Bartleby Analysis

Jacob Sanchez
Laura Cline
English 102
Feb 24, 2012

Bartleby, a Man of Leisure

Bartleby, the Scrivener, a Story of Wall Street, by Herman Melville, is a tragic story. Our main character, by the name of Bartleby, is a sad, melancholy personage, without purpose or motivation. In this dark narrative of the slow death of an otherwise anonymous man, we can see the author’s warning to our modern society. This story is symbolic of the growth of the, at the time, new leisure class. Bartleby’s contemptuous attitude towards work, contrasted to the narrator’s own classic Protestant ethic of work and charity. The author uses these characters to demonstrate the deterioration of society.

Consider first the narrator’s introduction. on the very first page of our story, he makes the claim that his,” first grand point to be prudence; the second, method.”(Melville, 3) His success as an attorney is due primarily to his prediliction towards the avoidance of conflict, and the sublime aspiration towards material comfort makes his affairs profitable and relatively uncomplicated. There is no need to rush such things, and, as a result, he can compensate rather readily for the shortcomings of his employees.

When he employs Bartleby, his profitability initially increases. However, Bartleby shows no interest outside of his writing. This is symbolic of the shallow interests displayed by the shiftless in society. These people care not to advance themselves or society, instead preferring to specialize in an inane task which provides no growth or advance. They seek only the minimal comforts required to sustain themselves,and depend entirelty upon others to provide the impetus of life.
The battle crhy of Bartleby, and those like him, “I would prefer not to.” (Melville, 21) is the simplest expression of apathy. His utter disdain for life, however developed, has made him utterly useless to any productivity besides that which he chooses to engage himself.  The lack of any combative spirit makes it difficult for his employer to dismiss him, due to his highly developed sense of Christian morality, and thus Bartleby gains a foothold to be able to take advantage of his situation.
Once an invidual of this thype begines to realize that it is possible for him to deny any productivithy without reprisal, he immediately begins to extract greater progift with less work ffrom the victim. Bartleby, at this point, begins to ,”Prefer not to” do anything that he does not deign to dox. Of course, this leads to him being an evr greater burden uypon his employer, emblematic of the greast society that refuses to expel those who are not productive in the grand, or minute, scheme of life. He begins to leech upon theemployer, driving him to grreater depths of discontent, ever trying to pull the rest of the office down to his levle of apathetic disrepute.
Rather than retiring from scoiety, Bartleby passively opposes any and all attempts at convincing him to do anything, even to the point of refusing to work at all (Melville, 26). At this junction, our main character ceases to become anything more than a fixture of the office, much like a lamp, or a desk(Melville, 136). Bartleby has given up any small profit that he previously offered society, becoming nothing except a drag upon our microcosm. His very exisytence lessens the progit and pleasure in life of the people who surround him. The black depths of depression that he has allowed himself to descend into have made him a drain uopon the other people, causign much distubance and discontent in thew previously peacegul office.
This turbulence leads his previous employer to be much displeased with him, however, Bartleby refuses to be removed from the prmises except by violence, which our protagonist, being a good Christian man, is loath to utilize. Thus, Bartleby uses the very charity of hte good narrator to his own benefit, forcing the man into the position of benefactor to a person who is no better than a couch.

The passivity of Bartleby’s resistance (Melville, 53), plays upon the heart strings of our narrator initially, who thinks that he must attempt to help this pitiable character. However, like certain of today’s societal leeches, Bartleby rebuffs any attempt to help him improve his flaws, from the offer to have him  “take a good quart of ale every day...” (Melville, 117) tpo the refusal to engage in casual conversation(Melville, 96-108). He refuses to be a beneficial addition, instead preferring to mope around the office, staring at a brick wall as if in a trance(Melville, 92).

There are those at the time of the Melville, and today, who exist in society, without pirpose or drive. They attach themselves to us, sucking the very life outof thethose around them in the manner of bartyleby. Their lack of initiative and drive sends them to death eventually, but until they do cease to exist, they have determined that they prefer drag the remainder of society as low as they can. The distress that thewy cause can be measured in  dollars and cents, or in gthe emotional trauma that they prefer upon those who care for them. By their very passivity, those who live lives ofconscience feel compelled to care for thems, although they have the physical capactiy to care ffor themselves. It is distressing to the casual observer to see the weight of carrying such people on the minds and sould of those who live by the light of conscience.

The man who prefers not to do anything that he does not feel like doing has no place in a mobile and growing society. Lockjed away in a prison they have createc within their own minds, these people have no consideration for others or any thought beyond whaty is the gain for theire own peculiar emotional needs. While it is a pitiable thing to see, there cannot be allowance made for such people in society, because, much like our story, they do irrepairable damage, financially and emotionally, to the people they attzch themselves to. Their listless contempt for industry and disdain for life in general make them drag entire societies to their death.

Works Cited

Melville, Herman. 1853. Bartleby, the Scrivener: a Story of Wall Street. July 2009 by Bartleby.com.http://<wwwbartleby.c.om/br/129.html>