Herman Melville's Bartleby The Scrivener

Ever since the dawn of civil society, an omnipresent war has been raging amidst the freedoms of the individual and the consciousness of society. With the strict and logical order established by society, the individual struggles to maintain their individuality and freedom amidst the machinations and clockwork of social constructs. Of all the novels and critical speculations that debate the philosophy of the individual versus society, none are more profound and insightful than Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” A fantastic short story depicting the life of a law copyist who simply preferred not to conform to society. Written in the first few years following the civil war, within a massive market and industrial revolution, Herman Melville
One of the primary symbols used to describe the vapid lifestyle experience in strict societies like wall street is fittingly walls. In the course of the story, we see the idea of walls and their separation create a very dull and gray atmosphere to the story. Often describing “the dead brick wall[s]” (Melville 14) that surround the small office as letting little light in, the walls are the favorite pastime for Bartleby who often stares at them for hours on end. The walls represent the gray rigidity of society and the confines that are coupled with it. Contextually, during the period this piece was written, high rises had just begun to spring up all across urban cities and “‘buildings began to strike poses or else fall into routine’” (Dargo 3) In the story, as well as out, the walls represent the uniformity of architecture and the uniformity of ideals that enraptured society during Melville’s time. Patterns and mass production began to be viewed more important than creativity and individuality. In the story, Bartleby scrutinizes the walls. Instead of doing the menial work within the walls of society, he stares at the walls in defiance and intellectual accusation. Even in the end of the novel when Bartley finds himself in the tombs backed against a wall, he does not budge and instead stares at them until he finally
From its dramatic character transformations, to its deep and enveloping symbolism, to its use of intriguing characters and archetypes, this story signifies more than just the relationship between men and structured society, but how the individual and society must sacrifice for each other to achieve symbiosis. Melville’s allegory for how often times society is unable to cope with the minority ideas of the individual is depressing yet enlightening. The arguments and messages that Melville presents in this story will continue to rage on until either the end of society as we know it or until the end of the individual, whichever comes first. Until then, the universal message that society’s machinations and an individual’s ideals must live side by side in coexistence despite adversity maintains relevance today and will for centuries to come. No matter how intense society inserts itself into the lives of the individual, it’s always paramount to remember that everyone has the choice simply to “prefer not