Bartleby the Scrivener
Bartleby’s Isolation and the Wall
Introduction:
“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 “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 narrator decides his only option is to move out and leave Bartleby there. Unfortunately the next tenant is not nearly as passive as the prior and has the lonely scrivener arrested. In jail he continues his preference against society and it eventually leads to his self-destruction. Bartleby reacts to the stress of society and his work by completely isolating himself, both physically and emotionally, until there is nothing left of his life, not even the will to live.
Bartleby’s Physical Isolation: In William B. Dillingham’s book, Melville’s Short Fiction, Dillingham shows the progression of Bartleby’s physical isolation. “Bartleby moves not outward to larger circles but to smaller and smaller circles. From the outer circles of physical freedom, jobs not so confining and monotonous as scrivener, to the lawyers employment… He will go on shortly to the smallest circle of all… Freedom and independence for Bartleby are found inwardly, within the self” (Dillingham, 42).
Bartleby has begun his isolation even before he refused to do his work by confining himself to such a tedious job. He will continue this isolation until he is completely alone because physical freedom and independence defined by society, like the law firm, means nothing to him. Everything he needs physically he believes he can find inside himself, within his own mind. So even before he begins his work as a scrivener Bartleby shows signs of self-isolation in a physical. After he gets his job as a scrivener his
Introduction:
“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 “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 narrator decides his only option is to move out and leave Bartleby there. Unfortunately the next tenant is not nearly as passive as the prior and has the lonely scrivener arrested. In jail he continues his preference against society and it eventually leads to his self-destruction. Bartleby reacts to the stress of society and his work by completely isolating himself, both physically and emotionally, until there is nothing left of his life, not even the will to live.
Bartleby’s Physical Isolation: In William B. Dillingham’s book, Melville’s Short Fiction, Dillingham shows the progression of Bartleby’s physical isolation. “Bartleby moves not outward to larger circles but to smaller and smaller circles. From the outer circles of physical freedom, jobs not so confining and monotonous as scrivener, to the lawyers employment… He will go on shortly to the smallest circle of all… Freedom and independence for Bartleby are found inwardly, within the self” (Dillingham, 42).
Bartleby has begun his isolation even before he refused to do his work by confining himself to such a tedious job. He will continue this isolation until he is completely alone because physical freedom and independence defined by society, like the law firm, means nothing to him. Everything he needs physically he believes he can find inside himself, within his own mind. So even before he begins his work as a scrivener Bartleby shows signs of self-isolation in a physical. After he gets his job as a scrivener his
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