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The narrator describes himself as an "eminently safe man." because he supports the system of Wall Street without question.
If Bartleby were alive today, he would likely be one of those individuals in a corporate office who refuses to do 'busy work' when there was really no productive work to do, and frustrates his supervisors who demand that lower-level employees keep up the appearance of productivity at all times. However, although Bartleby clearly seems dissatisfied with his current way of life, he inexplicably refuses to try to change his existence. Even when the narrator, lists a series of possible options for work, Bartleby refuses all of them. Bartleby refuses to move, to take meals, and eventually is confined to 'the Tombs' as a vagrant.
One possible interpretation is that Bartleby's mind has become so warped by his work as a scrivener that, even though he knows how pointless...
He has become physically and emotionally frozen. Another interpretation is that Bartleby rejects the capitalist ideal of 'work' being the purpose of human life. Bartleby refuses to be defined by his occupation, and instead insists on being defined by his "humanity," even though he is not sure what his 'humanity' is, anymore, after working so hard for so long. This makes the ending of the story ironic, because the narrator is unable to appreciate Bartleby's humanity, only Bartleby's capacity to do work. The narrator steadfastly resists learning anything from Bartleby's example, and is only determined to 'teach' Bartleby the right way to live, which means to resume Bartleby's formerly industrious habits. Even the title of the story suggests that to the bitter end, Bartleby is always a scrivener, forever tied to his occupational title.
After all, he was performing his main tack quite well and in a continuous manner. The second time to refuses to perform a task his boss gives him happens to be in front of all the other employees. This new situation commands immediate reaction from his part, because his very authority is questioned. By not taking action, he could open a chain of reaction and insubordination from the rest
He later finds out that Bartleby has refused to leave the old office. Eventually, Bartleby is thrown into jail, where he perishes, after having refused to eat. Towards the end of the story, the narrator reveals that he has heard a rumor that Bartleby used to work in a dead letter office - a job that naturally would have been crushing to someone of such a melancholic disposition as Bartleby.
The narrator becomes restless in finding a solution to this new and unexpected problem that he encounters. All the knowledge and wisdom he thinks he has gathered in years of practicing an easy, uncomplicated way of acting are of no use to him now. The old order of thongs and his firm beliefs are of no use when he is dealing with the case of Bartleby. Sometimes, the reader
Melville Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" describes the drudgery of daily life in an office. The reader learns about the title scrivener from a well-meaning, good-natured lawyer who hires Bartleby to help in the office alongside his relatively ineffective scribes Nippers and Turkey. At first, Bartleby seems a good fit in spite of his dour demeanor. As time passes, Bartleby loses all motivation to work. He starts to refuse
Bartleby the Scrivener, By Herman Melville The protagonist in this story by Herman Melville is the narrator, and Bartleby, a man of his own mind and a strong mind it is, is the antagonist. The narrator shows a disturbing lack of good judgment by coddling Bartleby, and begging Bartleby to cooperate. The narrator in this story represents the lack of human understanding in the business world of Melville's era. The thesis
The story is about a relationship, not just the fact Bartleby does not 'care' to work. Thompson, Graham. "Dead letters!....Dead men?': The rhetoric of the office in Melville's 'Bartleby, the Scrivener'. " Journal of American Studies 3-34.(2000): 395-411. Thompson analyzes the relationship between Bartleby and the unnamed narrator as a kind of a romance. Why is the narrator compelled to tell the story of Bartleby, long after it happened? Telling