Bartleby Memo
Re: This memo is written to summarize the short story Bartleby, the scrivener: A Story of Wall-street written by Herman Melville. The memo Is addressed to Dr. Cristy Beemer from Nick Mastalerz. It was written on February 2, 2016
Bartleby is a short story that takes place at a law office on wall street in 1853. The narrator of the story who is not named is the owner of the office and the boss to his four employees. The employees are Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nuts, and of course Bartleby. Bartleby is a Scrivener who when he is first hired works non stop and produces good work. After a few days of working in the office he begins to reply to tasks asked of him with the phrase “I prefer not to”. Eventually Bartleby stops working all together, when …show more content…
Some parts of the dialogue were a bit dry which was the boring part. What kept me interested was waiting to find out what would happen to Bartleby or if we would find out more information about him or why he is so strange. Therefore, since the ending of the story didn’t reveal any new information about Bartleby it left me very unsatisfied.
The Narrator angered me at many points throughout the story. His lack of initiative when it came to firing Bartleby was very aggravating. If I were in his position after the second time Bartleby said I prefer not, he would have been fired immediately. It amazes me that the narrator had so much compassion for a man that he knew for only a couple weeks and knew little to nothing about, especially as an employer to someone who refuses to work. It was almost as if Bartleby was controlling the way the narrator thought in a supernatural way.
There are not many lessons we can learn from Bartleby, but there could be a lesson we can learn from the narrator. Throughout the story despite his frustrations with Bartleby he is still compassionate in the end even offering to open up his home to him. Another lesson we can learn from the narrator is to never settle. He has two employees that only work half of the day and yet he still does not fire them just like he didn’t fire
Bartleby is a short story that takes place at a law office on wall street in 1853. The narrator of the story who is not named is the owner of the office and the boss to his four employees. The employees are Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nuts, and of course Bartleby. Bartleby is a Scrivener who when he is first hired works non stop and produces good work. After a few days of working in the office he begins to reply to tasks asked of him with the phrase “I prefer not to”. Eventually Bartleby stops working all together, when …show more content…
Some parts of the dialogue were a bit dry which was the boring part. What kept me interested was waiting to find out what would happen to Bartleby or if we would find out more information about him or why he is so strange. Therefore, since the ending of the story didn’t reveal any new information about Bartleby it left me very unsatisfied.
The Narrator angered me at many points throughout the story. His lack of initiative when it came to firing Bartleby was very aggravating. If I were in his position after the second time Bartleby said I prefer not, he would have been fired immediately. It amazes me that the narrator had so much compassion for a man that he knew for only a couple weeks and knew little to nothing about, especially as an employer to someone who refuses to work. It was almost as if Bartleby was controlling the way the narrator thought in a supernatural way.
There are not many lessons we can learn from Bartleby, but there could be a lesson we can learn from the narrator. Throughout the story despite his frustrations with Bartleby he is still compassionate in the end even offering to open up his home to him. Another lesson we can learn from the narrator is to never settle. He has two employees that only work half of the day and yet he still does not fire them just like he didn’t fire