Bartleby

A detailed Summary of Bartleby

It is dangerous to isolate oneself; dangerous for an individual and for a nation."- Jawaharlal Nehru. The quotation says that isolating oneself can be dangerous, as in the case of Bartleby, a character in Herman Melville's novella Bartleby. Bartleby's isolation was dangerous; it led to his depression and his death. The motif of the story is the isolation of Bartleby from society. Three literary devices support the motif: symbolism, descriptive passages, and irony. The walls symbolize Bartleby's isolation from society; descriptive passages convey his loneliness; irony further expounds upon the motif. Symbolism supports the motif of Bartleby being isolated from society. The symbolism is in this quotation, "Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though note remove him from my voice." In this quotation, the narrator put up a screen to separate his office from Bartleby's, isolating him from the other members of his staff and thus from humanity. The phrase, "I prefer not to," also tells the reader about Bartleby i

solating himself. The phrase shows his lack of involvement, another form of isolation. The narrator tells the reader exactly what he did to Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below. In the novella, the author tells the reader, down to the smallest detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He tells us in this passage, "I placed his desk close up to a small side window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy backyards, and bricks, but which, owning to insubsequent erections, commanded at present, no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to satisfactory arrangement, I procured a green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though, not remove him from my voice." The quotation describes how the narrator secludes Bartleby from society. Even his window, usually a form of escape, results in Bartleby being trapped behind another wall, thus reinforci

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Approximate Word count = 750
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Bartleby

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