Pertaining to how the majority public opinion influences utilitarian values of productivity and market efficiency, Bartlebys old job in the Dead Letter Office in Washington is an example, where he was a subordinate clerk . . . suddenly removed by a change in administration (Melville 1127). This is a possible illustration of his reasons for rebelling against the narrators expectations of him as an employee. .
Norberg states in the article that Bartleby should then be read in the context of this opposition between majoritarian and minoritarian politics (94). This is illustrated when the narrator tries to convince and help Bartleby to leave his confinement in his old office. The narrator gives him ideas about different types of work he could do besides being a scrivener, to which Bartleby replied: I would prefer not to make a change [. . .] though I am not particular (Melville 1124). Despite Bartlebys assurance that he would not mind any type of job, he refuses all of the ones recommended by the narrator. Bartleby then is purposefully going against what is expected of him, which is to end his solitude and be a functioning member of the capitalist market. .
Bartlebys resistance to change is further analyzed by Norberg when he states, Bartlebys insistence on his preferences disrupts the assumptions of management that govern labor in corporate capitalist economy (Norberg 95). In capitalism, the modes of production dictate who produces the goods and for who they are produced. For example, when Bartleby refuses to examine his own copies, the narrator reacts with, you are decided then, not to comply with my request--- a request made according to common usage and common sense? (Melville 1110). The narrator, representing the majority/capitalism, expects Bartleby to adapt to the way things are supposed to be according to the majority, who benefit from Bartlebys type of work and subservience. .