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This 6 page paper discusses the novella Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville and argues that the story is really about the narrator rather than the title character. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KV32_HVmelbrt.rtf
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with Bartleby. Discussion It must be said, first of all, that Bartleby is not an attractive character, possibly because he is so mysterious. He is employed by the unnamed narrator
as a "scrivener," a sort of clerk whose job it is to copy documents, then proofread them (Melville). After working for several days, during which he produces a prodigious amount
of work, he begins to refuse all request for help by saying he would "prefer not to" do what is asked of him (Melville). This may be anything from proofreading
his work to running errands; he simply refuses, in the most genteel way possible, to do anything at all. He thus places the narrator in a dilemma: why should he
continue to employ the man when he does nothing but stare out the window? Obviously there is no reason for the narrator to employ a man who refuses to work,
but he cannot get rid of him, and Bartleby soon becomes an obsession with him, and an object of some fear for he simply doesnt understand him. Bartleby is no
help: from refusing to copy, then refusing to work, he progresses to refusing to answer any questions about himself. He remains entirely aloof and unknown. Given that he has
no past, no present and no future, its obvious that Bartleby is not a character but a symbol. What precisely is he? The most logical explanation is that he is
a sort of Everyman, but an Everyman who has failed at life, rather than succeeding. Everything about him suggests failure: his clothes are shabby, his skin is pale; he has
so little money that he barely eats anything (in fact he starves to death); and he lives in the office, presumably because he cannot afford a room (Melville). It soon
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