An Analysis of “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville

An Analysis of “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville
“Bartleby the Scrivener” is a very descriptive tale of a lawyer and his clerks.  The lawyer, the narrator of the story, is never named but all of his clerks have very interesting nick names that are used throughout the story.  Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut are his office helpers in this story.  They are very temperamental and moody, but the narrator doesn’t seem to mind them, in fact he seems to embrace them.   He sets a scene that takes place on Wall Street, in a law office of ordinary circumstances.  In walks a new clerk, introduces himself and becomes one of the office workers.  His name is Bartleby; he is the hero of Melville’s story in his refusal to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society.

The narrator, a simple man, prefers the path of least resistance.  ”I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best” (Melville).  He doesn’t get much attention for his work.  There aren’t any high profile criminal cases that he works on.  His life is that of men’s finances and wills.  This thankless job is one that pays well, but doesn’t have much personal satisfaction.  He is the boss, and the office workers are his minions. 

While the narrator is content with his life’s ambitions, his helpers seem displeased.  One way they show this is in their behavior.  Turkey and Nippers, both have temperamental attitudes that vary in time with their onset.  Turkey has his during the morning times, Nippers has his during the afternoon.  Just like at the DMV, moodiness is common place in this work environment.  Menial tasks seem to grind away at their souls leading to swings in the characters’ behaviors depending on the time of day.  Depression is one manifestation when one is not happy with their situation, and usually follows with moodiness.  It seems as though the office workers don’t like the tasks they have to do, but because of financial obligations they have to do those tasks.  This in turn leads to them being unhappy with the job, and bouts of regular moodiness. 

Bartleby has an entrance that is stellar in the eyes of the narrator.  ”At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. “As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light….But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically” (Melville).  The narrator loves the quality and the quantity of his work, but it seems even in the beginning Bartleby realizes the nonexistent value of the job.  He too most likely has financial obligations that he has to worry about, so he plods along as if he were a robot attaching caps to a tube full of tooth paste. 

  Bartleby worked hard for a while, but one day the narrator asks him to review some papers with him.  The narrator states himself that “it is a very dull, wearisome, and lethargic affair.”   Bartleby replies with his famous statement, “I would prefer not to” (Melville).  This statement would become the single most used phrase that Bartleby speaks throughout the whole story.  From the beginning he doesn’t want to participate in the work place’s useless tasks.  One can’t assume why he took the job in the first place, but from the beginning he states calmly that he doesn’t want to do menial duties that the lawyer asks him to do.  Is he too good for them?  Is he looking to make the narrator and the other office workers mad?  These questions are hard to answer, because Bartleby really doesn’t speak much in the story.  Maybe he is the embodiment of the narrator’s feelings towards his work, but Melville leaves most of Bartleby’s character up for interpretation by the reader. 

Once Bartleby has cemented his position, the narrator looks to others for help.  He asks Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut if Bartleby’s position is ludicrous.  The three of them, being entrenched in the daily office work, as well as dependent on the money, agree with the lawyer.  Any person that has a superior that they are dependent on will agree with most anything they say.  In the end, someone has to do the work so the narrator and the other office helpers take Bartleby’s share of the unpleasant responsibilities. This is a shift of responsibility is somewhat unusual.  Most employers would terminate an employee that is blatantly defiant.  The narrator has a special place in his heart for Bartleby, because of his industriousness and gentle attitude.   

The same situation happens over and over again.  Bartleby is assigned a menial task, then he utters the same phrase “I would prefer not to” (Melville). His refusal is consistent with his determination to not do these duties.  It is Bartleby showing his boss that he will not be brought down to a basic level.  He is above these things that his overseer asks, tells, and then demands.      

Bartleby determined to not work resigns himself to looking at the brick wall through the window.  The office is like a cage holding Bartleby captive.  His glare out the window shows his longing for better places, but is obstructed by the wall outside, much like the Berlin Wall holding people captive in a place they didn’t want to be.  It is a symbol of the drab surroundings, and the wall that he will hit if he tries to get loose.

Bartleby’s apparent lack of industriousness towards the end of the story infuriates the narrator.  He believes that this was meant to happen.  His work is of so little worth that someone is supposed to come in and show him what is apparent even to him.  In the end, the narrator runs away from this realization.  He decides to leave the place that is occupied by the reminder of his situation.  He abandons the place where Bartleby is holding his proverbial ground.  Because of Bartleby’s attachment to the office he ends up in real captivity.  This is the narrator locking away his feelings of disappointment towards his work. 

Melville paints a picture of Bartleby dying a lonely death, giving us the example that those who stand up for their beliefs will have the same fate.  Hopefully, no one ends up in the situation that Bartleby and his bureaucratic boss are living through.   They both have issues with what they are doing in their lives; the narrator is fine with his station and worth.  Bartleby is a different story; he isn’t happy with it and decides to show his displeasure in a passive aggressive way.  Bartleby’s actions aren’t justified by the way that he was treated, but he does show that displeasure can be shown by doing absolutely nothing.

Works Cited

Melville, Herman. "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street."  Bartleby. N.p., 2011. Web.

            25 Feb 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/129/>.