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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
The kind of story that leaves you asking yourself if you loved it or you hated it. I prefer keeping this question for myself, as i prefer not to answer.
Anyway, it gave me the chills.
Anyway, it gave me the chills.
Witty and sad as the narrator tries to free himself from and wrestles with the sadness/pity he feels for Bartleby.
What an intriguing story, thought-provoking short story. It leaves me with much to ponder about the human spirit.
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good grief, that was frustrating. After the first, "I would prefer not to" with me, he would have been searching for another job.
When I started reading Bartleby, the Scrivener, I was worried that I would find the story tedious and dull. As I read, however, I found this to be a delightful story that made me think and ask several questions. Melville’s writing in this story had a rapid tempo that helped create a sense of the rapid descent the narrator had in his life with Bartleby. The story pressed on while I was still trying to fully understand what was happening so I always felt like something important was behind me. A feeling I definitely got from the narrator, that he knew there was more to Bartleby than what was visible but had no way of accessing the information. Melville also used the beginning of the story to lay the foundation of the actions to come. It was wonderful to understand Nippers and Turkey before the tale was told because I could see how they would counteract each other. I appreciated that Melville established these attributes in the character and then used those very attributes to make the narrator second guess his decisions.
Throughout the story, I kept asking what power Bartleby has over the narrator. How is Bartleby able to get him to let him take up space in the office without doing the work? At first I thought there would be some reveal at the end that he refused to proof the copies because he couldn’t actually read only transcribe. This was not the case, and the reason behind Bartleby’s stubborn, yet polite, refusal remains a mystery. Thinking back on the story, I can think of times I stopped on my course of action because the response from another party was unexpected. While I was reading, though, I kept wondering why the narrator became so uneasy when confronted with an abnormal response.
I was also taken in by Melville’s choice to have Bartleby’s refusal be so polite. He always says, “I prefer not.” He never states that he will not or could not complete the tasks requested of him, but that his preference is to engage in the action that pleases him at the time. It made me wonder if he would do the tasks if pressed more or if the request was somehow made to be his idea.
Throughout the story, I kept asking what power Bartleby has over the narrator. How is Bartleby able to get him to let him take up space in the office without doing the work? At first I thought there would be some reveal at the end that he refused to proof the copies because he couldn’t actually read only transcribe. This was not the case, and the reason behind Bartleby’s stubborn, yet polite, refusal remains a mystery. Thinking back on the story, I can think of times I stopped on my course of action because the response from another party was unexpected. While I was reading, though, I kept wondering why the narrator became so uneasy when confronted with an abnormal response.
I was also taken in by Melville’s choice to have Bartleby’s refusal be so polite. He always says, “I prefer not.” He never states that he will not or could not complete the tasks requested of him, but that his preference is to engage in the action that pleases him at the time. It made me wonder if he would do the tasks if pressed more or if the request was somehow made to be his idea.
funny
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mi sembra di averlo capito e non averlo capito in egual misura. Preferisco non recensirlo.
Melville continues to inspire me with the most riveting passages in English:
“So true it is, and so terrible, too, that up to a certain point the thought or sight of misery enlists our best affections; but, in certain special cases, beyond that point it does not. They err who would assert that invariably this is owing to the inherent selfishness of the human heart. It rather proceeds from a certain hopelessness of remedying excessive and organic ill. To a sensitive being, pity is not seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul be rid of it. What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach.”
Philosophical and tragic, this short story contains it all; and is far, far ahead of its time.
“So true it is, and so terrible, too, that up to a certain point the thought or sight of misery enlists our best affections; but, in certain special cases, beyond that point it does not. They err who would assert that invariably this is owing to the inherent selfishness of the human heart. It rather proceeds from a certain hopelessness of remedying excessive and organic ill. To a sensitive being, pity is not seldom pain. And when at last it is perceived that such pity cannot lead to effectual succor, common sense bids the soul be rid of it. What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach.”
Philosophical and tragic, this short story contains it all; and is far, far ahead of its time.