Everybody sees the same things differently. This is true in “Wakefield” and “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “Bartleby the Scrivener” by Herman Melville as the protagonists walk the fine line between being an outcast and progressive brilliance. In each story, the point of view affects whether the reader comes to view the main character as a freak, or as a genius. Setting is crucial to forming the different perspectives in the three stories. The surrounding characters and locations provide the expectations for the society that exists in each world. In “Wakefield” for example, it is easy to understand how “... a dozen busybodies [had been] watching him…” might have made Mr. Wakefield eager to escape from the eyes and prejudices of
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There are personal biases riddled throughout each piece of work, showing what the narrator makes of what is currently going on. In “Bartleby the Scrivener” for example, the narrator makes the reader feel sorry for Bartleby, and even makes us question if there is something actually wrong with him. The line “Had there been the least uneasiness, anger impatience or impertinence in his manner ; in other words, had there been anything ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises” shows us that Bartleby does display strange behavior, yet it also makes the reader feel sorry for him (Melville 12). The narrator’s anger somehow causes the reader to feel sorry for Bartleby, as he is judged (and almost fired) for behaving the only way he knows how to. Even though we can view the narrator's mind, sometimes this lets the reader see a little into the protagonist's eyes as …show more content…
In “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the narrator is--sometimes--harsh yet forgiving and empathetic for Bartleby, making the reader see him as someone to feel sorry for instead of some crazy person. However, the narration can also make a character seem horrible, such as in “The Birthmark” where Aylmer is made into a superficial man who can’t do anything right, as opposed to an eccentric scientist. The narrator can also show how much a character has changed over the course of the story, as seen in “Wakefield”. Mr.Wakefield is first seen as a dull and average man, but by the and he has this strange adventure and the narrator takes note of this. It’s not so much the protagonist who defines who they are and what their role in the story is, it’s the
There are personal biases riddled throughout each piece of work, showing what the narrator makes of what is currently going on. In “Bartleby the Scrivener” for example, the narrator makes the reader feel sorry for Bartleby, and even makes us question if there is something actually wrong with him. The line “Had there been the least uneasiness, anger impatience or impertinence in his manner ; in other words, had there been anything ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises” shows us that Bartleby does display strange behavior, yet it also makes the reader feel sorry for him (Melville 12). The narrator’s anger somehow causes the reader to feel sorry for Bartleby, as he is judged (and almost fired) for behaving the only way he knows how to. Even though we can view the narrator's mind, sometimes this lets the reader see a little into the protagonist's eyes as …show more content…
In “Bartleby the Scrivener”, the narrator is--sometimes--harsh yet forgiving and empathetic for Bartleby, making the reader see him as someone to feel sorry for instead of some crazy person. However, the narration can also make a character seem horrible, such as in “The Birthmark” where Aylmer is made into a superficial man who can’t do anything right, as opposed to an eccentric scientist. The narrator can also show how much a character has changed over the course of the story, as seen in “Wakefield”. Mr.Wakefield is first seen as a dull and average man, but by the and he has this strange adventure and the narrator takes note of this. It’s not so much the protagonist who defines who they are and what their role in the story is, it’s the