Themes: Individualism/Peer Pressure

A central theme of the narrative is the pressure to conform within American business culture, which suppresses individual creativity. The setting on Wall Street, the epicenter of American finance and business, is intentional. By concentrating on legal scriveners, Melville highlights the intellectually stifling atmosphere of the business world, where scriveners simply reproduce others' ideas instead of generating their own. Initially, the lawyer...

Themes: Freedom and Imprisonment

The theme of individualism in "Bartleby the Scrivener" is closely linked to the idea of freedom. The narrative is replete with symbolic walls. The office is located on Wall Street, and its windows look out onto walls on all sides. Bartleby frequently gazes vacantly at a wall, lost in what the lawyer calls "a dead-wall reverie." It seems Bartleby feels trapped in his circumstances, and it is significant that he eventually dies in prison. Through...

Themes: Apathy and Passivity

A central theme of the narrative is the indifference and passivity demonstrated by both Bartleby and the lawyer. Bartleby's form of rebellion is marked by his refusal to act. He silently opposes his employer's orders by opting to do nothing. Bartleby displays an alarming level of disinterest in his own future. When the lawyer inquires about what Bartleby would choose to do if given the option, Bartleby responds that he is not particular. In...

Themes: Class Conflict

The story's tension largely stems from the conflict of interest between the lawyer and his three scriveners. As an employer and esteemed legal professional, the lawyer inhabits a social world quite distinct from that of the scriveners. Since the narrative unfolds from his viewpoint, part of the irony in ''Bartleby the Scrivener'' is revealed through the lawyer's unintentional exposure of his class prejudices. For instance, the lawyer shows...

Themes: Alienation and Nonconformity

The wealth of thematic possibilities in “Bartleby the Scrivener” has made it perhaps the most analyzed of all American short stories. Much of this analysis centers on the title character, who is seen as a forerunner of alienated modern man, as the victim of an indifferent society, as a nonconformist—perhaps even a heroic one—who becomes isolated simply for daring to assert his preferences. Another interpretation, built around Bartleby’s role as a...

Themes: Narrator's Perspective and Irony

Such views, while having varying degrees of validity, ignore the fact that “Bartleby the Scrivener” is dominated by the sensibility of its narrator and his search for the truth, a search that is ironic because he is incapable of any objective understanding of Bartleby and his seemingly perverse preferences. Not Bartleby’s actions or passivity but the narrator’s responses to his copyist are what is important.

Themes: Materialism and Self-Deception

Early in the story, the lawyer describes himself as “an eminently safe man,” one “who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best.” He makes allowances for Turkey and Nippers because that is the easiest way to deal with them, but he is unable to understand why he cannot similarly control Bartleby.

When his initial efforts with Bartleby fail, he attempts to turn the...