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. He is an alienated proletarian in the American workplace, who, after asserting that his job and his future are meaningless, decides to waste away into death. The story begins with Bartleby seeking employment in the office of a scrivener; a glorified copyist. The narrator sums up the typical scrivener in his description of himself: an "unambitious lawyer who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds." (4) His duties are agonizingly tedious, including the duplication of legal documents and verification of their accuracy. The impact of this environment on Bartleby is nothing short of dehumanizing. The narrator himself says that the office is "deficient in what landscape painters call "life"." (4) The screen, erected to isolate Bartleby from his coworkers, keeps him just within reach of the narrator, to be called upon when some menial task needed completing. His windows are available to allow light to enter the office, but present a vista consisting only of varieties of wall. In his isolation Bartleby completes each mindless and dull task with a passionless, almost mechanical work ethic. Initially, Bartleby is a ready and willing copyist, but the bearing of an environment totally devoid of creative thought and stimulation turns him into an unproductive, glass-eyed, physically and spiritually exhausted automaton. After being implored by the narrator to work or move out and seek another job, Bartleby articulates his dilemma. He explains that he is willing to perform meaningful work, but most of the unskilled occupations (such as being a scrivener) available to someone like him are deleterious both to his body and mind.
