Bartelby

A detailed Summary of Bartelby

In the working community there is no time to do anything that isn't work related. There is nothing more required from you other than to be obedient to your boss and to work efficiently so the company can do well. According to one of Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues of industry, he said that one should: "Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut of all unnecessary actions." Hard work and dedication pays off when you are trying to advance to a higher level. However, there are some people in the industry that do just the minimum work that is required and nothing more because they see no advancement in their career. In the industrial society there is some sort of clash between the work being preformed and how the person works. In the novel Bartleby, the main character demonstrated virtues similar to those of Franklin; but, soon digressed to a being who lost his soul as he worked.

In the beginning, Bartleby worked accordingly to Franklin's virtues. He worked by sunlight and candlelight showing no sign of slowing down. However, these actions were short-lived. Bartleby soon showed no interest in his j

The fictional character Bartleby represents the working class in the industrial society. It is an exaggeration of what happens to someone if they don't employ themselves in something useful, like Ben Franklin did. Bartleby followed Ben Franklin's virtues in the beginning and impressed his boss but the environment of the Dead Letter Office came back to haunt him in the workplace.

Towards the end of the story, the narrator finds out that Bartleby previously worked at a Dead Letter Office in Washington. The word "dead" gives the reader a sense of a dark and gloomy place where people with no soul end up. This is where all the undeliverable mail goes. The people who worked in this office were the ones who lost their souls to work. The mail represents the people who have no role in society and are pretty much useless. This environment in which Bartleby worked played an important part in his characteristics while working for the narrator. He learned in the Dead Letter Office that there is nothing to look forward to if he kept working. The work that he was doing was a waste of time for him so he stopped it completely.

The nar

Some common words found in the essay are:
Benjamin Franklin's, Bartleby Bartleby, Office Washington, Letter Office, , Ben Franklin's, letter office, dead letter, Dead Letter, Franklin Bartleby, dead letter office, bartleby continued, industrial society, dull lifeless, outside window, franklin's virtues, story narrator,

Approximate Word count = 766
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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