Alienation

 Melville portrays Bartleby as the workaholic type of employee, the one who is doing his job, at
least at the beginning, the type of person dedicated to his work in order to please his boss.
Bartleby symbolises the hard-working man in a capitalist society. Herman Melville created the
perfect example of the alienated worker in his tale, the alienated worker who realises, step by
step, that his work is meaningless and without a future, and death is the only option left. Bartleby
is the reflection of the class conflicts and capitalist pressure of the 19th century American
society. The conflict that exists between Bartleby and the lawyer is often seen as a labour
dispute. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” represents the true example of the effects that industrial
society can have on individual; it simply dehumanizes the individual and forces him to accept his
fate and give up his ambitions; there is no point struggling against it after all, death seems to be
the only way out. 

 Bartleby, in his quest for recognition of a good and devoted worker, becomes estranged and
involves himself in the alienation process of the labouring society.

Alienation in Modern Life Bartleby, the Scrivener: “A Story of Wall-Street” is a great depiction
of alienation in the everyday routines of modern life. It is in this style of Herman Melville’s
writing that we are able to not only see the damage alienation can cause to a human mind, body
and spirit, but also to see and understand his own personal trials and tribulations of conforming
to how society wanted him to be.

under the capitalist mode of production, workers are alienated from the products of their labor
and from their own labor power (which they sell for a wage), but they are also alienated from
their human essence, effectively becoming machines in the mechanical system of production.”
(Tally par.4) Today we live in a world that encourages individuals to be who they want to be.
However when they do not fit, they are throwm out.

One could certainly argue that the titular character in Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener:
A Tale of Wall Street” is representative of the alienation of modern life.

Bartleby works himself incessantly in order to avoid the depressive spirit that pervades his
thoughts. This is evident in his ability to produce high-quality, abundant work when the narrator
first hires him. However, soon Bartleby can not overcome his inner malaise, instead spending
hours staring aimlessly out the window.

On the other hand, one could argue that Bartleby’s work is what depresses him. The narrator
certainly seems to think so; when he hears the rumor that Bartleby used to work in a dead letter
office, he reasons that this is what drove Bartleby deeper into depression.

Either way, Bartleby performs monotonous, meaningless work, which reflects the monotony of
modern life within the business-driven, efficiency-prizing society in which Bartleby lives. While
others are able to handle the soulless nature of the work Bartleby completes, Bartleby is not,
because it makes him feel more hollow.

However, the narrator seems to care for Bartleby, and he is willing to move his business in order
to let Bartleby continue living in the building. Furthermore, he arranges for Bartleby to receive
extra food rations when he is imprisoned. This shows that the narrator truly worries about
Bartleby’s well-being.

Therefore, Bartleby is alienated because of his own choice. Rather than opening himself up to
the compassion and connection his former employer offers, Bartleby allows himself to waste
away alone. This suggests that despite the presence of people who care, the individual in a
modern world still feels psychologically isolated.

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," Melville delivers a scathing diagnosis of the fervent belief in
individualism that was popular in philosophy and literature of his time.

apparently, he previously worked in the Dead Letter Office (a section of the Post Office that gets
rid of undeliverable mail). The narrator wonders if this horrifyingly depressing job might have
affected Bartleby's sanity – and we, in turn, must wonder what makes all of us who we are.

Death

Death seems to surround Bartleby from the moment he walks in the door and into the Narrator's
life. He's described incessantly as "cadaverous," and this corpse-like disposition is reflected not
only in his pallid appearance, but in his eerily calm manner. The Narrator has a chilling vision of
Bartleby as a corpse in his winding sheet, which evokes both sympathy and fear in himself and in
his readers, and even when Bartleby is alive (technically), he has a certain undead quality about
him. Also significant is what the Narrator calls Bartleby's "dead wall reveries," in which Bartleby
stares at the "dead," blank brick wall outside his office window for hours on end. This presence
of the living dead in the office is a really disturbing one – there's something incredibly creepy
about Bartleby's perpetually incomprehensible inaction.

Finally, after Bartleby's actual death, one more reference to the Grim Reaper arises – the
Narrator comments on Bartleby's previous employment in the Dead Letter Office. The idea of
undeliverable letters that "speed to death," even when they go "on errands of life" (130) is
incredibly tragic and horrifying; as the Narrator notes, getting rid of these dead objects is the
most sadly fitting job imaginable for someone as sapped of life as Bartleby. We have to wonder
if the dead letters are what made Bartleby what he is, or if he was drawn to them by his own
inalienable nature.

Office

The office as a space for human relationships is a central symbol in Melville's story – and, again,
in Steve Carell's show – and Melville uses the space as a kind of odd experimental ground, upon
which he tests the limits of personal interaction. This is highlighted by the fact that we really
don't see any of the characters outside the office. Sure, the Narrator, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger
Nut must all go somewhere after work, but we don't know anything about their home lives.
Instead, we just witness the trivial, often impersonal ways in which they communicate with each
other in the workplace.

Initially, everything seems normal; Bartleby, the new guy, shows up at an already-established
office, and immediately gets to work. Nothing too weird exhibits itself, and though Bartleby is
oddly quiet, the Narrator finds this a relief, compared to the eccentricities of Nippers and Turkey.
We're not sure what can possibly occasion the Narrator's story, since business seems to go on as
usual after Bartleby's arrival on the scene…for a little while, at least.

