Due to Bartleby's evident difficulty adapting to society, numerous critics have analyzed the character through the lens of psychoanalysis. How would you interpret Bartleby's behavior? How would you assess the lawyer's actions?

Explore the social environment of New York City in the 1850s. How did class conflict influence the daily lives of most New Yorkers? What were the working conditions like for office employees on Wall Street?

Many regard Melville as a profoundly philosophical novelist. Using "Bartleby the Scrivener," explore Melville's perspective on one of the following philosophical movements: the Enlightenment, transcendentalism, Romanticism, idealism, or nihilism.

Investigate American business attitudes towards conformity through sociological studies or literary works. How have these attitudes evolved over time?