In reality, it is not madness, and Bartleby himself chose his life and his principles. Moreover, he wants to protect his life and his principles from anyone’s influence. That is why he refuses to accept the Lawyer’s aid, because he is afraid that the aid will destroy his principles, his life, and the world he has created for himself.
Full Answer
The Lawyer, helpless and stupefied, simply leaves. Bartleby is arrested as a vagrant and thrown in jail. The Lawyer visits him, but Bartleby refuses to speak to him. The Lawyer arranges for Bartleby to be fed good food in jail, but Bartleby refuses to eat.
It is very probable that Bartleby has his own theory of life. He knows that the Lawyer wants to help him, but he also knows that if he accepts this aid, he will not be able to live as he lived before. He will not be able to protect his principles from the Lawyer.
This irony of the text has led some critics to argue that the story of Bartleby is itself a dead letter that The Lawyer has written to a dead man to tell him what he couldn’t say in life. The Bartleby, the Scrivener quotes below are all either spoken by The Lawyer or refer to The Lawyer.
He can also refuse leaving the office. This world is very different from the one in which we live. Still, this is the world in which Bartleby wants to live. Bartleby does not have a house; he does not speak about his past; he does not speak of anything at all and spends all his time at the Lawyer’s office at Wall Street.
Though the Lawyer admits that "nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance," he eventually comes to pity Bartleby, believing that he "intends no mischief" and his "eccentricities are involuntary." The Lawyer decides to "cheaply purchase a delicious self-approval" by determining to keep Bartleby on ...
The lawyer tried to get rid of Bartleby by moving offices. This attempt worked because Bartleby just stayed in the office. The lawyer's attempt to get rid of Bartleby only partially worked.
Bartleby began staying in the building even after the lawyer moved his business. The next man that moved his business into the place said that Bartleby was the lawyer's responsibility and he had to do something about him. Bartleby was eventually arrested. The scivener's job was to copy legal documents by hand.
The Lawyer begins by noting that he is an "elderly man," and that his profession has brought him "into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men the law-copyists, or scriveners." While the Lawyer knows many interesting stories of such scriveners, he bypasses them ...
The Lawyer is the unnamed narrator of "Bartleby the Scrivener." He owns a law firm on Wall Street, and he employs four men as scriveners, or copyists: Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nut, and Bartleby. The Lawyer is about sixty years old. He is level-headed, industrious, and has a good mind for business.
With the sudden changes of Bartleby, the Lawyer feels overpowered, and it is like he does not have any power over his employees like Bartleby. Marcus explains that Bartleby is a psychological double for the Lawyer. The author says that Bartlebys power over the Lawyer quickly grows as the story progresses (Marcus 1).
The Lawyer: The narrator of the story is a gray-haired Wall Street lawyer. He is the protagonist of the story because the plot is driven by his problem and goal. He has two major conflicts which drive the story. The first is his outer conflict with Bartleby.
A few days later, Bartleby refuses to take part in scanning his own sheaf of quadruplicates.
That is why Bartleby’s behavior is not because of his madness but because of his strength and power, which he uses to live. When he refuses the Law...
Melville tries to prove that Bartleby has his principles and cannot betray them. That is why he refuses to accept aid from the Lawyer because he th...
That is why he refuses to accept aid from the Lawyer because he thinks that this aid will destroy his principles and his life. Of course, every per...
This irony of the text has led some critics to argue that the story of Bartleby is itself a dead letter that The Lawyer has written to a dead man t...
(full context) That day, The Lawyer heads to the prison to attest to the fact that Bartleby is an honest, but... (full context) On his way out, a man (The Grubman) stops The Lawyer and asks if Bartleby is his friend.
(full context) Once he’s alone in the office, The Lawyer determines that Bartleby must be eating , dressing, and even sleeping in the office.
A few days later, with the other employees absent, The Lawyer asks Bartleby to carry letters to the Post Office, but Bartleby declines, forcing The Lawyer ... (full context) Six days later, Bartleby remains in the office. The Lawyer offers Bartleby the 20-dollar bonus and tells him he must go.
As when he debates about whether to keep Bartleby employed, he often exhibits a tension between capitalistic pressure and Christian charitable morality , a tension many Americans were facing in the urbanizing economic boom of the mid-1800’s.
As with the character of Bartleby, the reader is told little to nothing about The Lawyer’s personal life or family history, leaving the reader open to put themselves in The Lawyer’s shoes.
Next, The Lawyer details his employee Nippers, who is also a scrivener. Nippers is about twenty-five years old,... (full context) However, despite these issues, The Lawyer considers Nippers a useful employee as a scrivener, as he is a good dresser, which... (full context)
A few days later, Bartleby comes to the Lawyer and tells him he will do no more writing. He merely sits in his cubby, staring out the window. The Lawyer suspects that Bartleby's vision has become impaired, and so he assents; but Bartleby replies that he will do no more writing, even if he regains his vision. The Lawyer therefore tells Bartleby that ...
A few days after moving, the new tenant, another lawyer, confronts the Lawyer and asks him to take care of Bartleby. The Lawyer says he has nothing to do with Bartleby, so the other lawyer says he'll take care of him.
Bartleby asks the Lawyer to return in a few minutes, and the Lawyer finds himself compelled to obey. He returns to find Bartleby gone, but from signs around the office he realizes that Bartleby has been living there. This sad truth makes the Lawyer feel even more pity for Bartleby.
Bartleby makes no response, and the Lawyer becomes resigned to the idea that Bartleby will simply haunt his office, doing nothing. The Lawyer believes he is doing a good, Christian thing by allowing Bartleby to continue existing in his office.
The Lawyer visits him, but Bartleby refuses to speak to him. The Lawyer arranges for Bartleby to be fed good food in jail, but Bartleby refuses to eat. Finally, one day, the narrator visits Bartleby, who has fallen asleep under a tree in the prison yard. The Lawyer goes to speak to him and discovers Bartleby is dead.
The Lawyer, helpless and stupefied, simply leaves. Bartleby is arrested as a vagrant and thrown in jail.