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 impossible for Nippers to work in the mornings, he is also practicing disobedience.
             Turkey and Nippers foreshadow Bartleby's disobedience. This foreshadowing is very subtle however, so that the reader is still in awe at the extent to which Bartleby is disobedient towards his superior, the narrator. Perhaps they show what kind of effect working in this law office will have on people. 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.
             The reader should, to an extent, expect this behavior from the narrator. After all, Turkey and Nippers are not the most studious scr...