Bartleby the Scrivener Essay

In the course of the story the narrator describes the each characters however such is limited only to their performance in the workplace and none was revealed in their personal life. The narrator who is a lawyer in Wall Street keeps a company of three people, Turkey, Nippers, and Bartleby. Turkey, and English man who has a strange temperament that that the narrators likened to a sun rising in the morning rendering a calm atmosphere and becomes rather too hot in midday that lasts until dinner. Nippers on the other hand is the antithesis of Turkey. He is irritable in the morning and is rather calm in the afternoon. Aside from this, he also â€Å"dresses like a gentleman† as the narrator would put it in contrast to Turkey whose fashion statement is anything but appealing to the author (Melville, 1935). The narrator says he keeps Turkey and Nippers in his office because they efficient despite their mood swing. Perhaps they can be likened to the typical office clerks who got fed up with the monotony of their jobs that they have developed outburst as ways of coping. Nothing is revealed of their personal life but since they are described as efficient by the author, then there is the assumption that despite their mood swings and peculiar outbursts they are likable. On the case of Bartleby, on which the story’s title is attributed, the narrator finds him rather odd. He is a copyist same as Nippers and Turkey however he refuses to do other things such as reading a file or sending mail. As the story ends it is revealed that he works for the Dead Letter Office and as the author puts it, Bartleby is â€Å"prone to a pallid hopelessness† and his work in the Dead Letter Office only cultivated his depression (Melville, 1935). Bartleby exhibits passive resistance which is connected to his detachment from society and his roles. It can be interpreted as his refusal to be a slave to the corporate world by doing what he wishes. Overall, he poses no threat to his Boss since he can choose to dispose him whichever way he pleases but his Boss exhibits a remarkable form of charity and pity towards him. He even offers his house for Bartleby to stay at. At the end of the story when he heard rumors of Bartleby’s previous occupation he took pity on him and how his job has destroyed him.