Bartleby The Scrivener: Nonconformist Analysis

In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the narrator, a lawyer who runs a business on the Wall Street, told us about the story of a rebellious scrivener who worked for him named Bartleby. At first, Bartleby finished a tons of copying done. Sometimes, he would not even take a break from doing his duties. Then, one day, the boss asked Bartleby to do his normal copying duties as a scrivener, but Bartleby simply responded “I would prefer not to.” This echoes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance.” where Emerson argued about nonconformity. He believes people should do what they think is right no matter what others think. In Melville’s story, Bartleby was not conforming at the same level of his co-worker in the law office. The law office, in the eyes of Bartleby, is stark place that only brings him displeasure. Thus, Melville’s story illustrates Bartleby as a non-conformist who does not conform to generally accepted pattern of actions or thoughts. …show more content…
In particular, Bartleby was asked by his boss to compare papers, but he responded “I would prefer not to” with no hesitation. Bartleby’s decision was too decisive that was inhuman. His choice was so definite that his decision coming from his mind was unchangeable, a quality that he has that makes him impossible to question. This critique the value of non-conformity echoes Ralph Waldo Emerson’s statement in “Self-Reliance” that “Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.” This means a person is a true man of they are willing not conform to rules. For example, a person who says I will be willing accept eight-dollars per hour because I am a type of person who does not want to find another job, but another says no, I would like ten-dollars per hour. In case of Bartleby, he just didn’t want to do additional works when his boss asked him to do so. He was breaking the rules in the