"Bartleby the Transformer"
Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" the narrator of the story is the main character. While the entire story describes the mysterious and peculiar Bartleby, the main theme of the story is about the narrator. It is about the transformation has a human the narrator under goes. The narrator morphs from a man leading a non-confrontational life, to one who displays his anger to finally a man who cares deeply about what happens to his former scrivener. At the beginning of the story, the narrator is having a good life for the most part. He tells the audience that he is of the belief that the easiest way in life is the best. The narrator dislikes trouble in his life. Despite being a lawyer, he chooses not to work inside a courtroom, instead preferring to be a law-copyist. The audience also learns that he is an un-ambitious man. Being a go-getter would require a good deal of effort and many confrontations, which the narrator admits he dislikes and avoids. The narrator offers further insight into his self, "All who know me, consider me an eminently safe man."(pp. 233-234) The man leads a tranquil life doing, in what he describes, a "snug" business. Even the very nature of his profession is very non-confrontational; al
"(p 239) Instead of dwelling on the problem he simply ignores it and hopes it will never surface again. As time goes by, the narrator must deal with more and more of Bartleby's passive resistance. l he and his clerks do is copy legal documents. Bartleby taught the narrator something he hadn't learned in life. After the first few days of working with Bartleby progress the narrator soon discovers the peculiarities of his new clerk. The narrator has always been filled with the idea that the easiest ways are the best. " (p 252) This is the first time in the entire story that we see the narrator not only loose control of himself, but confront his problems head on. I concluded to forget the matter for the present. While he is visiting Bartleby in prison he does pay one of the men to look after him; "'Well, then,' said I, slipping some silver into the grub-man's hand, 'I want you to give particular attention to friend over there. "(p 240) He goes on to reason with the man, rather than shout at him as many others would. He does give up trying to help Bartleby and trys to forget about him. The narrator finally deals with his problem by running away, but there is just one problem-he begins to feel guilty. Just as he is about to go into a rage he stops, "But there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, bu!t in a wonderful manner, touched and disconcerted me. On the third day of Bartleby's employment, the narrator first discovers the reality of his new clerk. However, despite the changes Bartleby has induced upon the narrator, the narrator still hasn't completely changed.
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