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Capitalism And Inequality In 'Bartleby'

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Capitalism is depicted in the story as the suffering and inequality Bartleby went through due to his nature after being laid off. He was laid off of his previous job and was also “fired” by the lawyer because he no longer had worth to the company. Capitalism is depicted negatively as a factor that oppresses an individual in the workforce. The underclass in the story is Bartleby all of the Lawyer’s employees. They all listen to the Lawyer’s orders and never question them, until Bartleby refuses to do his work. There is a normal employee-boss relationship amongst them. Even though the Lawyer prefers Bartleby’s work ethic, all of the other workers also work for the boss. Social class affects the office because it is understood that the lawyer
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