BARTLEBY THE SCRIVENER BY HERMAN MELVILLE



Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville



Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

The wealth of thematic possibilities in “Bartleby the Scrivener” has made it perhaps the most analyzed of all American short stories. Much of this analysis centers on the title character, who is seen as a forerunner of alienated modern man, as the victim of an indifferent society, as a nonconformist—perhaps even a heroic one—who becomes isolated simply for daring to assert his preferences. Another interpretation, built around Bartleby's role as a writer of sorts, claims that Herman Melville's story is a parable of the ...