Bartleby's ghostly presence in the story is the result of a breakdown of the narrator's mind. In fact, Bartleby does not exist at all as an actual scrivener, but instead represents a part of the narrator that he wishes to repress in order to become a more effective and industrious worker.
I would love a bit of feed back from what little bit Im posting from my essay. I know that its due tomorrow and this is just a little snipit but any feedback, good or otherwise would be appreciated. Goodluck everyone!!!
When the line of “I would prefer not too” would
ruffle the feather of the narrator. Bartleby stayed calm, leanly composed, with
not a wrinkle of agitation, no anger, impatience, or impertinence in his tone.
The narrator clearly states that if there had been, he would of violently
attacked. If this was an actual person or presence in room, a calm and mild
manor would have more than likely made matters worse. If it is truly a
repression of his mind or alter ego, then calmness or diffusing of a situation would
have also made him calm down. When one person gets anger, the other doesn’t calm
down; they get angry as well most of the time. If you can find peace in your
mind, you can relax. I think that is what this situation is representing. With
Bartleby saying, “I would prefer not too”, I think he is trying to prevent any
further situations from occurring.
That's awesome, it hadn't occurred to me during the reading that that particular exchange was off for that reason. I know what you're getting at, it seems like the more collected you are in an argument, the more volatile the other person gets. I think it has something to do with their perception of the other party not caring or something of the like. I enjoy that take on the exchange, and would certainly encourage you to use that kind of thinking with more of their exchanges; I think there were a couple more instances in which the narrator's reactions were certainly suspect, and not just with Bartleby. Based on this preview, it should shape up into a great paper. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the postive feedback it helps to know that Im on the right track! Greatly appreciated! =)
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a really perceptive finding of yours. It seems like Bartleby has control of the situation, and the narrator does not. He goes in thinking he is in charge, but as soon as the scrivener says he would prefer not to do something, it's almost like that is the final word. The conversation is over almost before it begins. I really like your approach to this aspect!
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