The Dead Letter Office

Knowledge of where Bartleby previous work experience at the “Dead Letter Office” gives us insight in to explanations about his character and why he might have repeated, “I prefer not to” numerous times. Bartleby probably worked with these dead letters and had to sort through these witch might had a major affect on his personality. The adjective “dead” also coincides with his personality as he constantly refuses to tell the narrator about himself. The narrator seems to agree with this statement by saying, “Dead letters! Does it not sound like dead men? Conceive a man by nature and misfortune prone to a pallid hopelessness, can any business seem more fitted to heighten it than that of continually handling these dead letters and sorting them for the flames?” His previous work experience also gives us insight to why he might not have cared about what he said. After sorting through a dead letters every day of work, perhaps Bartleby decided that he was hopeless in life as well, which could have had a major change to his personality. Bartleby was probably a normal person before his work experience at the Dead Letter Office which is why this might have been included in the story. It might serve as a lesson to warn people about doing jobs that you will be miserable at or ones that are …show more content…
A Humanity!” because it goes to show how strange of an experience the narrator had with Bartleby and goes to show how bad he feels for people such as Bartleby. Although Bartleby became very annoyed with Bartleby’s blunt sayings, I think the narrator seems to forgive Bartleby and understand his situation by inserting that last phrase. The “Oh humanity” part of the statement might be hinting to the fact that some people just turn out in ways such as Bartleby. The narrator is kind of saying that he feels bad for people like this and hints that it does happen a lot by saying that it is simply part of humanity