What Do I Read Next?
Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "The Celestial Railroad" (1843) is a 19th-century reinterpretation of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Hawthorne satirizes Americans' unwavering belief in progress without considering moral consequences. His work significantly influenced Herman Melville and addressed many similar themes.
Melville's 1855 story "The Paradise of Bachelors and The Tartarus of Maids" explores the social impacts of capitalism, particularly focusing on changing gender roles. His revulsion toward New England paper factories is evident, and his depictions of dehumanized factory workers parallel his descriptions of Bartleby.
Tom Wolfe's 1987 novel Bonfire of the Vanities delves into greed and moral decay on Wall Street during the affluent 1980s. By chronicling the protagonist's downfall, Wolfe scrutinizes New York City's class structure and justice system.
Melville's 1857 novel The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade investigates the psychological and philosophical dimensions of human interactions in a diverse, capitalist society. Similar to "Bartleby," this highly experimental work presents numerous challenges to the reader but remains a profound reflection on American society in the 1850s.
Karen Halttunen's historical study Confidence Men and Painted Women: A Study of Middle-Class Culture in America, 1830-1870 examines middle-class Americans' anxieties about the perils of a capitalist society. Using Melville's "Confidence-Man" as a central example, Halttunen demonstrates how American perspectives on honesty and deception have evolved over time. Her chapter "The Confidence-Man in Corporate America" offers a notable interpretation of American business culture.
David Riesman, Nathan Glazer, and Reuel Denny's The Lonely Crowd: A Study of the Changing American Character (1950) is a sociological analysis of the intricate relationship between economics and personality development. This work identifies "dominant personality types" that correspond to three major phases of American economic history, focusing on the tension between conformity and character development in business life.
Sean Wilentz's award-winning study Chants Democratic: New York City and the Rise of the American Working Class, 1788-1850 (1984) traces the emergence of capitalism and the formation of an industrial working class in New York City. He examines the role of working-class radicals and their resistance to the capitalist system during the early Industrial Revolution.
Henry James's 1903 story "The Beast in the Jungle" offers an intriguing comparison to Melville's literary techniques in "Bartleby the Scrivener." The story presents a psychological drama from the perspective of an unusually unreliable narrator who attempts to interpret the actions of those around him.
Joseph Conrad's 1909 story "The Secret Sharer" depicts a sea captain who shelters a potentially murderous stowaway on his ship. The story explores the theme of the "doppelganger," or psychological double, which some critics suggest is also present in Melville's work.
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