Week 7 Analysis, A close reading of Bartleby

Herman Melville, “Bartleby, The Scrivener” (293-321)

            In reading Melville’s Bartleby, The Scrivener, one such passage that stuck out to me was “I prefer not to,’ he replied in a flute-like tone. It seemed to me that while I had been addressing him, he carefully revolved every statement that I made; fully comprehending the meaning; could not gainsay the irresistible conclusion; but, at the same time, some paramount consideration prevailed with him to reply as he did” (303). This stuck out to me because it was rather odd, considering that at first this character seemed to be rather hard working. It also was interesting because out of all the odd characters in this story, Bartleby stuck out the moment he starting refusing to do work, like this passage. Not only was it interestingly different, but the phrase “I prefer not to” is repeated constantly throughout the story like it was some sort of slogan of Bartleby’s. One could even say that the phrase “I prefer not to” symbolizes the repetitive oddness we see the narrator to be interested in continuously. This interest of the narrator towards Bartleby is rather odd considering the other peculiar workers he has working under him so it makes one wonder why this man? Considering that Bartleby was the focus of this story, this passage ties into the character of Bartleby himself because the story revolves around the odd behavior of this man and how pitying he is seen to be.

            What makes this phrase “I prefer not to” to be even more odd/peculiar is the fact that “he replied in a flute-like tone”. This is odd because as what we first see of this character is that he is shown to be rather quiet and submissive to work at first: “But he wrote on silently, palely mechanically” (301). The flute-like tone meant that he spoke clearly and with high-pitch so this makes it even more peculiar because why would a quiet and submissive man speak so clearly in defiance against work a typical Scrivener is expected to do. What also makes this passage make this odd repetition even more peculiar is the fact that he fully understood what that work was, what he had to do and that he had to do the work. So why refuse so clearly? It is completely different to what is expected of him, therefore, he sticks out and is considered odd. In conclusion, this whole passage is just the start for the purpose of the rest of the story where we see the oddness of Bartleby dissected and fully developed, along with his slogan-like statement “I prefer not to”. Therefore, this passage just highlights the continuous developments of the character Bartleby, which the story revolves around.

"Bartleby, The Scrivener". The Norton Anthology World Literature, Third Edition, Vol. D. Martin Puchner. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Pages 293-321. Fairfield Medium with the display set in Aperto.