Bartleby the Scrivener

In Herman Melville's short novel, "Bartleby," the main character is a mysterious stranger with whom the narrator and therefore the reader never becomes truly acquainted in spite of repeated efforts. Bartleby is a ghostly presence devoid of personality, history, and any apparent purpose for living yet strangely compelling. Keeping to himself, Bartleby does not of his own accord engage in conversation or any type of interaction with his coworkers or his employer; he is completely unengaged, almost as though he were not there at all. He is, in fact, completely unengaged in life itself. He exists; that is all. When approached and asked to become engaged by performing some work or running an errand, he consistently replies that he would "prefer not to."

When his employer finally tires of Bartleby's refusal to work and noncompliance, he fires him. However, Bartleby does not comply with being fired, either. He stays on, to his employer's profound distress and irritation, until in total exasperation, the employer moves to another office, leaving Bartleby behind. Eventually, Bartleby is shuttled off to a jail, aptly called "The Tombs." Although his employer pays to ensure that Bartleby will be provided with good food, Bartleby refuses to eat just as steadfastly as he refused to work. Upon his last visit to the Tombs to see about Bartleby's condition, he finds him huddled in the courtyard at the base of the wall, apparently asleep with "his dim eyes"

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epresentative of all lost humanity, an iconic figure who is born to die. His "blankness and anonymity" underline this representation, and the absence of personality allows anyone who reads the book to identify with him, because there is nothing in particular that distinguishes him from everyone else (Weinstein 29). According to Nathalia Wright, Melville's works contain "upwards of fourteen hundred [Biblical] allusions" altogether, including "all indirect references and unquoted borrowings" (Doloff 1). This fact alone suggests that he is preoccupied with Biblical themes and issues and that much of his work deals with man's perception of Biblical truth. In line with Bartleby's representation of spiritual death is his resolute pursuit of it. He shuns everything that has to do with life, eventually not even working anymore, and finally refusing to eat as well. He is the very antithesis of life. Everything in Bartleby's mind is steeped in delusion, from his seeming lack of awareness that he is pursuing death to the corruption of truth. Bartleby is so incognizant of truth that he is no longer aware when the words he speaks are erroneous and contradictory to his actions: "I prefer not to" and "I am not particular" disrupt the rule

Category: Literature - B