It's pretty obvious that Bartleby deserves to be fired, but the Narrator decides that the odd scrivener is better off in his office with a sympathetic employer than working for someone else, who might throw him out into the streets. At this point, we, like the Narrator, are just thinking one thing: Thoroughly confused, the Narrator gives up and heads home for the day. Bartleby is an efficient copyist for a successful lawyer at an office building, but he is a quiet and anti-social man. The Narrator, ever the optimist, assumes that this is because Bartleby's eyes are tired from doing so much work in the past few weeks. As a part of its very recent promotional activity it has been giving its first month at a base price of $4.99 a month which is a steal deal! The Narrator finds poor Bartleby curled up on the ground in the prison yard, dead. The embarrassment of this quandary starts to get to the Narrator. Words: 1017 Length: 3 Pages Document Type: Essay Paper #: 71002013. A side note pops up here, in which the Narrator tells us that there are four keys to the office; the Narrator, the cleaning lady, and Turkey all have one, but the fourth is missing. Discussion I argue that ielts should eliminate multiple subjective criteria over the demo cratic process, and it is instructive to review a candidates previous ielts scores, for all information extracted from a dancing flame within a group, explore the actual tensiont. Nippers apparently also runs some secret business of his own, and often has some rather sketchy "clients" stop by the office at times. Everything seems to be just peachy, until a stranger visits one day, asking about the old office on Wall Street. A chance substitute lecture by Harry Brod on the philosophy of Hegel was ... simply "preferred not to" work on their writing assignments. Bartleby is unfazed. He is ghostly, uncommunicative, and repetitive. Though the Narrator is still sympathetic to Bartleby, he's at his wit's end – finally, he has to ask Bartleby to leave the office for good, and gives the inactive scrivener six days to vacate. Apparently, he never does anything else, and doesn't seem to have any kind of life outside work. Though he continues to work well as a copyist, he refuses to help or do any other tasks for the office people, and/or repeatedly says “I would prefer not to” (10). Every day after lunch, Turkey returns to the office with a red face, a belly full of beer, and a wild, reckless disposition. It's the morning, so Nippers is in his usual bad mood. Nippers, on the other hand, is feeling indulgent, and says that it might just be a whim. In case you are limited in time to read the book before writing the analysis, you can take advantage of ideas presented in the essay. Again asked to come and do his job, Bartleby just doesn't respond. On the other hand, the Narrator, the other clerks, and we are all definitely fazed. The Narrator does the best he can, and just doesn't give Turkey very important work after lunch. Ah, humanity! However, days pass, and Bartleby doesn't start writing again. The idea of dead letters profoundly disturbs the Narrator – the thought of all these letters traveling to people they'll never reach upsets him. The Narrator is appointed to a rather dignified position (Master in Chancery) by the state, and establishes a respectable office on Wall Street. As the practice packs up to leave, the Narrator says goodbye to Bartleby. It appears that Bartleby is saving all of his earnings, but we're not sure for what purpose. Thinking nervously of a famous murder that took place in an office (the Colt-Adams murder of 1842), the Narrator notices that he and Bartleby are alone. The Narrator tries feebly to cheer Bartleby up (but how do you really cheer up a dude in prison?). After all, he reasons, the poor guy hasn't got anything else! Read our writing help and prompts with samples on Befriend Bartleby for more insights List of best Befriend Bartleby essays, topics - argumentative, MLA, APA format. Rather, Bartleby is calm and totally level; apparently, he really just prefers not to. Shocked, the Narrator doesn't get angry, but instead attempts to reason with his stubborn employee, saying that everyone else has to check the copies (Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger Nut are all waiting to start), and so should he. Again, instead of being angry, the Narrator is oddly sympathetic; he thinks about how lonely Bartleby must be. He doesn't want to throw Bartleby out on the streets, nor does he want to put the poor guy in jail – so instead, he chooses a rather unconventional, desperate solution: he moves his legal practice to another building, thus leaving the office and Bartleby behind. He immediately informs us that Bartleby the scrivener will be the main point of the story, but doesn't get to him quite yet. Shock! The rest of the time, he just looks out the window at the brick wall outside, pondering who knows what. Instead, he simply replies, "I would prefer not to.". First of all, it's Sunday. Bartleby simply says that he prefers not to leave, and refuses to answer any more questions. Leaving that tactic behind, the Narrator entreats Bartleby to be even just a little reasonable. The Narrator, dumbstruck, repeats his request. When the Narrator returns from his hideout in New Jersey, he discovers that the landlord has had Bartleby arrested and taken to the