Bartleby The Scrivener

In Bartleby the Scrivener, a lawyer on Wall Street who is in need of additional copyists hires a man named Bartleby, who is quiet, reserved, and mysterious. After a few days of doing an extraordinary job of copying, Bartleby is asked to compare a copy sheet, to which he replies, "I would prefer not to." The lawyer is surprised at the employee's response but does nothing in retaliation. Several days later when asked to do something "perfectly reasonable" Bartleby again replies, "I would prefer not to." The lawyer goes into his office one Sunday morning and is surprised that Bartleby is there. He realizes that Bartleby has been living in his office. Back at work the next week thereafter, the attorney questions Bartleby about his past. He doesn't learn anything. Bartleby quits doing any work, claiming poor eyesight, but he won't leave the office. He continues to live in the office, and prefers not to leave or to start working again. Out of frustration and to be rid of Bartleby, who neither works nor pays rent, the lawyer relocates his office. He is soon called upon by his old landlord to get Bartleby out of his building. Upon his visit, the attorney tries to reason with Bartleby, but Bartleby prefers not to do anything. The lawyer leaves and a few days later learns that Bartleby has been taken to the Tombs. He goes to visit Bartleby in jail, who will not eat, and a few visits later, the lawyer finds Bartleby lying in the prison yard, curled up in a fetal position. Bartleby had died, apparently from starvation. Questions remain: Why did Bartleby always prefer not to? Why can't he make friends or communicate? What is the cause for his rebellion? On another note, why does the lawyer show so much charity and sympathy towards Bartleby?

As the narrator tells us, little is known about Bartleby's history. In fact, all he says he knows is that Bartleby once worked for the Dead Letter Office in Washington. Does this alone explain why Bartleby is unsocial or refuses to work, but instead "prefers not to?" "The narrator wonders whether it was this lonely, depressing job, reading letters intended for people now dead or gone, that drove Bartleby into the depressive spiral that ended in his final stillness beneath a prison-yard tree (www.sparknotes.com)." It could have been his previous job that explained all of Bartleby's odd habits. Three of Bartleby's curious actions throughout the story point to his past occupation. First, Bartleby's first sign of emotion was when the lawyer brought up his past (http://www.vcu.edu). He was asking about Bartleby's family and his background, and it is here that Bartleby's mouth tremored. Never before had he shown emotion. Bartleby was always a solemn, emotionless man. Second, Bartleby would only copy papers; he didn't read books. This could have been because in his job at the Dead Letters Office all he did was read letters. Thirdly, when asked to bring a letter to the post office, Bartleby "preferred not to," possibly because his previous job involved letters and the post office.

Throughout the story, Bartleby's tendency is to become more withdrawn and less mobile for whatever reason, and that is what keeps him around the office. He doesn't have to venture out and be social and communicate with other people. The reason for Bartleby's actions and responses could be because his behavior matches traits commonly associated with autism--"inappropriate responses, repetitive behavior, efficient and gifted execution of intricate tasks (http://english.uiowa.edu/)." When the lawyer mentioned to Bartleby that he take up another job, he gave him a list of occupations, but Bartleby turned down all the jobs which could have required him to be sociable.

Bartleby could have been rebellious and refused to leave the office when he was dismissed because he was forced to leave his job once before. He thought himself discarded, like the dead letters. Because he was forced out, he shuts down: he won't answer any questions, won't do any work, and won't leave. "With his 'I would prefer not to' he turned all commands into dead letters (http://www.janushead.org/)." He is obviously emotionally disturbed; therefore he shuts out everyone so he will not be uprooted again.

Also open to interpretation are the following: First, Bartleby ceased copying the Sunday that the lawyer discovered he lived in his office. After the attorney discovered Bartleby residing in the office, he decided to ask him questions about his background. Clearly Bartleby did not want to discuss it, and after that moment he quit all work and communicating with his boss. Second is the fact that Bartleby never went out to dine, but instead preferred to remain in his quarters and eat. The attorney noticed that every day at work Bartleby would send out Ginger-Nut, the errand boy, to fetch him so ginger cakes, and when the narrator was looking around Bartleby's things he found some cheese. While in the Tombs, the attorney paid