Comparison Of Bartleby The Scrivener And A Streetcar Named Desire

On the surface, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” and “A Street Car Named Desire” are two literary works that have little in common. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is about a Wall Street worker that gradually reduces the amount of work he does after his initial hiring, while “A Street Car Named Desire” is about a newly married couple, Stanley and Stella Kowalski, in New Orleans that have lives interrupted by Stella’s sister, Blanche DuBois. However, both texts share a similar theme, the struggle to gain power. Bartleby, the narrator (Bartleby’s boss), Blanche DuBois, and Stanley Kowalski in particular fight for power throughout both texts. One commonality in both texts is that they have somewhat normal beginnings. Bartleby appears to be a good worker who’s capable of doing copious amounts of work in a machine like fashion, while Stella and Stanley Kowalski appear to be slightly annoyed, but not overly troubled at the task of housing Stella’s sister, Blanche DuBois. However, both seemingly normal scenarios quickly degenerate after the initial power struggle begins. First, Bartleby initiates the first confrontation when
(She sobs with inhuman abandon. There is something luxurious in her complete surrender to crying now that her sister is gone.)
Stanley: Now, honey. Now, love. Now, now love. (Williams 137).
Although it remains unclear at the end of the play, significant evidence is provided at the end of the play that Stella and Stanley’s new marriage may never return to normal after the way that Stanley treated Blanche. These two texts illustrate how taxing battles for power can be. Although both literary works were written many years apart, they contain a similar theme and message. Both works show characters like Bartleby, the narrator, Blanche, and Stanley going back and forth struggling for power. Although Stanley and the narrator appear to come out on top, an argument can be made that nobody truly won. Which, raises the question, was it worth