Bartleby, the Scrivener

Reaction to “Bartleby, the Scrivener” In the short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener” Herman Melville creates a rather perplexing character. Melville uses a narrator, a lawyer, to describe Bartleby as an odd character. The interactions between the narrator and Bartleby reveal bits of human nature. Despite the title, this story is not about Bartley so much as it is about the narrator and the way he interacts with others. From the beginning of the story, Melville …showed first 75 words of 874 total…

…showed last 75 words of 874 total…Bartleby from the original office. Melville does a wonderful job creating a character that is able to depict human nature. By giving the narrator a characteristic flaw, passive aggressive behavior, he allows the narrator to extend the relationship with Bartleby until his demise. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is an excellent example of how humans take pity on others as long as it does not directly impact their own lives or take a great deal of energy.