Herman Melvilles Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street is a short story of misfortune in which characterization is used to convey the central theme. During the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s, the lower class citizens were most often neglected and mistreated. Melville describes a tale of human redemption and personal growth during this time period where two distinct classes of people existed.
The lawyer, who speaks of himself as a man "filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is best"(2), is given the opportunity to redeem himself as a human being and fails. He describes himself as an arrogant and money-worshipping man, who tolerates others as long as they help his reputation. When Bartleby comes into the story, the lawyer starts to feel some sort of connection with others due to their relationship, but fails to act on his newfound feelings, therefore losing his chance. The lawyer also describes himself as one of those unambitious lawyersof a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich mens bonds (2). This illustrates the lawyers lack of charity and compassion at the start of the story. He then goes on to brag about one of his prestigious clients, which demonstrates that elite status and wealth are considered extremely significant to him. Melville directly characterizes the lawyer this way in order for him to experience some sort of change and come to a realization about missed opportunity throughout the story, making him a dynamic character.
The lawyer then becomes in need of an additional scrivener, so he hires Bartleby. He had made the decision to hire Bartleby mainly because of his quiet nature. When he first started working for the lawyer, Bartleby worked diligently and did an extraordinary quantity of writing (20). The lawyer was impressed by his work ethic, and Bartleby worked through the entire day. The only thing that seemed to bother the lawyer was Bartlebys dull mood. Then one day, the lawyer had asked Bartleby to review a document for him, and Bartleby had simply refused by replying, I would prefer not to (23). This line becomes Bartlebys catch phrase throughout the story and sums up his character. Instead of an angry refusal, he uses the word prefer which indicates something subtle. This is an odd thing to say and the oddness about Bartleby begins to appear. This reply also demonstrates Bartleby as a symbol of free will. Melville shows the power of language by using Bartlebys phrase over and over again. The lawyers missed opportunity at redemption occurs with his first encounter with Bartlebys refusal. The lawyer shows his selfishness because he lets Bartlebys refusal go, not due to sympathy, but due to the lawyers regards to his own time. The lawyer just does not want to argue with Bartleby, so he dismisses the entire thing. Melville characterizes Bartleby in this matter in order to influence the lawyers life on purpose. Bartleby remains as stubborn as ever and continues to refuse the lawyers requests. He does not change at all or experience any kind of change within the story, making Bartleby a static character. The secondary characters in this story are the other three scriveners that also work for the lawyer. Nippers, Turkey, and Ginger Nut are solely mentioned to serve as foils to Bartleby, and represent everything Bartleby is not. Melville characterizes them in such a way to distinguish Bartleby and the lawyer as the main characters.
Melville utilizes the role of names in this short story to define his characters. Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut are all nick named. Their nick names serve the purpose of showing them as endearing caricatures rather than real people. Also, all of their names are dehumanizing, a turkey is a real animal, Nippers has a name that is similar to the name of a terrier, and Ginger Nut is simply named after the snack that he delivers. Melville gave them these names in order to heighten the significance of the other two characters. Bartleby and the lawyer are separated from these three nick named stock characters. Throughout the story, Bartleby is only ever called by his real name and nothing else, and the lawyer has no name. This indicates Bartlebys refusal to be anything but himself, symbolizing him as the power of free will once again. The lawyer is nameless in order to be a universal character that is easily identifiable with readers.
Melville uses his methods of characterization to bring the lawyers experience with Bartleby full circle. When the lawyer discovers Bartlebys level of poverty, he begins to battle with a change in his point of view on the world in which he lives in. When the lawyer discovers Bartleby living in the office, he says that "for the first time in my life a feeling of overpowering melancholy seized me" (91). This represents the beginning of the lawyer's struggle to change. He goes back and forth between feelings of anger and mercy. At one point, the lawyer even sympathizes with a murderer and feels justified in doing the same to Bartleby. However, the lawyer realizes the mistake of his anger and falls back into trying to sympathize with Bartleby. This back and forth inside the lawyers conscience is evidence of his struggle. Bartlebys resistance and persistence allows for a realization to occur within the lawyer. The lawyer eventually realizes the isolation of humanity, and that the division between the two social classes had caused that. He develops a newfound sense of appreciation for the lower class after his experience with Bartleby, especially after Bartlebys death. The lawyer comes to the conclusion that there is no true division between men, and that him and Bartleby were both one in the same. Evidence of this exists when the lawyer proclaims, For both I and Bartleby were sons of Adam (91). The lawyer begins to realize that all Bartleby is, is human. Melville characterized the lawyer and Bartleby the way he did in order to effectively portray the theme of this short story. The theme had dealt with the issue of overcoming socially accepted norms at the time in which the story took place. Through his experience with Bartleby, the lawyer was able to break this social barrier within his own mind, and consider a change in his beliefs. This was more than just a story about poverty, but a story of personal growth for a highly functioning member of a newly bustling society during the Industrial Revolution.
Melville, in his own life, had to deal with financial stress and was all too familiar with the division between the social classes. Melvilles own family went from having high status among society to becoming stricken by poverty due to bankruptcy of the family business. Through his own experiences, he was able to fully develop both sides to Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street. Melville had sought for a way to get his message out, despite how less popular it made him, that a change in society needed to occur and this short story was his way of doing just that.
This short story gives a sense of compassion towards all types of people. The lawyer represented people in the world at the time who never truly realized the struggles of the less fortunate and after experiencing it first hand, then developed that sense of compassion. He also represents the struggle to change what was socially accepted and what was not. Bartleby represented the power of the lower class with enough passive resistance to get the attention needed to quietly get their message heard. This is more the lawyers story than it is Bartlebys, because the lawyer is the character who essentially deals with an internal conflict throughout the story and ends up with a drastically different take about society. Bartlebys death at the end of the story symbolizes the elimination of the barrier between the high and low class, at least inside the mind of the lawyer.
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