“Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville

Within the short story "Bartleby, The Scrivener" by Herman Melville, the narrator, a lawyer who runs a firm on wall street, tells the story of a rebellious scrivener who worked for him named Bartleby. In his start with the firm it is evident Bartleby is a good worker but within two days that changed. Bartleby went from hard worker to very non-compliant and often uttered the phrase "I would prefer not to" when asked to do various things by his boss, this is a sign of irony. throughout the text the Lawyers compassion for Bartleby reflects a strong principal of humanity towards others. Bartleby’s quiet but impenetrable resistance completely isolates him from his coworkers, he is a man who prefers to do as he chooses even if it kills him.

First off, during the text the author, Herman Melville, decides to use an abundant amount of direct characterization. To begin, In the text Bartleby is described as "pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby" (Melville 8). This represents what the narrator first sees in the enigma that is Bartleby. Also, in the text it is said that Bartleby has a "lean face and tranquil gray eyes that show absolutely no agitation" (Melville 9). This description shows that the narrator began to take notice of his strange emotional coldness and inhuman remoteness of Bartleby. Later in the text his mental strength is revealed, and his level of aberration increases. After his first two days of work where he did nothing but good he transitions to refuse direct orders simply by responding "I would prefer not to". This also reveals his strong amount of passive resistance that allows him to so easily refuse to do anything. One example of this was when the Lawyer asked Bartleby to summon Nippers, another worker of the Lawyer’s on page 14 as it states, "Go to the next room, and tell Nippers to come to me’ ??I prefer not to,’ he respectfully and slowly said". All in all, Bartleby is an enigma but with further examination it is evident he is a man who wants to be left alone and not be bothered by life.

Bartleby’s non-compliant actions along with his repetitive phrase, "I would prefer not to" are examples of irony in the text. Bartleby, when he first started working, was a very skilled and gifted writer said by the narrator for the first two days but then out of nowhere he just stopped. Also, it’s ironic that Bartleby uses almost the same amount of passiveness as his boss the lawyer, and it is equally as unrelenting and frustrating as Bartleby’s. The boss at the beginning of the text liked to have many rules and guidelines to keep his office in order but after his experiences with Bartleby he began to change and feel sympathetic for people like Bartleby and he became a little less strict of his rules. Another example of irony is in the text on page 15 where it states "His steadiness, his freedom from all dissipation, his incessant industry (except when he chose to throw himself into a standing revert behind his screen), his great, stillness, his unalterableness of demeanor under all circumstances made him a great valuable acquisition", this example is ironic because as the reader you know that Bartleby frequently refuses to do work and on the other hand the Lawyer finds out that Bartleby lives in the office so he clearly isn’t a strong asset to the lawyer. Lastly, because the boss began to lose his strict qualities Bartleby began to refuse more and more tasks until his untimely death in jail when he refused to eat so Bartleby the whole time preferred not to live and do anything. overall, Bartleby’s non-compliant actions and repetitive phrase were important examples of irony.

Lastly, the Lawyers compassion for Bartleby showed an idea of humanity. The lawyer greatly cared about Bartleby because he was sympathetic for him after finding out he slept, ate and bathed in the office, instead of firing him for his bad work performance, he came up with ways to keep him working in the office as to not put him on the streets poor. The Lawyer stated in the text on page 19 "I would put certain calm questions to him the next morning touching on his history etc., and if he declined to answer them openly and unreservedly, then to give him a twenty-dollar bill over and above whatever I might owe him and tell him his services are no longer required." This shows that the lawyer decided to give Bartleby another chance and if he declined to answer he would send him on his way with twenty dollars. However, Bartleby refuses to do anything and he refuses to leave the building. In response to this the lawyer continues to offer more and more money and even offers Bartleby to stay with him at his house. Bartleby continuously declines, so not wanting to report Bartleby to anyone the Lawyer decides to just move offices and leave Bartleby in the old office. But, sadly the next owner of that office sends Bartleby to jail where the Lawyer still visits him until he faces his untimely death from starvation.

To conclude, Bartleby is a very strange and key character in the fictional piece Bartleby The Scrivener. Bartleby has very little characterization in the text and can be interpreted in an abundance of ways. Bartleby’s non-compliant actions and repetitive phrase are key examples of irony. Lastly, there was a great idea of humanity reflected by the lawyer towards Bartleby. Bartleby’s quiet but impenetrable resistance completely isolates him from his coworkers, he is a man who prefers to do as he chooses even if it kills him.

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