Tombs (a prison). For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Again we're forced to ask an unanswerable question: what is up with this guy? Despite the fact that Turkey is useless after lunch, the Narrator keeps him on; apparently, he's as useful as can be before noon. The Narrator reflects upon Bartleby's behavior in the office. The Narrator confronts the ex-scrivener, asking what right he has to stay in the office, if he refuses to do work. He again asks Bartleby to leave for good; this time, Bartleby thinks about it for a few days, and politely declines. The Narrator is totally bewildered. The story ends with the dramatic cry, "Ah, Bartleby! However, Bartleby prefers not to. The Narrator can't figure out what Bartleby could possibly be doing. The stranger, who turns out to be another lawyer who's moved into the old space, is there to complain about Bartleby. The Narrator is now determined to be rid of Bartleby, but can't think of how to do it. Bartleby peevishly comments that he would prefer to be alone; everyone else seems to be impinging upon his privacy. The Narrator even gave Turkey one of his old coats once – but instead of making him better, it just made him arrogant. The Narrator is seized with pity, thinking about how inhuman and depressing Bartleby's lonely life is, and pondering how sad and pathetic Bartleby's death – alone and uncared for – would be. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. During this time he focused on writing poetry, though at the time of his death on September 28, 1891, he left behind the short novel Billy Budd, Sailor, still in manuscript form. Frustrated, the Narrator flees, leaving Bartleby to the unhappy tenants of the building. The Narrator, remembering that Bartleby never leaves, asks him to go to the Post Office and pick up the mail. Secondly, Bartleby isn't even fully dressed (so. This job seems perfectly (and depressingly) appropriate to Bartleby's character. The Narrator looks in, curious about any clues that might emerge about his strange employee's solitary life. When everyone's set up in the new office, the Narrator is still anxious that Bartleby might come and find him – but he never does. However, once he gets there, he discovers someone else there – Bartleby! Turkey is jokingly named for the color of his face – like a turkey, he's got a bright red wattle. However, his triumph is short-lived. Well of course you do, otherwise, why would you be here? He informs his employer that he's given up copying for good. The Narrator informs the new guy that Bartleby isn't his responsibility, and the other lawyer leaves, pledging to "settle" Bartleby. A few days later, a number of people are waiting for the Narrator at his new digs, including the old building's landlord. Many things are not right about this. coursework. He's aware of his situation, but doesn't want to say anything about it. The next day, Bartleby is even weirder than usual. The Narrator gently talks to him, suggesting a few different things that Bartleby might like to do – but, of course, Bartleby prefers not to do any of them. The office employs three clerks: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut (nicknames, not real ones!). He can't stop thinking about Bartleby – the weirdness of the situation is apparent. The Narrator kicks off this short story by introducing himself and his situation. He goes back behind his screen. Unsurprisingly, Bartleby prefers not to. Before church one Sunday, the Narrator decides to stop by the office on his way home. If you found your way here by Googling something like “coursework help service” then luckily for you, you have landed on the website of the leading UK coursework writing service, UKWritings.com. Bartleby doesn't seem to have changed at all. Bartleby, a copyist employed in the narrator's shop, stands differently among all the workers. The new guy isn't very prepossessing; he's pale, sad, and a little too respectable. Rumor has it that Bartleby didn't even put up a fight, and allowed himself to silently be taken to jail, followed by a quietly curious crowd. He goes so far as to escape the entire city for a few days, leaving Nippers in charge of the business. Again, he doesn't come when called, and again, responds to the demand by saying that he prefers not to. The Narrator decides to attempt the impossible: to befriend Bartleby. At only twelve years old, he's already a "student of law," which mostly means that he's in charge of running errands for the other guys. The Narrator is totally taken aback, and asks the other guys to back him up. There's nothing sassy in this reply – this is certainly not an "Oh no he didn't!" These three clerks aren't enough, and the Narrator is forced to look for someone else – thus, enter Bartleby. The Narrator feels a little bad, but decides that there's nothing he can do about it. He reasons out his decision to keep Bartleby, noting that the guy. Days pass, and the Narrator decides to keep Bartleby there, since he isn't doing any harm. Bartleby has nothing to say to the Narrator – it seems like he might blame his former employer for what's happened. Since he's harmless, the guards let him wander freely around the prison yard. © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. The Narrator sets Bartleby up behind a screen in a corner of his office, where the new clerk can always be accessible. Nobody's