When Bartleby begins his automatic response "I would prefer not to," the lawyer can not believe it. What makes the lawyer bewildered and unable to discipline or fire him is how calm and confidently Bartleby utters this phrase:
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When Bartleby begins his automatic response "I would prefer not to," the lawyer can not believe it. What makes the lawyer bewildered and unable to discipline or …
Dec 01, 2011 · The narrator realizes that he has unconsciously taken to using the word prefer. Turkey says that perhaps Bartleby has taken to drinking and the narrator notices that he is making frequent use of the word prefer as well. He begins worrying about Bartleby's influence in the office, but does not fire him yet.
While Bartleby begins as an exemplary employee, he soon says he “would prefer not to” do any of the tasks The Lawyer asks of him other than write. Bartleby is also a testament to the inherent failure present in language: it is revealed that Bartleby previously worked at the Dead Letter Office, where his task was to destroy lost or undelivered letters.
Bartleby, by uttering the words “I would prefer not to” effectively, as Cindy Weinstein states, “goes on strike without ever asserting that he has done so”. By using this phrase, Bartleby forces the employer, and narrator, to think carefully, and in some depth, about his expectations of his employees and the power within that relationship that up until that time he had taken for granted.
In making like Bartleby and occasionally stating, “I'd prefer not,” we do no spite to ourselves, or others—quite the opposite. In doing less, we preserve energy for what matters, a measure we can only set for ourselves.Jan 15, 2019
In "Bartleby the Scrivener," the mysterious central figure, Bartleby, has his own catchphrase of sorts – "I would prefer not to." He uses this phrase in response to pretty much everything, and the more we hear it, the more we believe him; Bartleby's slogan fully communicates his philosophy and his whole outlook on life ...
When the narrator ask Bartleby to "examine a small paper with me" (Melville 11), it is the first time he asks a favor of Bartleby; however, Bartleby replies, "I prefer not to" (Melville 12). This is Bartleby's way of conveying his thoughts or feelings about the task he's being asked to do.
"I would prefer not to." This is the most famous line in Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," and perhaps one of the most famous lines in American literature.
Bartleby teaches many lessons which are learned through his social status situation in the story. The main theme in this short story is that it is extremely hard to go against the grain in society especially during the middle 1800's.
Characterized as a symbolic fable of self-isolation and passive resistance to routine, "Bartleby, the Scrivener" reveals the decremental extinction of a human spirit.
Bartleby prefers not to answer any questions about his personal life or his past. Bartleby informs the Narrator that he will not be copying any more. After a couple of days, he tells the Narrator that he will never copy anything again. When asked to vacate the office, Bartleby refuses.
If Bartleby were to be employed by someone else, the Lawyer is certain he would be ill-treated. Bartleby again prefers not to examine his papers, and Turkey becomes enraged by it, threatening to beat up his reluctant fellow scrivener.
Driven as he is to pursue rational explanations for Bartleby's behavior, the narrator continues to speak for Bartleby, obsessively pursuing the reasons, causes, and categorical nature of his difference, rather than embracing Bartleby's inscrutability.
I prefer not... means that it is my choice to not go. I don't prefer... might mean that I don't have a preference. There is an interesting story about a man who preferred not to do things.Nov 22, 2006
Verbal irony can be found in the fact that a brick wall affords no view, has no beauty,and can be seen by anyone. From this comment, we can infer that Bartleby can be quite sarcastic.Feb 19, 2022
A successful lawyer on Wall Street hires Bartleby, a scrivener, to relieve the load of work experienced by his law firm. For two days, Bartleby executes his job with skill and gains the owner's confidence for his diligence.
The Bartleby, the Scrivener quotes below are all either spoken by The Lawyer or refer to The Lawyer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ).
The timeline below shows where the character The Lawyer appears in Bartleby, the Scrivener. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.