Week 7 Analysis
Melville: Bartleby The Scrivener (293-325) - Literary Analysis
Bartleby at first came across as little to no character. He at first seemed to be an amazing worker for the lawyer at Wall Street. He would write all day and night, unlike the other workers who also worked for the lawyer. Bartleby's character seemed very mellow to me. He was good at what he does, but gently refused to do certain work when asked. The lawyer had some documents that needed examining and had asked Bartleby if he can be the one to examine them. Bartleby's response was, "I would prefer not to" (305). The lawyer was amazed on how calmly Bartleby rejected his request that he couldn't even be angry about it or bring himself to scold at him to do the job. He says, "With any other man I should have flown outright into a dreadful passion, scorned all further words, and thrust him ignominiously from my presence. But there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but in a wonderful manner touched and disconcerted me. I began to reason with him" (303). I believe a theme in this story can be based on choices. Choices symbolizes one of the traits that make us human and who we are - the ability to make complex choices. The individual choices we all make make us the unique individuals that we are. It differentiates every human from one another. I believe Bartleby's insistence upon his lack of distinctiveness/individuality illustrated how he "prefers" not to make any choices at all. He lacks what simply makes us human. He was an isolated man who basically lived in his cubicle in the office and even refused interaction with his coworkers. Personal elements can relate to this reading because there are personal characteristic traits that Bartleby lacked thereof. He was very indifferent and no one seemed to able to figure him out. Bartleby's character can be a mirror image of Melville himself because Melville had experience with Wall Street and understood the downfalls of the disgruntling job.
Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. D. New York: Norton, 2012. 293-321. Print.
Bartleby at first came across as little to no character. He at first seemed to be an amazing worker for the lawyer at Wall Street. He would write all day and night, unlike the other workers who also worked for the lawyer. Bartleby's character seemed very mellow to me. He was good at what he does, but gently refused to do certain work when asked. The lawyer had some documents that needed examining and had asked Bartleby if he can be the one to examine them. Bartleby's response was, "I would prefer not to" (305). The lawyer was amazed on how calmly Bartleby rejected his request that he couldn't even be angry about it or bring himself to scold at him to do the job. He says, "With any other man I should have flown outright into a dreadful passion, scorned all further words, and thrust him ignominiously from my presence. But there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but in a wonderful manner touched and disconcerted me. I began to reason with him" (303). I believe a theme in this story can be based on choices. Choices symbolizes one of the traits that make us human and who we are - the ability to make complex choices. The individual choices we all make make us the unique individuals that we are. It differentiates every human from one another. I believe Bartleby's insistence upon his lack of distinctiveness/individuality illustrated how he "prefers" not to make any choices at all. He lacks what simply makes us human. He was an isolated man who basically lived in his cubicle in the office and even refused interaction with his coworkers. Personal elements can relate to this reading because there are personal characteristic traits that Bartleby lacked thereof. He was very indifferent and no one seemed to able to figure him out. Bartleby's character can be a mirror image of Melville himself because Melville had experience with Wall Street and understood the downfalls of the disgruntling job.
Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. D. New York: Norton, 2012. 293-321. Print.
Hey Alissa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your analysis and I thought you did an excellent job of describing Bartleby. His behavior is definitely different and it threw me off guard as well when I read the story. I liked the theme you got out of this story. It was one I didn't even think of, but it totally makes sense. Our choices and our experiences are what shape our personalities. Excellent job Alissa!
-Patrick
Hi Alissa
ReplyDeleteI like all of the literary device you choose because you gave a strong example of it and explained why the writer used this specific literary device. I also like your point of view on what the theme was which was different than mind I never about choice as being the theme. You also did a great job of explaining what the author was probably trying to portray.
Hey Alissa. I like how your analysis led to the realization of the greater picture being provided by Bartleby's indifference as opposed to analyzing the details alone. Making choices is a major part of being human as you said. Some people make good choices and others make bad choices by mistake, then of course there's Bartleby not making any choices. At least his lack of making a choice does make him unique, though he really would have been better off by having opinions and making choices just like every other human being.
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