In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” the setting speaks to the tone, the theme and the depiction of Bartleby, a scrivener working for the narrator. The story explores the concept of an internal human struggle through Bartleby and his puzzling interactions, or lack of, with the other characters in any of his life’s setting. The similarity between the setting and the traits of Bartleby is suggested in the description of the law office, the Tomb, and the Dead letter office, where Bartleby is grounded. Bartleby’s failure to articulate the reasons for his rebellion, ultimately leads to his separation from society and is impending fate.
