Posted by Jozi Lucha
September 28, 2009
Bartleby, The Scrivener
"Even so, for the most part, I regarded Bartleby and his ways. Poor fellow! thought I, he means no mischief; it is plain he intends no insolence; his aspect sufficiently evinces that his eccentricities are involuntary. He is useful to me. I can get along with him. If I turn him away, the chances are he will fall in with some less indulgent employer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth miserably to starve" (Herman Melville).
"As his professional fortunes waned, Melville's marriage was unhappy, plagued by rumors of his alcoholism and insanity and allegations that he inflicted physical abuse on his wife. her relatives repeatedly urged her to leave him and offered to have him committed as insane, but she refused"(Wikipedia).
The narrator, Bartleby's employer, is a good man with a good heart. He struggle with doing what is right for his business and the treatment as a human being towards another human being. Throughout the story, he continuously sees the good in Bartleby, even when Bartleby refuses to talk to him or listen to him. He tries all he can in his power, even moving but he can't get through Bartleby. In the end, it is he who is by his side when he dies.
The entire time that I read the story, I kept waiting for something big to come out, for Bartleby to tell his employer something, but he never did. The two quotes that I have choose, I chose because the first describes how his employer sees Bartleby and his patience. It also describes his worry about his well being and him taking responsibility for Bartleby. The second quote I chose, because maybe Bartleby didn't do anything insane, but he did not act normal. He never responded to someone who made it his personal mission to make sure that he was ok. The quote also shows that maybe Melville suffered inside, the worst kind of struggle and how his wife refuse to give up on him, the same way that Bartleby's employer refused to give up on him and give him many chances.
20 points. "...how his wife refuse to give up on him, the same way that Bartleby's employer refused to give up on him and give him many chances." That's a fascinating way to read the story!
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