Herman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener - 1455 Words

It is normal to think in a situation of employer and employee, the employer gets to make the commands and orders pertaining to the employee, however in Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener, this situation is not the case, and in fact opposite. Blatantly about the passive resistance the main character, or employee, Bartleby achieves with the famous, â€Å"I prefer not to,† quote, this basic idea of passive resistance only skims the surface of the underlying themes and lessons presented in the book. Melville adds certain aspects into the story that raise questions about Bartleby’s character and his amount as a human (if even human at all), especially when compared to other characters. These questions about Bartleby s character serve as a negative instruction to the reader on lessons of humanity as where the other characters serve as positive instruction. Melville transforms the book into an educational tool to teach the basic characteristics of humanity and ess entially redefining what it is to be a moral and good human through the book. The presentation of Bartleby’s strange character throughout the book raises questions on if he is even human or not. The subject and possibility of Bartleby s supernaturality is apparent in the book as well. In about every situation presented, the narrator is constantly questioning Bartleby s humanity or pondering how a human could be acting the way Bartleby is acting: â€Å"His face was leanly composed; his gray eye dimly calm. Not a wrinkle ofShow MoreRelatedHerman Melville s Bartleby, The Scrivener1305 Words   |  6 PagesHerman Melville’s Bartleby, the Scrivener Born in New York City on August 1st, 1819, Herman Melville led a life that commenced in partial fame and success, but ended in poverty and despair. Although unjustly criticized for the â€Å"purposeless extravagance† and â€Å"disorderliness† of his writing, due to his digressions into many different topics while discussing a single one, especially in his most celebrated novel today, though most criticized and unappreciated in his time, Moby Dick, Herman MelvilleRead MoreHerman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener938 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener† delves into the life of a worker at a New York City Law firm. Herman Melville provides a drab and bleak outlook on the conditions of labor and mental state of the workers at the firm. Though the story can be seen as a depiction of the isolation and lack of passion found in big city labor, I believe that Melville provides much more in his writing. Within the details provided in the story, he manages to forge a metaphor for the power of transcendental ideals such as self relianceRead MoreHerman Melville s Bartleby The Scrivener1402 Words   |  6 Pagestackle these walls. 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