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Bartleby Narrator

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Melville a. Narrator and Point of View The Narrator is the main character. He changes the most in his feelings and actions regarding Bartleby. Regarding the other workers, Turkey and Nippers, he is used to them and keeps them because even though they have their difficulties each day, they are both useful and good workers for part of the day: Turkey is hardworking in the morning, and Nippers is hardworking in the afternoon. The Narrator starts out hopeful that Bartleby will influence his coworkers with his calmness, but becomes shocked after Bartleby’s first refusal to review his work. After some time, he gets used to Bartleby, as he is to the others. At one point, Bartleby says he will not do any more work. At this and future refusals, the Narrator becomes annoyed but also pitiful and compassionate. He tries to do what he thinks will help Bartleby, but nothing works. Later on, people start to notice Bartleby. He asks Bartleby to leave, but does not take any further means to get him to leave. He instead moves his practice to another building, which leaves Bartleby behind and later gets Bartleby arrested. He is still compassionate until the end, to no avail. What is surprising is that the Narrator even though annoyed, never did anything further than ask or try to reason, to get Bartleby to do anything. He …show more content…

This changes because of an errand he has to complete. He became “a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man,” (pg. 805), because of a nightmare or “a dream of evil omen,” (pg. 805), that he had. He did not get to enjoy the rest of his life because of this fear. It paralyzed him. At the end, it says that “when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave, a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grand-children, a goodly procession, besides neighbors, not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tomb-stone; for his dying hour was gloom,” (pg.

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Setting Note #1: The setting in the beginning of the novel is shown to become a character. This is because the brightness and the weather outside reflect that Zeena is gone so Mattie and Ethan are happy. They are happy because they finally get to spend some time alone with each other. When Zeena is with them, the weather is dark and stormy, so it is ironic that the weather changes because of this. Character Note #1: Zeena is seen as a static character in this quote.

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When only one gentleman shows up for the job, the boss gives the strange man, Bartleby, a job as a filer. After a few days, the new employee will not listen to the boss. This extraordinary man merely states, “I prefer not to,” when requested to complete a duty. Consequently, the boss gets weary of Bartleby’s behavior and attempts to get rid of

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In summary, Bartleby is an introverted and selfish man who focuses on himself, in contrast with the Narrator who is extroverted and thinks too much about others’ well being. Bartleby also does what he wants at any given moment when the Narrator does what is expected of him. The Narrator fully grasps life when Bartleby has given up on life itself. Going to the second foil between Turkey and/or Nippers and the main character. Turkey and Nippers are portrayed as highly emotionally unstable men.

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There are numerous ways somebody can interpret "Bartleby the Scrivener". I think all through the story the storyteller (the Lawyer) is the more sympathetic character. The lawyer, despite the fact that an active individual from society, alienates himself by forming dividers from his own particular egotistical and materialistic character. As it were, the lawyer's entire life rotates around items and ideas which don't sound good to him in spite of the fact that he is not mindful of this. The dividers of Bartleby conflict with the lawyer's dividers, however, both are designed to protect both the lawyer and Bartleby from the outside world.

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The narrator requests to work on an ordinary job which is not completely relevant to copying, and instead of writing, he prefers to object. When confronted by the narrator about the issue and his reasons for declining the request, he says that he desires not to. After considering the happening for a long time, the storyteller moves his office to a different place to get rid of Bartleby. As the story split ends, Bartleby says no to eating, and he is seen starving himself to death. Various incidences in the story portray Bartleby as a hero who reveals his braveness in facing the unjust community by his authority and molding the conscience of the narrator.

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In “The Scrivener” by Herman Melville, the character of Bartleby serves as a symbol for nonconformity and passive resistance to societal expectations. Through his use of the phrase “I would prefer not to,” Bartleby’s existence defies natural laws and understanding of human behavior, challenging the reader's perception of normality. The narrator points out, “Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable” (Melville, The Scrivener, 1322). Throughout the narrative, Bartleby is an enigma to both the cast and the readers.

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He utilizes his observations of the cottagers to create his own ideals of humanity. He remains true to these words as he is very compassionate about the De Lacey family’s poverty. He learns of the acute shortage of food in the

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In the story, Bartleby is hired by an elderly lawyer on Wall Street in New York to work as a scrivener. In the beginning of his job, Bartleby diligently works day and night, writing and copying by sunlight and candlelight. His outstanding production and work ethic greatly pleases the lawyer, just as Melville’s early works received much positivity and pleased his readers. However, one day when the lawyer asks Bartleby to read a document, he unexpectedly replies, “I’d prefer not to” (Melville, 675). Just as Bartleby one day in a sense abandons his job and becomes very stagnant, Melville did the same in 1850, after he was greatly overwhelmed with negativity over his later works.

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Herman Melville’s short story “Bartelby, the Scrivener” is a tale that compels readers to decipher between what is meant to be a generous deed and what reflects egocentric and selfish behaviors. The main character, an elderly lawyer, proves to be an “eminently safe man” by creating walls between himself and the rest of humanity and by holding onto a fear of public critique and rejection. This lawyer performs charitable conduct toward Bartleby to acquire self-approval and an honorable conscience. The lawyer begins the story as materialistic and out of touch man and ends it in the same manner. Through the use of symbolism and characterization, Melville makes apparent the idea that the lawyer is charitable to Bartleby not because it benefits mankind but in an attempt to achieve his own humanity and self-gratification at a higher level.

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In the end he does not get what he wants, but he realizes that to become what he wanted one has to sell their soul, losing compassion for

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Lastly, Herman’s life impacted his novel, Moby Dick because the tragic ending in which the main character is the only sailor of the entire crew that escapes the attack of the whale they are attempting to catch. He ends up staying afloat on his best friend’s coffin after the ship is sunk and the mission failed(Herman Melville). This reflects Melville’s life at the time because he wrote Moby Dick during the pivotal period of his life when he was going unrecognized for his work and his financial and family life was taking a turn for the worst. Herman was hit hard by many things such as like his son’s unexpected death when he decided to take his own life in the fall of the year 1867.

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