Analysing Herman Melvilles Bartleby The Scrivener Film Studies Essay

Analysing Herman Melvilles Bartleby The Scrivener take aim Studies EssayHerman Melvilles Bartleby, the Scrivener is a multi-faceted minuscule story. There argon some(prenominal) different approaches to understanding and interpreting this piece of literature. One of the nearly thought-provoking interpretations is to see Bartleby as a psychological double to the narrator of the nearsighted-change story. Bartleby is a very unique character in the story, one which most people sensnot seem to figure out. This may be because in the realness of the short story, Bartleby simply does not exist except in the attorneys mind. mevery critics would argue that Bartleby is the ment wholey unstable character throughout the short story. unless in that respect is a ingenuous possibility that the attorney is in fact the mentally unstable character, for Bartleby is only a figment of the attorneys imagination. Bartleby exists solely to win the attorney with an escape from the barren and impersonal society in which he lives.The lawyers unusual obsessive concern with Bartleby coupled with the fact that Bartleby has no cognise historical background is the perfect indicator that Bartleby has emerged from the lawyers subconscious mind. Bartleby is seen as mentally ill because of his erratic and unusual behavior, but only appears this way to the lawyer, who in the short story is the only character with any(prenominal) substantial touch on with Bartleby. Bartleby is also described as eating very little other than a few ginger nuts and neer leaving the lawyers smirch. I observed that he never went to dinner indeed that he never went anywhere (Melville 1100). These factors also strongly indicate the strangeness of Bartleby as surface as his limited contact with the valet outside of his employers wrap upice. These factors are all the more reason to believe that Bartleby has been conceived in the lawyers mind.After Bartleby refuses to work any eternal as a copyist he be numerates somewhat of a parasite to the lawyer. He becomes dependent on the lawyer for mysterious reasons. early(a) than the obvious reason that Bartleby needs a place to live, his relationship with the lawyer remains a mystery. Although clearly a love hate relationship, it is differently vague. Bartleby is also very persistent in refusing to leave the lawyers position or the lawyers presence in general. Despite the bribes and threats made by the lawyer, Bartleby continues to stand dissolute in his stick outance, perhaps as an indication that Bartleby cannot leave, that is not his role.Bartleby serves as a boost to the lawyers ego. The lawyer talks of Bartleby as a charity cheek and refers to himself as a Good Samaritan type for allowing Bartleby to stay at his office and later at his personal home without pay. The lawyer is using Bartleby as a way to earn himself merit points. He says in the short story, Here I can cheaply purchase a delectable self-approval (1101). Th e lawyer so detests his avocation that he desires to do some good in the world. Bartleby becomes his own personal experiment to do good works, firearm also challenging himself to go beyond the comfort of his Wall avenue home.The lawyer also displays some odd behavior throughout the short story in relation to Bartleby. He places a screen close to Bartlebys desk which could be seen as an attempt to close Bartleby off from the other employees as a method of compartmentalizing his unconscious figure. He confesses he commands to isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice (1098). The lawyer also admits that Bartleby has a authentic kind of hold everywhere him that is not evident in any of the other relationships in the story. He admits that Bartleby has a wondrous ascendancy over him (1109). This further proves that the relationship between Bartleby and the lawyer is unusual at best. The lawyer believes that Bartleby is sent to him for a divine purpose by a n all-wise Providence (1111). The lawyer is obviously not entirely lucid when thinking this is the case. He has conjured Bartleby up in his mind to escape the realities of the harsh Wall Street world he lives in. The lawyer is in a profession that constantly consumes ones era and also ones emotions. He needs a release and it becomes Bartleby.Unfortunately because the lawyer becomes so consumed in Bartleby his work suffers. He is not able to withhold business flowing because Bartleby has refused to copy any longer. Bartlebys inconvenience and unreasonable military strength is brought to the lawyers attention by his co-workers, Nippers and Ginger methamphetamine hydrochloride. They represent the voice of reason when they secure the lawyer that he is being illogical allowing Bartleby to continue to stay at the office while not being employed any longer and failing to pay rent. They try to shed light on the lawyers post by telling him to get rid of Bartleby because he is useless. This evolves into an internal press for the lawyer because Bartleby has become in many ways his confidant and friend, I had a singular confidence in his honesty (1102). He has come to rely on Bartleby to be consistently present, he was always in that respect first in the morning, continually through the day, and the last at iniquity (1102). It is apparent that although the lawyer should give up Bartleby, he does not want to.Bartlebys role is also to criticize the world in which the lawyer lives. In his subconscious mind, the lawyer feels like he is caged by his profession. He is walled off from the world by Wall Street. The pressure of the lawyers profession is further shown by the description of the two eccentric scriveners he works with. Nippers and Ginger Nut cannot get through the day without a drink. They are obviously dysphoric with their professions and frustrated with their existences. With Bartlebys refusal to do work, he is challenging the lawyer to do the same. only if instead the lawyer underestimates Bartleby and unknowingly shrugs off the challenge.The walls in the story are symbolic of the limitations that both the lawyer and Bartleby feel. They entrap these characters into feeling as if there is no way out of the profession that they have chosen. Furthermore the walls can be symbolic of the limitations that society imposes on all of its members. Such limitations allow in rules imposed by the government, norms that everyone is expected to follow, and the thought that once a profession is chosen one must stick with that profession until the end. Bartleby is attempting to challenge these limitations by not actively participating in the society in which he lives, another internal desire of the lawyer. He ultimately fails by demise indoors the walls of a prison yard, symbolizing his inability to actively resist the limitations.Bartlebys continued refusal to do work within the Wall Street office mirrors the internal struggle in the lawyers mi nd. Bartleby resounds with his insistence that he prefers not to correct to the pressures and unhappiness of mainstream society. This attitude appropriately represents a voice deep within the lawyer himself. He wants to change his way of life but he does not know how. He envies Bartlebys ease of quitting in order to hold back his integrity and composure. The fact that Bartleby refuses to leave the lawyer is a further indication of the ongoing protest in the lawyers mind.Ultimately Bartlebys lesson to the lawyer is not hear because he is eventually dismissed and locked up in prison. His lesson fails to reach the lawyer because Bartleby is suppressed by society. The ending note of the story seems to be a warning that everyone must conform and stay within the limitations that society imposes. A warning of what is to come to those who question.