Throughout the story Melville relates the many troubling incidents experienced with the mysterious copier. ... Melville is calling on the reader's "little guy" to relate to the subconsciously driven behaviour of the characters. ... Melville lends humour to one conversation between the lawyer and Bartleby, in the form of contradiction. ... As the story winds down, Melville allows no more room for amusement at Bartleby's expense. ... The characters" eccentricities, when coupled with the narrator's take on them, have allowed Melville to present the tragedy in an amusing ma...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Considering Melville's ability as a writer, it is fair to say that the difficulties presented by the character of Bartleby are there for a reason. Why did Melville create this inscrutable character? ... Bartleby functions in the story not as a character but as a symbol. ... Of all of Melville's characters, only the white whale, Moby Dick, presents the same interpretive difficulties as Bartleby and has been construed in as many different ways. In the novel Moby Dick, each of Melville's characters interprets the white whale differently, and its ultimate meaning seems both awesome ...

• Word Count: 2093
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Melville uses many different ways to explain the process of the elimination of humanity from the workplace. The most important of these are his use of the scenery, his description of the type of labor performed, and the personalities of his characters. ... Melville often describes the world by telling descriptions of the environment. ... The character of the world of work and business is most often suggested through physical description of the landscape. In the final prison scene Melville's description of environment extends the range of the story from the business world to the general ...

• Word Count: 594
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Melville's Bartleby has a purpose rooted deeply in this as its main character attempts to enlighten the working population to the indefinite strife of low level employees. ... Melville does this by taking the downfalls of what was then modern day Wall Street and challenge them with title character's actions. ... Melville created a small social order in this text located on Wall Street in a small but effective law office. ... He is, after all, the supreme being in Melville's miniature social order. ... The original scriveners and office boy had served finite purposes in Melvi...

• Word Count: 1306
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

Settings and characters reinforce the theme of food and feasting. Character's nicknames such as Turkey, Nippers, Mr. ... Here, Melville is playing on the resemblance between these thin cookies and wax wafers used for sealing mortgages. ... Melvilles consistent focus on the narrators preoccupation with speach supports the oral imagery included in the story. ... All of the characters are living off of the lawyer. ...

• Word Count: 896
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In his noted work, Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street, Herman Melville portrays the deranged character and namesake of the novel, as a blatant critique of nineteenth century America. In spite of his seemingly antagonistic role in the novel, Bartleby is really a victim of his surroundings...

• Word Count: 455
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate