Bartleby, the Scrivener

Fiction & Literature, Classics
Cover of the book Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville, Editions Artisan Devereaux LLC
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Herman Melville ISBN: 1230000388153
Publisher: Editions Artisan Devereaux LLC Publication: April 25, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Herman Melville
ISBN: 1230000388153
Publisher: Editions Artisan Devereaux LLC
Publication: April 25, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" (1853) is among Herman Melville’s most important stories, and has been considered a precursor to Existentialist and Absurdist literature.

Has there ever been a less desirable job title than scrivener? 

They were employed by lawyers to transcribe legal documents; and if that isn't inhuman enough, the office in which Bartleby works has windows that face the brick walls of surrounding skyscrapers. 

Bartleby himself is pure enigma.

Plot-wise, it's simple: Bartleby is a clerk, and the book's narrator is his boss.

Bartleby bewilders his employer, first by refusing to assist in proof reading documents, saying, "I would prefer not to." 

But in short order he is preferring not to do most anything, including leave the building after he is fired. 

Bartleby is finally removed by the police and starves to death in jail, preferring not to eat.

In Bartleby, Melville may have written one of the first meaningful pieces of literature to give voice to the dehumanizing aspects of the modern industrial workplace. 

 

HERMAN MELVILLE (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet, sailor, and customs inspector. The author of numerous classic novels, essays, and short stories, he is perhaps best known for Moby Dick, Typee, The Confidence Man, Redburn, Clarel, Bartleby, the Scrivener, and Billy Budd. He is considered a literary colossus, and a central figure in the development of the modern novel. 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" (1853) is among Herman Melville’s most important stories, and has been considered a precursor to Existentialist and Absurdist literature.

Has there ever been a less desirable job title than scrivener? 

They were employed by lawyers to transcribe legal documents; and if that isn't inhuman enough, the office in which Bartleby works has windows that face the brick walls of surrounding skyscrapers. 

Bartleby himself is pure enigma.

Plot-wise, it's simple: Bartleby is a clerk, and the book's narrator is his boss.

Bartleby bewilders his employer, first by refusing to assist in proof reading documents, saying, "I would prefer not to." 

But in short order he is preferring not to do most anything, including leave the building after he is fired. 

Bartleby is finally removed by the police and starves to death in jail, preferring not to eat.

In Bartleby, Melville may have written one of the first meaningful pieces of literature to give voice to the dehumanizing aspects of the modern industrial workplace. 

 

HERMAN MELVILLE (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet, sailor, and customs inspector. The author of numerous classic novels, essays, and short stories, he is perhaps best known for Moby Dick, Typee, The Confidence Man, Redburn, Clarel, Bartleby, the Scrivener, and Billy Budd. He is considered a literary colossus, and a central figure in the development of the modern novel. 

More books from Editions Artisan Devereaux LLC

Cover of the book The Tempers by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Speke's Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Hymen by H. D. by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Charles Darwin by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Rudyard Kipling: The Jungle Book, Kim, Captains Courageous by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Ezra Pound - From Harpoons to Baboons by Herman Melville
Cover of the book A Dream of Armageddon by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Elizabeth Gaskell Mary Barton by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Freud Sex and Dreams by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Wakefield by Herman Melville
Cover of the book When I Was Dead by Herman Melville
Cover of the book The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Discovering The Poetry of Cesar Vallejo by Herman Melville
Cover of the book Der Golem by Herman Melville
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy