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Bartleby the Scrivener

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 open; touching him, the employer finds that he is dead (Melville 40).

MelvilleÆs mysterious character Bartleby has given rise to innumerable theories about who he is and what Melville intended him to represent, many of which are clearly just stab-in-the-dark guesses. However, Melville provides sufficient information about this character to enable the reader to apprehend his message, and most of the clues are repeated several times, just for good measure. There ar...

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Bartleby the Scrivener. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 12:57, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712605.html