Examples Of Individualism In Bartleby The Scrivener

The Inevitable Death of Individualism in Society The idea of individualism and the value placed on it has altered throughout American History. The birth of individualism first originated after the Puritan’s settlement in 1628. Puritans had many values within their culture such as the importance of religion, reputation, hard work, communalism, and individualism (class notes). Puritans believed in predestination, which means God has chosen a life for them and they must live up to this expectation. Each life is different, resulting in individualism. Even after people drifted away from Puritanism, many ideals continued to be prominent in society. This includes individualism. Several writers from Massachusetts incorporated this Puritan value into their work. One example is Herman Melville and his novella, Bartleby the Scrivener. This story encompasses an …show more content…
Bartleby begins to starve himself, which results with him losing his life, “I prefer not to dine today,’ said Bartleby, turning away. ‘It would disagree with me; I am unused to dinners” (Melville 32). The world surrounding Bartleby constantly “disagrees” with who he is and starves his body of his true personality, and now he is inflicting society’s treatment upon himself. Bartleby rather die than live in a world constantly conspiring against him. Slaves would have the same attitudes. Slaves were deprived of their identity in order to work like machines, not people. A considerable amount would revolt against their owners, but a select few would commit suicide (class notes). They had the same mindset as Bartleby, they rather not live in a world where they must constantly please others and cannot satisfy themselves. Bartleby’s death also symbolizes the death of individualism throughout the past. This began right after its birth when the Puritans settled, it slowly decayed as people realized that individualism cannot survive, just like