Bartleby the Scrivener A story of Wall Street

Bartleby the ScrivenerA story of Wall Street By: Sadie, Korlu, Ryan, Chantalle, Greg

Summary • “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a story about an odd scrivener, who prefers not to do anything. We as readers never learn very much about him, except for his eccentricities that the narrator witnesses. He begins as a very good scrivener, who completes his tasks very quickly. However, as time goes on he begins to do less and less work until he stops completely. All he eats are ginger cakes and he resides in the office.

Narration • The narration type is first person. The narrator is the employer of Bartleby. The narrator reveals more about himself than he does Bartleby. He does not know much about Bartleby, so he is not a very trustworthy narrator since he is not very knowledgeable. If the story was told from another perspective it would be very different. What we learn most are characteristics about the narrator; therefore, if it was told by a different person, we would not know the same things. The narrator is not unconventional in his way of telling the story besides the fact that he tells us more about his own characteristics than he does Bartleby, the person who the story is supposed to be about.

Characters • In Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A story of Wall Street,” the main character is a scrivener named Bartleby. The main conflict that Bartleby faces is his own existence. A good mannered, quiet, hard-working copyist is placed in a dull, secluded work environment where he quickly becomes at ends with the purpose of his employment. Surrounded by eccentric co-workers whom have deficiencies of their own, Bartleby is initially the spark the narrator is looking for in his office. While his lack of personality and character is originally a positive quality of Bartleby; his lack of social integration quickly overshadows his passive qualities as he “prefers” to do less and less tasks. Turkey and Nippers are the two other scriveners. Turkey is a great employee In the morning but due to his drinking he is not very effective in the afternoon and left to do the less important tasks. Nippers has fiery personality and indigestion in the morning but makes up for it with his afternoon productivity. Turkey and Nippers are never working well at the same time. Bartleby’s passiveness is initially seen as the perfect solution to moderate the other two scriveners. The conflict being that Bartleby’s passiveness was not a personality trait but a lack societal integration.

Setting • Melville first published "Bartleby the Scrivener" in New York in 1853. The story takes place in a law office populated by a set of odd men, whose relationships with each other seem to be purely professional in nature. This impersonality of the characters is hugely significant – the business-based world in which they operate has no room for personal interaction, and, as a result, neither does Melville's story. It's notable that we don't learn anything about any of the characters beyond what they're like in the office, not even our narrator. • We have to wonder if a story like this, in which human beings are profoundly alienated from each other, even though they interact all day, every day, would be possible in an alternate setting. setting – by using the city, and in particular, the office, Melville shows us just how alone we can be, even when we're surrounded by other people.

Topic/Theme • Topic: Bartleby, the original existentialist; the narrator and his journey in trying to understand Bartleby and his ways • Themes: capitalism, materialism in American culture; work, importance of doing something, office politics; human condition, rethink things; passive resistance; life and death

Symbols • Wall Street: at that time is becoming the financial centre it is today, importance of geography. The wall contains both wall street and the physical, social and psychological walls in the story; Bartleby’s condition is a psychological barrier between him and that social world. The walls erect additional social barriers for him, doesn’t interact with anyone • Physical walls in the building and outside, they are inescapable; confine social mobility and interaction; create barriers between people; the larger the population, the more walls you have. • The screen that separates Bartleby from co-workers; suggests more hiding than segregation, maybe the barrier between him and everyone else isn’t so thick. • Prison walls in the end, which are more confining than the office building; but working in an office is also like a prison, working away mindlessly, slaves to capitalism, materialism; walls are more confining than the screen. Condition in the office vs. condition in the prison, makes it more evident how confined he is. • Dead Letters: reflects the Wall Street movements of personal protest and “occupy Wall Street”. The dead letters became Bartleby’s inspiration sculpting him into a skilled protester “I prefer not to”.

School/Tradition • Modernist: A British and North American (Canada included) artistic movement of the early twentieth century that sought to breakaway and distinguish itself from earlier and more traditional modes of artistic expression. Modernist writers made use of a variety of literary approaches, including stream of consciousness, fragmentation, and ambiguity. Further, modernists experimented with form, and began to pay closer attention to the writing process itself. Modernist themes/questions/concerns include: existentialism, despair, the role of the individual in (or vs.) society, and the existence of God. • This work fits into the school of modernism because it focuses on the despair of Bartleby as an individual. His lack of social integration his alienation from himself continually push him away from being a productive member of the office and into an internal conflict.

Style/Tone • Slow paced; but funny, and can deal with serious themes (death, individuality) in a funny way • Simple plot, but complex story; the meaning takes focus to find, it is not clear by just reading the story, there must be analysis as well. • Takes a humorous approach to serious topics, without making light of the situation. • Passive aggressive

Bartleby the Scrivener A story of Wall Street