Bartleby the Scrivener
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In Herman MelvilleÆs short novel, ôBartleby,ö the main character is a mysterious stranger with whom the narratorùand therefore the readerùnever becomes truly acquainted in spite of repeated efforts. Bartleby is a ghostly presenceùdevoid of personality, history, and any apparent purpose for livingùyet 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 ôprefer not to.ö When his employer finally tires of BartlebyÆs refusal to work and noncompliance, he fires him. However, Bartleby does not comply with being fired, either. He stays on, to his employerÆs 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 ôThe Tombs.ö 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 BartlebyÆs condition, he finds him huddled in the courtyard at the base of the wall, apparently asleep with ôhis dim eyesö
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epresentative of all lost humanity, an iconic figure who is born to die. His ôblankness and anonymityö 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, MelvilleÆs works contain ôupwards of fourteen hundred [Biblical] allusionsö altogether, including ôall indirect references and unquoted borrowingsö (Doloff 1). This fact alone suggests that he is preoccupied with Biblical themes and issues and that much of his work deals with manÆs perception of Biblical truth.
In line with BartlebyÆs 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 BartlebyÆs 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
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Approximate Word count = 1821
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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