Literary Analysis of "Bartleby the Scrivener"

“Bartleby the scrivener” is a story by Herman Melville which takes place at a small office on wall-street. The narrator, who is a lawyer, analyses the workers around him and becomes focused and intrigued by one of the many workers, Bartleby. Before the narrator focuses on Bartleby, he first gives some insight about himself, the surroundings, and the other employees at his office. The narrator states that he “has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best. All who know me consider me an eminently safe man” (Melville, par 3). In other words, this narrator is an unambitious lawyer who does not like taking risks. His primary focus in life is financial stability and simplicity. He owns a small office on wall-street. The office is located on the second floor; “at one end they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious skylight shaft, penetrating the building from top to bottom” (Melville, par 5). The view from the other end had an aging black brick wall. The atmosphere in this office appears as a plain, boring, open space. Bartleby is the hero of Melville’s story in his refusal to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society.

Before Bartleby’s arrival at the office, the narrator has two persons working as copyists and an office boy. The first copyist that the narrator describes is Turkey. Turkey is described as a short, Englishman, aging around sixty. His motivation is productive in the mornings, but he’s drunk by noon, becoming less productive, refusing to go home early. The second copyist is Nippers. Nippers is described as “the victim of two evil powers ambition and indigestion” (Melville, par 11). Although he is not a drinker as his coworker Turkey, he has an irritable temperament that eased as the day went on. Thus, the productivity of the two were opposite. Turkey was productive in the mornings, while Nippers was more productive in the afternoon. Ginger Nut, the office boy, youthful at only twelve years of age, sent to the office by his father, “as a student at law, errand boy, and cleaner and sweeper, at the rate of one dollar a week” (Melville, par 14). His nickname “Ginger Nut” came from the ginger nut cakes he got for the workers.

As the narrator’s business began to pick up, he hired another worker, Bartleby. The first impression Bartleby gave off, described by the narrator as “pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn” (Melville, par 15). Bartleby was seen as a much needed balance to the “flighty temper of Turkey, and the fiery one of Nippers” (Melville, par 16). Although the work was very “dull, wearisome, and lethargic”, initially, Bartleby did more work than both of his coworkers combined (Melville, par 19). In the beginning Bartleby did an enormous quantity of writing, even going to the extent of copying documents by sunlight and by candlelight. However while the narrator was delighted with his work, he also made the observation that Bartleby “wrote on silently, palely, mechanically” (Melville, par 18). After the third day of Bartleby’s employment, the narrator calls upon Bartleby to complete a small task. To the narrator’s dismay, Bartleby responds “I would prefer not to” (Melville, par 21). I think that this response has a great importance because this is the first time that Bartleby begins to show his attitude of not wanting to do no more than he has to.

A few days after this incident, the narrator needed Bartleby’s assistance again and when he asked for it, again Bartleby’s response was the same; “I would prefer not to” (Melville par 31).  Even when pressed by his boss, “Why do you refuse?” Bartleby would still respond mildly saying “I would prefer not to” (Melville, par 33). When the narrator asked the other office employees what they thought of the situation, Turkey and Nippers thought that he should be kicked out of the office, while Ginger Nut thought that Bartleby was “a little luny” (Melville, par 47).

After several days had passed, the narrator observed that Bartleby never went to dinner, or for that matter, never went anywhere. As days passed on the narrator and his employees’ suspicions of Bartleby never leaving the office came to pass. One Sunday the narrator decided to go to church, in which he found himself arriving there early, so he decided that he would walk to his office. When he arrived at his office, in his attempts to unlock the door, to his surprise, there was Bartleby opening the door from within expressing his apologies. At the time, the narrator did not engage with Bartleby, but rather he walked around the block a few times to allow Bartleby the time to conclude his affairs at the office. Upon his second arrival to his office, Bartleby had disappeared. It was clear to the narrator that Bartleby had been making his home there in the office of his business.

These occurrences of events made the narrator recollect “all the quiet mysteries” about Bartleby (Melville, par 92). For instance, how Bartleby never really spoke unless he was spoken to, and when he was spoken to, his usual response was “I would prefer not to”.  Bartleby also seemed to live a very lonely life with a considerable amount of time to himself. He was never seen reading any type of material. He was also seen standing and staring out the window and at the walls for long periods of time. He was never observed going out, or making any efforts to socialize. It was assumed that he had no family. He was very withdrawn and reserved. This persuaded the narrator that Bartleby “was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach” (Melville, par 93). Therefore, after taking into consideration, all of these peculiar, motionless, and sometimes morbid sense of reality one would come to the conclusion that Bartleby was a very depressed, lonely, and disgruntled individual who was struggling with the motions of everyday life.

Works Cited:

Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street.” Bartleby. N.P., 1853. Web. 19 Feb 2012. http://www.bartleby.com/129/.