Melville changed his style of writing novels and stories resulting in backlash from society. Both Bartleby and Melville were writers of sorts and they were both proficient at what they did until came a period where they decide to stop doing what was asked of them and instead did what they preferred to. The interactions between the narrator and Bartleby reveal bits of human nature. Melville uses a narrator, a lawyer, to describe Bartleby as an odd character.
In the short story 'Bartleby, the Scrivener,' Herman Melville creates a rather perplexing character. In many ways, Bartleby is an embodiment of Melville himself. Character Analysis - Bartleby, the Scrivener4 Pages889 Words. As the story furthers, Bartleby demonstrates an extraordinary inclination to not do certain things. This passage gives the impression that Bartleby had no choice in the matter but rather he was conformed into a set task with no deviation from it. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically” (Melville 6). I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. “He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light. The narrator is also shown to be a man with purpose, though self-serving, whereas Bartleby exists as an aimless being. Interestingly, Bartleby is the complete opposite of the narrator, in that we know a great deal about the life of the narrator, but almost nothing about Bartleby. With that being said, the death of Bartleby not only serves as a reflection …show more content… This lack of information is amplified onto the reader and even before his death, Bartleby is already a haunting figure in the text. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a story that criticizes the monotonous day-to-day cycle that the modern working man is forcibly put in by society. Bartleby’s life and death contribute to a sort of enigma for the reader and his employer. Bartleby is a rather peculiar yet captivating figure. The story of “Bartleby” is not only a revelation of the business world of the mid-19th century but at the same time, it is also the manifestation of the emerging capitalistic lifestyle of perhaps New York’s most prominent street, Wall Street.
Herman Melville is an acclaimed author of the American Renaissance period and his most commendable works include “Bartleby, the Scrivener”.