Bartleby-The scrivener

Herman Melvilles Bartleby the scrivener is a story about an office of legal copyists who all have some odd characteristics about them.  One is an alchoholic, one is an awnry man with indigestion problems, one is a 12 year old who may have some odd characteristics working in a legal copyist office at 12 years old, and an elderly boss who seems very passive of the day to day obscurities of his employees.  The strangest of the employees is a newly hired copyist named Bartleby who is somewhat of a recluse.  He sits behind a thin covering that divides him from the rest of the employees, and has as little conversation as possible with anyone.  whenever Bartleby is asked to do something that requires him to leave his desk he says "I would prefer not to".  The owner of the business occasionally gets upset or asks why he will not do anything, but never gets an answer to his question.  I believe that the owner is very passive in that he usually avoids confrontation with his employees and throughout the story seems to question himself as to what kind of person he is for not being able to get Bartleby to do as he asks, or that he is unable to help him.  The owner notices stranger and stranger habits that Bartleby has that he spends a lot of time standing in the middle of the room staring out of a window that has no view.  He notices that Bartleby hardly eats anything at all and is increasingly declining in health.  Bartleby soon refuses to do any work at all, he never leaves the office, and when asked to leave he does not answer or he just says"I would rather not".  More and more the owner feels as though he needs to help Bartleby, and even invites him to come and stay at his house or pay for him to travel somewhere he might receive some help.  Bartleby replies with his same answer.  It seems as though Bartleby is in a rapid progression of mental illness, depression, or complete loss of interest in life.  The story never goes int detail about what exactly it is that is wrong with him.  Even when Bartleby is sent to jail or prison, he continues to digress into starving himself and later dies.  This was a very depressing story but while I was reading it I could not stop because I was expecting at some point an explanation or something drastic happening.  But, nothing really ever happened and he died.  I think this story is mainly focused on the owner and all the feelings of helplessness, passiveness, and tolorability some people get into the habit of being or doing and eventually becomes co-dependent in wanting to help that person.

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