Bartleby, The Scrivener: An Analysis

Big name corporations, such as Walmart, have recently been under fire for the mistreatment of their employees. Companies have always been criticized for caring more about money and making a profit than the well being of their workers. They fire workers due to lack of productivity, not thinking twice about the situation that the employee is in. In Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story Of Wall-Street by Herman Melville, the lawyer, who is the narrator of the story, shows pity and sympathy for one of his workers, Bartleby. Melville creates a story that shows that bosses can be nice and care for the well being of their workers. Bosses are capable of caring for their workers’ well being, sticking up for them, and also going through the tough times with them, and this is characterized through the lawyer and his actions in regards to

For example, one of his workers, Turkey, is an old man whose productivity is low during the day. Rather than firing Turkey, the Lawyer, instead of firing Turkey, tries to make compromises so that that Turkey could be both productive and happy. His care for his workers translates into how he treats Bartleby, one of his new workers. Bartleby is a hard worker, that always does his work efficiently, which was deeply appreciated by the Lawyer. Bartleby had worked so hard to the point where had strained his eyes out. The lawyer was sympathetic towards Bartleby stating, “I hinted that of course he did wisely in abstaining from writing for awhile; and urged him to embrace the opportunity of taking wholesome exercise in the open air” (17). Even though Bartleby is incapable of doing his job for a short period of time, the Lawyer does not penalize him for it, and in fact cares for his well being. Hernan shows the kinder, more caring sides of the business world, where the bosses care for the health of their employees through the Lawyer and his kind treatment towards