Bartleby, the Villain in Bartleby, the Scrivener Essay

Bartleby, the Villian in Bartleby, the Scrivener Herman Melvilles short story, Bartleby, the Scrivener, poses many moral questions, but refuses to answer them nicely and neatly. Unfortunately, Melvilles ambiguities have lead to some unusual interpretations concerning the ethics of the unnamed lawyer who narrates the story. While it may seem perfectly obvious to most of us that he goes out of his way to be sensitive to Bartlebys needs, beginning with the narrators allowing him to refrain from certain duties, to refraining from all his duties, to letting him make his office his lodgings, to offering him beyond what he owes Bartleby and securing him another position, to even inviting him to live with him in the†¦show more content†¦And even that The lawyers failings as a human being are in part a matter of ... [his] inability to see that Wall Street merely uses people, like Bartleby and himself, as kinds of industrial machines (Pribek 193, Pribeks emphasis). This is an interesting criticism of economic values, but I do not think it applies to our particular narrator. Craver and Plante point out how tolerant the lawyer is when it comes to Turkey and Nippers eccentricities and overlooks them with kindness (133). And Schechter concurs how tolerant he is of people who may well be the most eccentric and trying group of office workers an employer ever had to contend with (360). Craver and Plante put it best when they state: A man who gives his own coat to Turkey; a man who allows the political Nippers to receive his seedy clients; a man who maintains a dignified manner when a moistened ginger-cake is clapped on to one of his mortgages for a seal; such a man has recognized and accepted with compassion the fact of human interdependency long before Bartleby steps into his office (133). This is no unfeeling Wall Street Tycoon--no 19th Century version of Ivan Boesky or Michael Milken. Craver and Plante explain, It would be toShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Bartleby, The Scrivener808 Words   |  4 Pages In his short-story â€Å"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street,† Herman Melville presents an elderly Wall Street lawyer who has trouble dealing with the behavior of his employee Bartleby. The Lawyer, who is a major character in the story, serves as the first-person narrator, which helps readers understand his thoughts and feelings regarding the plot and its characters. This technique allows one to infer that the Lawyer is not a round character; there is no complexity in identifying with theRead MoreBartleby, The Scrivener, By Herman Mellvile1196 Words   |  5 PagesBartleby, the Scrivener, is a story written by Herman Mellvile. It is about a successful lawyer who hires a homeless, depressed man named Bartleby to transcribe documents for him . The narrator of this story is the lawyer. Throughout the story, Bartleby declines at his job, saying he would â€Å"prefer not† to perform his duties. Eventually, the lawyer learns about Bartleby’s homelessness by discovering he has been living in the office. After a while, the lawyer feels it would be best for the businessRead MoreAnalysis Of Annabel Lee s A Kingdom By The Sea1780 Words   |  8 Pagesship and sail towards Japan. In contrast, the Romantics were either a noble hero or a dastardly villain. In Herman Melville s story Bartleby, the Scrivener the narrator and owner of the shop that hires Bartleby works towards the noble hero. When one reads the story, you can see the thought and emotions processing through the character. A section of note from the story is this, right after he tells Bartleby that he has to leave the office. One of the coolest and wisest hours a man has, is just after