Bartleby

He does not quite seem to know how to react when Bartleby "prefers- not to comply with the narrator's wishes. "I staggered to my desk, and sat there in a deep study Was there any other thing in which I could procure myself to be ignominiously repulsed by this lean, penniless wight? - my hired clerk?- (122). Another one of the narrator's qualities is being pompous. He seems to have an overblown image of himself and puts himself above others. " but, in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat, [I] do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds. All who know me, consider me an eminently safe man- (113). We can also tell that the narrator is dominating over others by the way he speaks to them and gives them orders in a quick, no-nonsense fashion. "Bartleby! quick, I am waiting- (119). The narrator at times also seems confused. His own employee is defying, and in a way, testing him. Yet, he does nothing about the situation. The narrator appears to be perplexed as to how to deal with Bartleby. "Shall I acknowledge it? The conclusion of this whole business was Bartleby was never, on any account, to be dispatched on the most trivial errand of any sort - (122). He begins to doubt himself and his position of authority. The narrator turns to his other employees to back him up. "I threw open the folding-doors nearby, and turning upon Turkey and Nippers, exclaimed: Bartleby a second time says, he won't examine the papers. What do you think of it, Turkey?'- (121). Despite the narrator's apparent need for organization, he is extremely inconsistent in his actions. The narrator obviously does not believe that Bartleby should stay employed without doing any work, but at times he is willing to ignore this fact, and even make excuses for his hesitation in confronting Bartleby. "I half intended something of the [unalterable purpose of some terrible retribution]. But upon the whole, as it was drawing towards my dinner-hour, I thought it best to put on my hat and walk home for the day, suffering much from perplexity and distress of mind- (122).