Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street

by Herman Melville

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Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street Questions and Answers

What does “Ah! Bartleby, Ah! humanity” mean in the very last sentence of “Bartleby the Scrivener”?

In "Bartleby the Scrivner," why does Bartleby refuse to do what his boss asks? What is the significance of his refusal? Why does the lawyer not fire him in the beginning?

Describe the 105 North Tower in A Tale of Two Cities.

Describe the lawyer's changing attitudes toward Bartleby.

I need help writing a thesis statement for Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Story of Wall Street."

Why do you think Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nut are introduced to the reader before Bartleby?

Using specific passages, how can "slippage", a feature of deconstructionist literary criticism, be seen in Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," discuss the story's humor and how it affected your response to Bartleby.

In Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville, what part do the setting and the subtitle ("A Story of Wall Street") play in the story? Why does the narrator so frequently mention walls, screens, windows, and views?

What is the significance of walls in "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street"?

Who is the protagonist in Bartleby the Scrivener? Whose story is it?

How does Bartleby's "I would prefer not to" affect the routine of the lawyer and his employees?

What is Bartleby's disorder? Antisocial personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, major depression, paranoid personality disorder, acute stress disorder, or schizophrenia?

In Bartleby, the Scrivener, why do you think Melville withholds the information about the Dead Letter Office until the end of the story? How does this relate to Bartleby?

What effect does Bartleby have on the narrator?

What in the world is this story about? What is wrong with Bartleby? Is he lazy or crazy?

In Bartleby the Scrivener, how does the lawyer's description of himself serve to characterize him? Why is it significant that he is a lawyer?

How does the narrator’s admission that he is an “eminently safe” man help establish his point of view towards the events of the story? In what ways does his point of view change as a result of his association with Bartleby? Analyze the paragraph beginning “For the first time in my life a feeling of overpowering stinging melancholy seized me.” A clear reading of this passage may bring you closer to realizing the complexity of Melville’s portrayal of the lawyer’s relationship to Bartleby.

In Bartleby the Scrivener, do you sympathize more with Bartleby or with the narrator? What would you have done with Bartleby?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" by Herman Melville, what is the description of the narrator? (Age/career/personality, one "profound conviction" he follows)

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," why does Bartleby stare out the window or lurk behind a screen?

What is the conclusion of Bartleby the Scrivener? What is Bartleby's work performance like initially?

Who is the antagonist in "Bartleby the Scrivener"?

In the first paragraph of "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street," the narrator tells us, "Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable, except from the original sources, and in his case those are very small." Yet he concludes with the following words: "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!" What do you think these words are meant to imply? Is Bartleby being equated with humanity? What tone or emotions might be implied by the use of the interjection "ah"? Has the narrator somehow changed his view or opinion of Bartleby? How?

Choose three or four adjectives to describe the work environment of Bartleby and the other scriveners and the work they do in Bartleby the Scrivener. Do you think there is a connection between the work environment and Bartleby’s peculiar behavior?

What audience was Melville writing to when he wrote Bartleby the Scrivner?

In Bartleby, the Scrivener, what is Nippers like? Compared to Turkey, when is he a good worker? What does Bartleby's life edict ("I would prefer not to") mean?

Why is the lawyer the protagonist in the story "Bartleby, the Scrivener"?

"In answer to advertisement, a motionless young man one morning, stood upon my office threshold, the door being open, for it was summer. I can see that figure now- pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby." Explain how this quotation serves to clearly introduce the title character of Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street."

Who do you see as the protagonist of "Bartleby the Scrivener"--Bartleby or the lawyer/narrator ? Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener"

What are some examples of symbolism, imagery, tone and theme in "Bartleby the Scrivener"?

How does the narrator-lawyer in "Bartleby the Scrivener" show apathy towards Bartleby?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street" why does the lawyer not fire Bartleby?

Does Bartleby symbolize the alienation of modern life?

What are the themes (or scenes) of Bartleby the Scrivener?

Who is the narrator of "Bartleby the Scrivener"?

What made Bartleby change from such a hard worker to a unmotivated, lazy waste of space in Bartleby the Scrivener? What causes this sudden change in work ethic?

Is Bartleby mentally ill?

How do the minor characters Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger Nut in “Bartleby the Scrivener” contribute to the development of the story’s themes: individualism and peer pressure, freedom and imprisonment, passivity, and class conflict?

In Bartleby the Scrivener, what is the narrator forced to do to save his law office when he cannot fire and evict Bartleby?

Why do you think Melville specifically chose a first-person narrative, rather than, for instance, using a third person omniscient narrator? What impact does this choice have on the content of the story and the development of its themes?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," explain the significance of the subtitle, "A Story of Wall Street" in relation to one theme of the story.

Who are the main characters in Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street"?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener," in what ways does the narrator's characterization of him as a "fixture" or "the last column of a ruined temple" help the reader to see him as a structural object-a piece of furniture or of architecture-rather than as a human being? In what way does this transformation into objects cause the narrator to see himself as a "a "pillar of salt"?

How does Melville portray the "human condition" in the story "Bartleby the Scrivener"? I should at least formulate one claim about Melville's portrayal of human nature and gather evidence from the text.

Can someone please help me answering the following questions about "Bartleby the Scrivener": 1. Why do you think Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut are introduced to the reader before Bartleby? 2. Describe Bartleby's physical characteristics. How is his physical description a foreshadowing of what happens to him? 3. What is the significance of the subtitle: "A Story of Wall Street"? 4. What motivates Bartleby's behavior? Why do you think Melville withholds the information about the Dead Letter Office until the end of the story? Does this background adequately explain Bartleby? 5. Do you think Melville sympathize more with Bartleby or with the lawyer?

Who is the central character in Bartleby, the narrator or Bartleby, and why?

What do the narrator's other employees reveal about the narrator's personality in "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street"?

I am reading "Bartleby the Scivener" by Herman Melville and would like to know if the lawyer is really dealing with Bartleby fairly.

Does the lawyer have duties towards Bartleby, and does he fulfill them? If not, who is responsible for Bartleby?