Alienation Unit: Bartleby the Scrivener

"Bartleby the Scrivener"
Herman Melville

Melville "delights" the reader with this monstrosity of a view into the mostly undocumented life of a scrivener. First, one may note, considering this is the alienation unit, the fact that few ever take the time to understand those who dedicate their lives to simply transferring words from one document to another will be discussed, if not judged.  Sure enough, through the utilization of varying tone, Melville creates a work of didactic literature which warns the reader to take the time to look into others' stories before acting harshly.

In the first part of the story, the speaker characterizes his (sometimes) irksome assistants.  Turkey is an old man who works diligently during the morning but acts hastily in the afternoon; Nippers is substantially younger, but mornings involve severe indigestion that does not abate until the afternoon; and Ginger Nut is a determined boy who supplies the office's snacks.  Although Turkey and Nippers appear to be insufferable, the speaker analyzes their natural constraints and combined values.  As a result, the speaker speaks in a restrained tone constantly balanced by reason.

However, when Bartleby arrives, the speaker takes a different route in characterization.  Immediately, the speaker seems to judge Bartleby simply based on his almost ascetic work ethic balanced with his lack of enthusiasm.  Later, when Bartleby refuses to come into the speaker's office, the negatives start to outweigh the positives.  For the majority of the rest of the story, the speaker portrays his struggle with Bartleby as an inescapable and hopeless fight against stubbornness.  Eventually, the speaker's desperate attitude drives him to relocate, leaving Bartleby residing in the old office. Bartleby soon after is sent to prison and passes away most likely from starvation.

Upon learning more about Bartleby postmortem, the speaker learns of extenuating circumstances that effected Bartleby's unusual stubbornness.  Bartleby used to destroy letters destined to the deceased.  Surely, this depressing atmosphere is to blame for the "I'd prefer not to"s.  In evaluating Bartleby, the speaker now assumes a regretful tone: "Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men? Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters and assorting them for the flames?" (Melville, 675).

The speaker's lamentable experience of turbulent alterations in mood and tone offers the reader a simple lesson: one should learn the stories of everyone in order to avoid unfair or damaging actions and attitudes.