In his noted work, Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street, Herman Melville portrays the deranged character and namesake of the novel, as a blatant critique of nineteenth century America. In spite of his seemingly antagonistic role in the novel, Bartleby is really a victim of his surroundings. He is an alienated proletarian in the American workplace, who, after asserting that his ... job and his future are meaningless, decides to waste away into death. The story begins with Bartleby seeking employment in the office of a scrivener ... deleterious both to his body and mind. When Bartleby...

• Word Count: 455
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... rationalizing the acceptance of Bartleby's strange behaviour, Melville invites the reader to appreciate the behaviour's usefulness. To some degree, the "little guy" in us is somewhat envious of Bartleby's statement, "I prefer not to". How many times would we have used this statement in our lives if we had no fear of the repercussions? As the story progresses and Bartleby's behaviour is becoming the norm, the banter between Mr. Nippers, Turkey and the lawyer ... . He draws our attention to this in exclaiming, "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!" "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street", s...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate