Herman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener - 938 Words

â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener† delves into the life of a worker at a New York City Law firm. Herman Melville provides a drab and bleak outlook on the conditions of labor and mental state of the workers at the firm. Though the story can be seen as a depiction of the isolation and lack of passion found in big city labor, I believe that Melville provides much more in his writing. Within the details provided in the story, he manages to forge a metaphor for the power of transcendental ideals such as self reliance and choice within a society. He illustrates a culture run not by one’s own beliefs, but rather the generalized other and people plagued by authoritarian ideals. By the end of the tale of Bartleby and his influence within the firm Melville strives to change society by informing the reader of the importance of non-conformity and belief in one’s ideals, but also the danger of following through with that in society. Melville initially creates a setting that adds a sense of desolation and dreariness within the office, as shown with the â€Å"unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black with age and everlasting shade.† This provides a general outlook on the law firm as a place of sadness, routine work, and isolation. The idea of being surrounded by wall also further depicts a sense of being physically trapped within their office, and possibly symbolically in their job or capitalist culture. In addition to the bleak atmosphere at the office, the workers at the firm are people who haveShow MoreRelatedHerman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener1455 Words   |  6 Pagesto make the commands and orders pertaining to the employee, however in Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener, this situation is not the case, and in fact opposite. Blatantly about the passive resistance the main character, or employee, Bartleby achieves with the famous, â€Å"I prefer not to,† quote, this basic idea of passive resistance only skims the surfa ce of the underlying themes and lessons presented in the book. Melville adds certain aspects into the story that raise questions about Bartleby’sRead MoreHerman Melville s Bartleby, The Scrivener1305 Words   |  6 PagesHerman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener Born in New York City on August 1st, 1819, Herman Melville led a life that commenced in partial fame and success, but ended in poverty and despair. Although unjustly criticized for the â€Å"purposeless extravagance† and â€Å"disorderliness† of his writing, due to his digressions into many different topics while discussing a single one, especially in his most celebrated novel today, though most criticized and unappreciated in his time, Moby Dick, Herman MelvilleRead MoreHerman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener1402 Words   |  6 Pagestackle these walls. Herman Melville gives us a glimpse at how walls can eventually destroy us if we give into them. In his short story, Bartleby the Scrivener, the narrator tells the story of a clerk he once employed, Bartleby. At first, Bartleby seemed to be the perfect employee, but he eventually began to shirk his work and depart into himself. Through the narrative, the narrator gives his account of how he dealt with Bartleby and giv es the reader a look at the walls Bartleby dealt with in partRead MoreA Man s World On Wall Street1638 Words   |  7 PagesWhat makes a man, a man? Herman Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener,† written in 1851, undoubtedly constructs a man’s world on Wall Street. During this time, it would be said that men and women had a certain role to fulfill. It just so happened that men were considered superior over women during the 1800’s. However, Melville wasn’t completely prosperous exterminating women from his narrative. Herman Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener,† is full of male characters. Bartleby, Turkey, Nippers, and GingerRead MoreThe Joy Luck Club And Bartleby The Scrivener1376 Words   |  6 PagesI am a reader who s level of engagement in the story coincides with how applicable the conflicts and central messages are to my life. Likewise, I can readily appreciate a story and its contents when I can mature as a reader alon gside the development of the story’s main characters, the protagonist especially. For this reason, I was enthralled with Amy Tan’s ‘The Joy Luck Club’ and Herman Melville’s ‘Bartleby, the Scrivener,’ as I resonated well with its main characters; just as the characters graduallyRead MoreBartleby the Scrivener Essay2334 Words   |  10 PagesBartleby’s Isolation and the Wall Introduction: â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener, A Story of Wall Street† is a short story by Herman Melville in which the narrator, a lawyer who runs a firm on Wall Street, tells the story of a rebellious scrivener who worked for him named Bartleby. One day, Bartleby simply states â€Å"I would prefer not to† when asked to do his normal copying duties as a scrivener (Melville). Soon Bartleby starts sleeping and eating at the office, refusing to leave. Eventually the narratorRead MoreThe School Of Marxist Criticism1703 Words   |  7 Pagesallowed to teach and in fact it lead to not being able to step on campus for any reason leaving him the only option to abandon his long term carrier. And later produced his famous opposition letter named â€Å"Rheinische Zeitung†. Bartleby the Scrivener written by Herman Melville is my focused story in this Marxist criticism approach due to the multiple elements that are inserted in the work piece which are alienation, Class Conflict, Freedom/Imprisonment, and Individualism. These approaches are very importantRead MoreEssay about Individual Freedom in Melvilles Bartleby, the Scrivener869 Words   |  4 PagesFreedom in Melvilles Bartleby, the Scrivener What motivates you to go to work everyday? What motivates you to dress the way you do? What motivates you to be reasonable when it comes to normal requests? Ah, the ultimate question in need of an answer: Who determines what is reasonable and normal, and should we not determine these matters for ourselves? Chaos would result, you say, if every individual were granted that freedom. Yet, we all do have that freedom, and Herman Melville (1819-1891) throughRead MoreBartleby The Scrivener Analysis1203 Words   |  5 Pages Herman Melville is an acclaimed author of the American Renaissance period and his most commendable works include â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener†. The story of â€Å"Bartleby† is not only a revelation of the business world of the mid-19th century but at the same time, it is also the manifestation of the emerging capitalistic lifestyle of perhaps New York’s most prominent street, Wall Street. Bartleby is a rather peculiar yet captivating figure. Bartleby’s life and death contribute to a sort of enigma for theRead More Social Deviance in Bartleby the Scrivener Essay608 Words   |  3 Pages Social Deviance in Bartleby the Scrivener nbsp; nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Bartleby the Scrivener is a story that takes place on Wall Street, peopled by workers of a common mold.nbsp; Being a non-conformatist of the most extreme type,nbsp; Bartleby is eventually suffers a death of attrition.nbsp; The message that Melville intends for the reader is how society has little tolerance for social deviance. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; I mentioned a