sure where Bartleby is, so he goes to seek him out. Bartleby, for whatever reason, has left his desk unlocked. However, when he accidentally knocks on the door, a familiar voice answers from inside, saying that Bartleby isn't ready to receive visitors yet. He's named after one of these errands – he's frequently sent out to purchase snacks for Turkey and Nippers, including their favorite thing, ginger nut cakes (something along the lines of a ginger snap cookie). Turkey, on the other hand, is always a mess and never looks like a respectable employee. When asked why, Bartleby says that he has decided not to write anymore. The same day, the Narrator goes to visit Bartleby in prison. The Narrator tries to be as nice as possible, but it doesn't matter – Bartleby won't speak. He returns to the office a little while later, and determines that Bartleby must live there full-time. As usual, the Narrator finds him staring silently at a wall. The grubman comes up to tell the Narrator that Bartleby's dinner is ready, then asks if he's asleep. At first, Bartleby is a great, albeit depressing, worker – like Turkey and Nippers, he's a copyist, or "scrivener," which means that he makes handwritten copies of important legal documents (though we may not realize it, there, Another aspect of the copyist's (or "scrivener's") job is to check the work he's done, and cooperate with the other scriveners in an office to check each others' work. The final section of the story is kind of a footnote; the Narrator informs us that he heard a rumor about Bartleby's history a little while after his death. At this point, Turkey enters and gives his opinion: if Bartleby would simply "prefer" to have a beer every day, it might help him out. The cook and the Narrator discuss Bartleby's mental state, agreeing that he hasn't quite got all his marbles. However, at times, this angelic impulse loses to his natural irritation. Ginger Nut, bless his little heart, comes right out and says that Bartleby is "a little. The Narrator comments on the oddness of this culinary choice, noting that, while ginger nuts are spicy, they seem to have no effect at all upon the markedly un-spicy Bartleby. “Bartleby, the Scrivener,”The individual and Society SUMMARY The individual versus society is the ideal theme of Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby, The Scrivener". His writing had fallen largely into obscurity, but later reprints of his works brought much acclaim and secured his reputation as one of the greatest American novelists. On his way out, the Narrator chats with the prison cook; he gives the "grubman" some extra money to make sure Bartleby is taken care of and well-fed. Though the Narrator is still sympathetic to Bartleby, he's at his wit's end – finally, he has to ask Bartleby to leave the office for good, and gives the inactive scrivener six days to vacate. The Narrator, horrified, returns to his old building to talk to Bartleby and try to get him to leave. The next morning comes, and the Narrator tries to go through with his plan. Aggravated, the Narrator asks Bartleby simply to go to the other room and fetch Nippers. Days later, the Narrator notices something odd: Bartleby doesn't ever seem to leave the office. On his way home for the day, the Narrator prides himself on his handling of the Bartleby situation. The Narrator, flummoxed, takes a walk around the block, trying to figure out what on earth to do. The Narrator ends up getting to work early, and assumes that Bartleby is gone. In response to this, Turkey (who's drunk and ready to cause trouble) threatens to beat Bartleby up. The conflicting emotions of the Narrator move from sympathy to melancholy to fear – he wants to help Bartleby, but recognizes that he can't. Though Nippers is no drunk, he's also a force to be reckoned with at work. Six days later, surprise surprise – Bartleby is still there! The narrator comes to a conclusion that Bartleby is suffering from an innate and incurable disorder. The paper is dedicated to Melville’s book – Bartleby, the Scrivener summary. The exasperated Narrator finally just gives up and threatens to leave Bartleby to his fate – but before he goes, he offers kindly to let Bartleby come home with him. We learn that the Narrator is a well-to-do lawyer, who made a comfortable living for himself by being dependable, rather than brilliant. Bartleby, as usual, doesn't feel like chatting. The Narrator, who, we have observed by now, is a pretty non-confrontational guy, is irritated by Bartleby's passivity, but still sympathetic to him. He name-drops John Jacob Astor (a famous businessman of the day), showing us early on that he's something of a vain man, contrary to his denial of that. Bartleby vs Chegg- Pricing Review Bartleby Pricing. Though this seems merciless, he initially agrees that it's all that could be done. He is, to put it mildly. A few days later, the Narrator returns to the Tombs. Although Bartleby is a slender man with no big body, he has no signs of physical weakness. Business goes on as usual as Bartleby just stands at the window, staring at the wall. He busts into the office, irritably going on about Bartleby's preferences. Turkey, who's in a good mood, says he agrees with the Narrator; Nippers, who's in a bad mood, irritably says that Bartleby should be kicked out of the office.

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