Bartleby The Scrivener Food Essay

I prefer not to eat “The easiest way of life is the best”, Melville's lawyer, the narrator claims in the opening of Bartleby The scrivener : A story of Wall-street (1469). We can see the characters in the story are motivated by money and other provision such as food. These nicknames reveal who the characters truly are (1470). In melville's story we can see how much better the lawyer is financially then his employees. When re-reading the mysterious story something that struck me that gave me a new understanding of the text. In the following I will discuss how the theme of food is the key to understanding the mystery that is Bartleby the scrivener: a story of wall street.

When we are introduced to the various employee of the lawyer none of them

The Lawyer is a very interesting man. When it comes to food he is one of the only characters not associated with it as much. However we can learn about him seeing how he interacts with others. Clearly the lawyer cares very little for all of his employees. While some may argue he was helping his workers in reality he enables them. He lets the original three employees not work to full capacity and disregards any and all issues they face. He ignores Turkeys glutoney even though it affects how much he works, he ignores Nippers issues and he keeps Ginger Nut in a very low and mostly useless position.Something else to consider is that as the lawyer tells his story he only says the nicknames of his employees. Perhaps he considers them nothing more than “food” or “cattle”. It seems he only cares about what his workers can do for him instead of attempting to help them. Additionally he ignores the real problems of Bartleby and ultimately in some ways contributes to his death. It seems he is trying to just feel better about himself when talking to Bartleby but he only looks at the surface level. Ultimately the lawyer is a complicated and unusual man. He often goes back on what he says he will and is constantly changing his mind.The lawyer is a selfish and well off man who cares little about his