Artleby the Scrivener

A detailed Summary of Artleby the Scrivener

According to Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "Good literature substitutes for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through." Although this quote can be applied to a vast number of literary works, Bartleby the Scrivener by American author Herman Melville, best-known for his classic novel Moby Dick, contains many "experiences" which the reader may not be familiar with, due to the story being set in New York City on Wall Street during the early 1850's. In order to understand these "experiences," we must use specific literary elements found in Bartleby, such as setting, characterization, dialogue and some interesting metaphors/motifs which Melville inserted into the story to support the often strange plot.

First of all, Melville describes the physical setting in which the narrator ("a rather elderly man") earns his living in Wall Street-"My chambers were upstairs at No._____ Wall Street. At one end, they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious skylight shaft, penetrating the

building from top to bottom." At the other end, "my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall. . . pushed up within ten feet of my window panes. . . " (62-63).

The age of Ginger Nut indicates that young boys were forced into employment in order to help the financial needs of their families, yet Melville relates that the boy's father was a "carman," a reference to a person who drives a horse-drawn wagon through the streets to sell his goods. This lifestyle is not up to par with the father's desire to see his son become someone of importance in the city, namely, a lawyer, a profession of high pay and reputation even in 19th century New York.

Melville then describes Bartleby via his ability to transcribe or copy legal documents for the narrator's firm on Wall Street. "As if long famished for something to copy," says Melville, "he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. . .He ran a day and night line, copying by sunlight and by candlelight. . . he wrote silently, palely, mechanically" (67)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 684
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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