Freedom In Bartelby The Scrivener And A & P

Freedom: the core ideal of countless political systems and philosophical doctrines around the world. In literature, the same is also true. Being free is such a widespread concept throughout the literary world, that nearly any story read would contain freedom as an underlying theme. Both authors and readers seem to love the idea of being free, as it is portrayed as a universal theme in many well-known stories such as “The Story of an Hour,” “Bartelby the Scrivener,” and the “A&P.” Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is a prime example of how being free is a universal theme in literature. In her short story, Chopin writes about a woman who has been oppressed by her husband for so long that she does not know what it feels like to be free. The woman loves her husband very much, but seems to rejoice upon hearing of his demise as a result of a train crash. Many would find her delight to be

Being a scrivener is not the most ideal job; sitting long hours, copying down seemingly information, and there is little time for breaks. When Bartelby chooses to take the job, he voluntarily gives up his freedom in exchange for money. In the beginning of the story, Bartelby seems to enjoy his work, often staying late to complete it, but as the story progresses, he appears to grow tired of it. He becomes more secluded and eventually just stops working, replying that he would “prefer not to.” Bartelby had begun to miss his freedom. Bartelby becomes somewhat of a hermit, living in the office in which he refuses to work. He wants to be free of his burdens, but only passed them on to his boss, the narrator. The narrator, burdened by Bartelby, tries his hardest to cast him out of his life and take back his independence, eventually passing his onus to another. In the case of Bartelby the Scrivener, one can see that to obtain freedom, a burden must be passed to