Analysis Of Bartleby The Scrivener

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Herman Melville’s novella, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, has been found to have many different interpretations from various critics. Leo Marx describes “Bartleby, the Scrivener as “a parable about a particular kind of writers relations to a particular kid of society” (Marx 604). In addition to Marx’s claim, I also think Melville is creating an argument against the capitalist society that was predominant in the 1800s. Melville strategically uses Bartleby and the Wall Street workplace to argue that capitalist society dehumanizes people over time.
The subtitle, “A Tale of Wall Street”, acts as a symbol that not only refers to the capitalistic culture of Wall Street, but also the literal walls that keep Bartleby confined. The author adds great detail about the physical appearance of the room that leads Bartleby to further isolate himself. The author says, “At one end they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious sky-light shaft, penetrating the building from top to bottom. This view might have been considered rather tame than otherwise, deficient in what landscape painters call life” (Melville 662). This descriptive analysis of the walls describes the landscape that people of wall street spent many hours in. In the beginning, Bartleby especially isolated himself …show more content…
The last line of the novella, “Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!”, cues the reader to evoke thoughts on human condition and what makes us who we are (Melville 669). This last but equally important phrase reinforces the influence that the capitalist society had in writing this novella. Overall, Melville’s novella both entertains and addresses important

Bartleby The Scrivener Analysis

individuals to the real world. In relation to the story of Bartleby, the Scrivener, one can say that the Wall Street lawyer had a set of ideas and beliefs, or ideology, of Bartleby, the Scrivener based on just two days of work. Bartleby had gained the confidence of the lawyer when he had showed such great diligences and expertise in his field. However, the lawyer’s confidence was proven to be ideological when, after two days of excellent work, Bartleby began to show signs of mental illness.…

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Bartleby The Scrivener Freedom Analysis

Generally, the image of a freedom fighter is physical: a fierce and determined soldier or a revolutionist crying out for his cause. Melville’s hero Bartleby is not a physical freedom fighter; his battle is mental. A wealthy lawyer who employs Bartleby narrates his peculiar experience with the scrivener. Initially, the forlorn and distant Bartleby copies law documents at an impressive rate, but after time, refuses to complete any work, answering requests with the frustratingly disinterested statement…

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Bartleby The Scrivener Character Analysis

Bartleby the Scrivener, by Herman Melville, is a story of an employee who at the beginning of his employment demonstrated an exemplary work ethics. Oddly a few days into his first week, a shift in behavior moved the hard working employee to a non-cooperative, non-responsive person. For the rest of the story, as Bartleby continues his quest to be a non-team player, we discover that the focus shift from Bartleby to his manager and how he deals with this situation day in day out. To the ultimate fate…

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Bartleby The Scrivener Research Paper

Isolation of Bartleby the Scrivener The phrase, “I prefer not to” (Melville 2336) has become an iconic saying to fight the war on capitalism. This expression has resulted in a deeper analysis of what it means to conform to the values that society places upon the public. In this essay I will discuss, the links between communal values and capitalism. In this essay I will argue that challenging communal values in society leads to isolation, as seen in Herman Melville’s, Bartleby the Scrivener. The character…

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Many people have interpreted Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” as a representation of the difficulties he was experiencing personally as a writer after his previous publications. Others propose that it may exaggerate the conflict between absolutism and free will showing the power of irrationality. Some, such as Marcus Mordecai, believe the character of Bartleby is actually a psychological double for the nameless lawyer-narrator. Evidence within the story supports Mordecai’s version of Bartleby’s…

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