Bartleby: The Downfalls of Human Nature

Bartleby settles into his position with apparent ease. Everything seems to be going smoothly until he begins to develop “moods.” When his boss sets certain tasks for him to complete, Bartleby simply responds with the phrase “I would prefer not to,” which becomes quite prevalent throughout the film. His boss is taken aback by these words, but not enough to cause him to fire Bartleby.

While having lunch with a fellow friend, the boss explains that Bartleby is a superb worker. He tells him of how is the first to arrive and the last to leave. Little did he know that Bartleby was actually ling in the building. When the boss eventually tells his friend about Bartleby’s peculiar melancholy attitude, his friend’s immediate suggestion is to “sack” him. The boss quickly retaliates with his belief that if he can somehow deter Bartleby’s sudden moods, he will become a great asset to his

Though most of the class was disgusted with this movie, I actually found it interesting. Sure, there was not a lot of excitement, such as gunfights, armed robbery, murder, or other things which are often found to be “entertaining” but the deeper meaning was intriguing and thought-provoking. Throughout the film I was constantly being reminded of society’s outlook on people who are considered weird, wacko, crazy, and other terms coined for those who are simply different. Bartleby was one who was different. He was shy and did not share the same interests with his fellow co-workers. His co-workers realized this and crucified him for it. One scene that really tore at my heart was when all of the employees were chatting and saying goodbye to one another. They said goodbye to everyone except for Bartleby. People may see this scene and think “wow, how rude!” and then a couple days later do exactly the same thing to someone else who is not quite like them and is considered unfit to breathe the same as air as “normal” people.

Even through all of the boss’s efforts, Bartleby’s moods persist until finally the boss cannot take them anym

Some topics in this essay:
Bartleby People, , Bartleby Ah, Little Bartleby, Realizing Bartleby, Science Jesus, “i prefer, society’s outlook people, “i prefer to”, prefer to”, throughout film, outlook people, society taught, society’s outlook,