby begins to lose the will to live due to the stress that his job has created. Herman Melville (1819-1891) was born in New York City, New York. He is the third child out of eight.

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