Bartleby charachter development
Turkey & Nippers Contribute More to the Story than to the Narrator One of the greatest strengths of Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" lies in its characters. Strong characters set the stage for a strong story, and in Melville's tale of a mysterious individual named Bartleby, the characters do even more than set the stage. These characters, Turkey and Nippers, play a major role in helping to develop the theme of disobedience, as well as to foreshadow how the narrator will handle Bartleby's preference to not do work. Turkey, an alcoholic, works in the mornings but then begins drinking and becomes extremely unproductive in the afternoon. His counterpart, Nippers, is a nervous fellow, who has his unproductive spell in the mornings, the time in which he uses to dispel his anxieties. Between the two of these characters, the narrator receives one day's work, instead of two. While Turkey and Nippers do not state outright that they would "prefer not to do something," as Bartleby does, their actions are a form of disobedience, which is defined as "refusal or failure to obey." By getting drunk and becoming incapable of working, Turkey is practicing disobedience. By the nature of his personality, which makes it nearly imp
" (7) With respect to Nippers, the reader sees that the narrator treats his nervous morning fits in much the same manner as he treats Turkeys inability to do good work in the afternoon. Furthermore, the fact that the narrator has not fired Turkey or Nippers and sought workers who will work a full day for a full days pay, foreshadows the leniency he shows towards Bartleby. To the reader's surprise his superior, the narrator does not let him go, rather he allows him to stay and be paid for working at his own discretion. This claim is further justified by the fact that the other two scriveners are Turkey and Nippers. His leniency also makes one wonder as to why he handles such situations in the way that he does. Where others might have released them long ago, the narrator has not. However, Turkey and Nippers are to a lesser degree 'copies' of Bartleby, at least Nippers in the morning and Turkey in the afternoon. For example, Turkey explains to the narrator: "with submission, sir, behold these hairs! I am getting old. The narrator, by keeping Turkey and Nippers around, gives the reader a clue early in the story as to how Bartleby might be treated. Old age-even if it blot the page-is honorable. Such foreshadows how Bartleby will be handled throughout the story. It has been argued that the narrator does not fire Bartleby because he fears that this man could not find work elsewhere and would therefore be doomed should he relieve him of his job. At all events, I saw that go he would not. The reader should, to an extent, expect this behavior from the narrator. The narrator sees himself as a charitable person by allowing Bartleby to stay, and in some ways he most certainly is.
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