Bartleby Point Of View Analysis

The narrator in Melville’s tale has lived for a very long time as a man stuck to his ways, and those ways are suited around his own personal interests. The narrator, with his preference for choosing “the easiest way of life” has adapted a lifestyle where excuses keep him from experiencing unwanted human interaction. He has developed his beliefs over self-created truths, such as his justification for not confronting Turkey or Nippers for their poor work ethics. He pushes the problem aside by stating that it “was a good natural arrangement” (pg. 155) since they formed one normal working man. This gives emphasis to the narrator’s non-confrontational attitude, which keeps him from handling a case such as Bartleby’s and from assessing his own destructive behavior on community. The narrator, so long as he can justify his own self-interest, can create a belief that cements itself in his mind. He is basically the creator of walls which he can hide behind to stop himself from mentally facing the truth.

He avoids deep, intimate association with others, something we as humans need to live fulfilled lives, by adapting the way he forms relationships. In turn, there is a change in the way the narrator views community, which makes it harder for him to view it from an angle where being isolated or undermining can be seen as negatives. To the narrator people are more like machines. Turkey and Nipper serve as parts to a whole. Bartleby, with his efficient work, has “made him a valuable acquisition” (pg. 161) as though he is something you can buy at an office supply store. He sees all people following the same principle of self-interest that he follows, and for that reason cannot comprehend community until Bartleby comes to him and to offer an undermining foundation to his isolating