Table of Contents
Why does the narrator put Bartleby in his office?
The narrator decided not to attend Church and finds Bartleby living in the office by allowing him to stay there he has done his good deed and doesn’t need to go to church and pray. He considers Bartleby as a lost soul but he doesn’t every suggest Bartleby to become more spiritual.
What phrase does Bartleby repeat many times in response to the narrator’s requests?
I would prefer not to
What is the message of Bartleby the Scrivener?
Characterized as a symbolic fable of self-isolation and passive resistance to routine, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” reveals the decremental extinction of a human spirit.
Is the narrator in Bartleby reliable?
As a narrator, the lawyer is unreliable because the reader cannot always trust his interpretation of events. The lawyer, as he himself admits, is a man of “assumptions,” and his prejudices often prevent him from offering an accurate view of the situation.
What is the main idea of Bartleby the Scrivener?
Isolation is the main theme of the story, as Bartleby chooses to isolate himself from his coworkers and employer. He decides to leave work aside and do nothing.
When the narrator finds Bartleby in his office on Sunday what does he conclude?
The narrator concludes the story by reporting his discovery that Bartleby once worked at the Dead Letter Office.
What are dead letters in Bartleby?
Melville uses the dead letter office to symbolize the repetitive and dreary job that more people were doing. Bartley’s job in the dead letter office, was the reason for his depression and his loss of motivation. In the dead letter office, Bartley aimlessly spends his time sorting letters that were sent to be destroyed.
How old was Bartleby?
At twenty-five years old, he is a comical opposite to Turkey, because he has trouble working in the morning. Until lunchtime, he suffers from stomach trouble, and constantly adjusts the height of the legs on his desk, trying to get them perfectly balanced.
How does the narrator describe Bartleby in his early days as a scrivener?
How does the narrator describe Bartleby in his early days as a scrivener? a young man hired by the Lawyer to serve as a scrivener. He starts out as an excellent copyist, but when asked to examine his work for errors, he replies that he “would prefer not to.”
How does the narrator feel about Bartleby?
The narrator is not presented as a villain. He feels sorry for Bartleby, who doesn’t seem to have anybody to take care of him. When the narrator discovers that Bartleby has been living in his office for quite a while, his first emotions are “those of pure melancholy and sincerest pity” (Melville 35).