If you analyzed life so much just to discover that it was meaningless, that you were just a machine, would you,.

             'shut down," turn your self off? In the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, Bartleby does just.

             that. My ideas are very similar to those of Leo B. Levy. He believes that a "spell" was cast over Bartleby, and that.

             he was already dead because of a mental suicide. We have similar ideas about the theme, character, and setting,.

             and how they add to the story"s darkness. .

             My ideas about theme are the same as Levy, that throughout the piece there was a definite murkiness seen.

             through everything, from the building where Bartleby worked to the writing style. An example of this murkiness is .

             The setting played a significant role in the story of Bartleby. The dark streets, the building where he.

             worked always in shadows. The fact that the story took place on Wall Street is key; during the day, it was bubbling.

             with people, while at night there was no one at all. This was because Wall Street is not a residential area only a.

             business area, so after five o"clock, the place was like a ghost town. The interesting fact was that Bartleby lived in.

             the office, where he had no contact with anyone until morning.

             On the other hand, Levy"s ideas about how setting plays a part in "Bartleby" differ slightly from mine. He.

             says that Bartleby was "enclosed by the financial power of Wall Street" making the inference that Bartleby was.

             tweaked by the power that was around him. Also, saying that he was surrounded by "blackness.".

             Character is the most important aspect of the story. It has long been disputed whether the story is about.

             the lawyer, or about Bartleby. In my opinion, they have the same amount of importance. without the lawyer there.

             would be no story, just as there would be no story without Bartleby. Levy agrees with me saying, "the story is at.