Conflict

Bartleby "prefers not to" examine a paper with the Narrator.

Huh. This is our first taste of the truly bizarre nature of this story – Bartleby, who has been a
solid employee up to this point, refuses point-blank to obey a simple order. Everyone is
mystified (except Bartleby, that is). He continues to "prefer not to" do anything but copy
documents, even when the smallest favors are asked of him. We're not sure what to make of this
refusal, and neither is the Narrator.

Complication

Bartleby "gives up" work and is fired…sort of.

Eventually, Bartleby just stops working at all. This gives the Narrator reason to fire him, which
he attempts to do. However, Bartleby prefers not to leave the building, and continues to live
there, which understandably creeps out clients and visitors. Again, Bartleby's motives are totally
obscure. Why does he prefer to stay in such an uncomfortable environment? We honestly have
no idea.

Climax

Unable to get rid of Bartleby, the Narrator moves to another building.

Bartleby ultimately wins in the odd, rather one-sided struggle between him and the Narrator.
When the scrivener just won't leave, the Narrator picks up and moves his whole practice to
another building, just to get away from Bartleby. This is, admittedly, a pretty wussy and really
impractical way to "resolve" the problem.

Suspense

Bartleby continues to haunt the Narrator's old office.

The suspense and confusion builds as we learn that Bartleby remains at the office, even when its
occupants leave. Apparently, he continues his wall-staring, resistant behavior even when a new
law practice moves in; we have to wonder, rather anxiously, how long he can keep this up,
against the opposition of an increasingly large crowd of enemies.

Denouement
Bartleby is taken to prison.

The conventional problem in the text is resolved when Bartleby is simply removed from the
building; he doesn't even put up a fight when the police take him to prison. While this looks kind
of like the end of the story, it's really not. This "denouement" is a false one, and while things
seem to have been cleared up, the central problem of Bartleby has simply been pushed aside, but
not resolved.

Conclusion

Bartleby dies.

In a final act of protest, Bartleby refuses to eat, and subsequently starves to death in prison. By
just preferring not to live any longer, Bartleby announces his individuality in an ultimately fatal,
dramatic fashion: if he cannot live as he "prefers" to, he apparently doesn't want to live at all. In
the end, we don't know what it was that Bartleby "preferred," and we are left to ponder the
mystery of his death.

Turkey, Nippers

Their function in the story is to create a contrast between them and Bartleby, between what it
seems and looks normal against what is abnormal. The lawyer accepts them the way they are; he
accepts their imperfect services and expects no better, as long as his interest is only in making
profit. They, in their turn, accept the situation, even though they are not pleased with it.

At the moment he starts working, Bartleby has been given a desk in the same room with his boss.
The only inconvenience seems to be the fact that his desk is close to a small side-window which
gave him some light but no view at all. The office, as a space for human relationships, is a
central symbol in Melville’s story. Melville uses the space as a kind of experimental ground
where he tests the limits of personal interaction. It is true that we do not see any of the characters
outside the office. They all must go somewhere after work but we do not know anything about
their home lives. At some point in the story Bartleby is caught sleeping in the office; the lawyer
seems to be very shocked about Bartleby’s conditions of living, and on the other hand he seems
in a way frustrated and furious because somebody invaded his space without having any right to
it. The lawyer isolates Bartleby from the world by placing him facing the walls; the lawyer
actually isolates him before he seeks isolation. The lawyer uses the walls in order to protect his
own fragile character. n. In order to remove him completely from his sight, the lawyer uses a
folding screen, which makes Bartleby isolated, though available at any time.

, for the sake of productive activities, individuals were given too little space and attention,
leading to estrangement and isolation. In Bartleby’s case, his entrapment leads to failure of
communication, and the walls become more rigid and inescapable. Even though the narrator
isolates Bartleby, Bartleby brings the isolation upon himself and starts living an abnormal life.
He even refuses to eat by saying that: ”I prefer not to dine to-day. It would disagree with me; I
am unused to dinners.” (1116) His refusal to eat is actually his refusal to work. The lawyer is
simply amazed by Bartleby’s refusal to do anything, even eat or find a place to live. Throughout
the story, Bartleby simply exists; he does do some writing, but eventually he even gives it up in
favour of staring at the wall and making everyone think that he is unreasonable and impertinent.

Even when imprisoned, his resistance is perceived as a way of rejecting help from the humans
and keeps condemning himself to death as a way of escaping the world. Bartleby leaves himself
open to isolation by not fitting into society; isolation is dangerous for any human being, it can
drive a person mad or even lead to suicide. Bartleby seems very isolated, he is facing walls and
they stand for Bartleby’s isolation from society. He isolates himself and permits the others to
isolate him from society. Bartleby is meaningless, entrapped in a prison of dull routine and
meaningless activity.

The lawyer’s middle-class, comfortable lifestyle makes him insensitive to the frustration of his
employees Turkey and Nippers, who have to perform a low paid job which is dull and makes
them behave strangely. The lawyer does not realize that Turkey’s drinking and Nipper’s
irritability might be the result of the conditions of the working environment. The amount of their
work could make them want to find escape in other activities so that they have a good excuse for
not performing their duties.