In Herman Melville’s short story, “Bartleby,” the narrator explicitly expresses the abnormality of Bartleby’s features by illustrating Bartleby to have machine-like characteristics. The narrator establishes the fundamental depictions of Bartleby as soon as they start to interact with each other through their work. The narrator always interacts with Bartleby when he is working, which reveals that Bartleby lives off of his work. Similarly to how Bartleby’s life and soul is figuratively pulled out of his body, the students at the Blake School of Excellence are pulled into the infinite circle of school work. This work circle forces the students to become lifeless beings that are so attached to their academics that they cannot “live life” like
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Melville’s use of the words “silently, palely, mechanically,” words that have extremely different denotations, all evoke Melville’s principle characterization of Bartleby; he is machine-like and lifeless. First of all, the narrator objectifies Bartleby by illustrating Bartleby’s style of copying as being mechanical. The word “mechanically,” an adverb that describes how something runs by means of a machine, reveals that Bartleby’s copying transforms him into an automatic machine. Furthermore, Melville also uses the words “silent” and “pale,” two expressive words that capture something that is lifeless, to reveal that Bartleby is not only a machine, but he is ultimately a soulless being. Additionally, Melville’s lack of the word “and” in between the words “palely” and “mechanically” asserts a sense of repetition – similarly to how repetitive a machine runs. Machines work very swiftly, and by the words being continous, the machine ultimately runs without error. When the narrator reveals that Bartleby “ran a day and night,” he accentuates the word “ran” which bears connotations such as industry, mobility, and …show more content…
Whenever the narrator is describing Bartleby’s work space, he always associates it with a “hermitage” (19). The word “hermitage” derives from the early Greek word, “erēmos,” which shares a similar meaning to the words solitary, lonely, desolate, and uninhabited. The word “hermitage” also stems from the Middle English word, “hermit,” which comprises of any person living in solitude or seeking to do so. Although Bartleby does live in his cubicle, it is ironic that Bartleby happens to have very introverted and lonely attributes – just like a hermit. By Melville associating Bartleby’s work space to his “hermitage,” the narrator is revealing that Bartleby’s work is essentially his entire life. When describing how Bartleby works, the narrator writes that Bartleby “gorges himself on my documents” (9). The act of “gorging” is usually associated with the act of eating an excessive amount of food, but in this case, Bartleby is gorging himself with documents. Usually “documents” are pieces of paper that have high importance, so since he is gorging himself on them, he appears very inhuman. Further, Bartleby is so indulged in his work that he ultimately survives off of continually copying those documents. He spends so much time copying those
Melville’s use of the words “silently, palely, mechanically,” words that have extremely different denotations, all evoke Melville’s principle characterization of Bartleby; he is machine-like and lifeless. First of all, the narrator objectifies Bartleby by illustrating Bartleby’s style of copying as being mechanical. The word “mechanically,” an adverb that describes how something runs by means of a machine, reveals that Bartleby’s copying transforms him into an automatic machine. Furthermore, Melville also uses the words “silent” and “pale,” two expressive words that capture something that is lifeless, to reveal that Bartleby is not only a machine, but he is ultimately a soulless being. Additionally, Melville’s lack of the word “and” in between the words “palely” and “mechanically” asserts a sense of repetition – similarly to how repetitive a machine runs. Machines work very swiftly, and by the words being continous, the machine ultimately runs without error. When the narrator reveals that Bartleby “ran a day and night,” he accentuates the word “ran” which bears connotations such as industry, mobility, and …show more content…
Whenever the narrator is describing Bartleby’s work space, he always associates it with a “hermitage” (19). The word “hermitage” derives from the early Greek word, “erēmos,” which shares a similar meaning to the words solitary, lonely, desolate, and uninhabited. The word “hermitage” also stems from the Middle English word, “hermit,” which comprises of any person living in solitude or seeking to do so. Although Bartleby does live in his cubicle, it is ironic that Bartleby happens to have very introverted and lonely attributes – just like a hermit. By Melville associating Bartleby’s work space to his “hermitage,” the narrator is revealing that Bartleby’s work is essentially his entire life. When describing how Bartleby works, the narrator writes that Bartleby “gorges himself on my documents” (9). The act of “gorging” is usually associated with the act of eating an excessive amount of food, but in this case, Bartleby is gorging himself with documents. Usually “documents” are pieces of paper that have high importance, so since he is gorging himself on them, he appears very inhuman. Further, Bartleby is so indulged in his work that he ultimately survives off of continually copying those documents. He spends so much time copying those