Bartleby the Scrivener

Bartleby the Scrivener written by Herman Melville is an odd story that brings forth some truth in the world of business today. It was written not only to describe a man in a scenario but almost as an allegory meant to represent the unnatural nonemotional decisions and people created by the Wall Street world that many people are so invested in. This very intriguing story about such a suspicious character creates turmoil through the use of both repetition and, at times, a lack of detail. The repetition of the word "Prefer" in various methods and lines really does build up the unemotional aspect of Bartleby that is revealed throughout the short story. Most disturbingly was the continual denial of providing any information about himself with the simple, "I would prefer not to,"(659). This does both use the repetition and create the lack of understanding for why a man would be so ridiculously secretive for seemingly no reason whatsoever.  The desire for detail created a large amount of confusion for the characters in the play and also for the reader that simply wanted to understand the motivation behind the nostalgia present in Bartleby's life. The suspense built up behind Bartleby's background all came together at the conclusion of the story when, once again, the reader figures out that there is a rumor that Bartleby could have previously worked as a Dead Letter burner. I do find the fact that it is only a possibility that this is true very significant. It always just leaves the possibility that there are other factors involved. This seems to correlate with life extremely well by having the option that there is something else wrong in business men's lives.