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Why in Melville's Short Story "bartleby the Scrivener", the Narrator, Rather Than Bartleby Himself

Autor:   •  March 18, 2011  •  Term Paper  •  1,924 Words (8 Pages)  •  6,206 Views

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Table of Contents

1.Introduction…………………………………………………………3

2.1 Bartleby and the narrator: Static versus Dynamic Character ……3

2.2 The lawyer: An ironic narrator…………………………………...4

2.3 The Storyline – The influence of the narrator……………………4

2.4 A Story about Wall street - A Story about the narrator…………..5

2.5 Antagonist and Protagonist in Bartleby the Scrivener…………...5

3. Conclusion………………………………………………………..6

4. Bibliography……………………………………………………...7

1. Introduction

This essay shall discuss Claudia D. Johnson stand, stated in her book Understanding Melville's Short Fiction", that in Herman Melville's short story Bartleby the Scrivener, the narrator, rather than Bartleby himself, may be considered the real protagonist of the story: "While Bartleby is the title character as well as the most memorable, even classic character, immortalized with his phrase " I prefer not to", this is chiefly the tale of the unnamed ironic narrator". "In the tale, an elderly lawyer, whose chambers are located near the stock exchange, (…) oversees an office of three scriveners(…). His expressed intention is to write character sketches of the eccentric men, chiefly Bartleby, who have worked in his office (…). In the process he unintentionally reveals a great deal about his own character." The recruitment of Bartleby upsets the orderly business of the office and interrupts the flow of the narrator's life is Bartleby's refusal to chore, correcting copy. The story climaxes when Bartleby is sent to prison after the lawyer sold his office and even with new owners he refuses to move out. The plot ends with the Death of Bartleby.

2.1 Bartleby and the narrator: Static versus Dynamic Character

The strongest argument in favour of the narrator as the main protagonist is stated by the fact, that the narrator is the dynamic character we know best while Bartleby is the flat character we know almost nothing about. After reading the book, the first impression to the reader is, that he knows so much about the narrator, whereas he seems to know nothing about Bartleby. Throughout the story, we are provided with plenty of information how the narrator feels, what he values high, how he reacts on many different things, what he

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