Character in Bartleby

             The story of "Bartleby, the Scrivener," written by Herman Melville has two main characters: Bartleby and a lawyer. The story begins with the narrator, who is the lawyer, identifying himself as an elderly man who is "filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is best" and "[all] who know [him], consider [him] an eminently safe man" (Melville 109). This is shown in the scene where Bartleby, his new employee, refuses to help examine a small document with the lawyer (Melville 113-114). The narrator does not know how to handle this situation. Therefore, he plays it safe and avoids the conflict by attending to other matters (Melville 115) and delays the inevitable confrontation. The lawyer does not like confrontation; he would rather have time to think about the appropriate way to handle a situation. If time does not permit, he resorts to reasoning: "I began to reason with him" (Melville 114). This may make the lawyer appear to be either spineless or a problem solver. Another example of these characteristics is when the lawyer thought how he could rid himself of Bartleby and came to the conclusion that he will move his office to another location (Melville 126-127).
             The narrator also takes a great interest in Bartleby because he has never come across a person of this kind. The second time Bartleby "prefer[s] not to", it was over an examination of a lengthy document that he prepared (Melville 114), the narrator thinks: "[but] there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but, in a wonderful manner, touched and disconcerted me" (Melville114). The lawyer has always had interactions with people who are like him. The people who were not like him, he was able to answer why they act the way they do. Bartleby did not fit into these two categories. Throughout the story, the narrator tries to understand and help Bartleby, but fail...

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Character in Bartleby. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:57, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/15177.html