Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street

"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" by Herman Melville is a short story written in the late 19th century, during the period known as the American Renaissance. The tale presents a legal scrivener who exhibits an unusual form of passive resistance, famously responding to requests with the phrase "I would prefer not to." The story explores themes of isolation, the human condition, and the conflicts between individual will and societal expectations. The narrative is told from the perspective of a nameless lawyer, who describes his interactions with Bartleby, a new scrivener who initially demonstrates exceptional diligence but gradually declines to perform any tasks. As the lawyer confronts Bartleby's growing refusal to comply with standard office duties, he grapples with feelings of frustration, pity, and confusion. Bartleby's presence becomes increasingly unsettling, revealing his profound detachment from the world around him. The story culminates with Bartleby's ultimate fate in a prison setting, alluding to deeper existential questions about humanity, purpose, and the impact of societal neglect. Through the surreal interactions between the lawyer and Bartleby, Melville crafts a poignant commentary on the condition of modern life and the plight of the individual within a callous society. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death Melville was not well known to the public, but 1919, the centennial of his birth, was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.