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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
After reading Moby Dick, I was assigned to read this for a class. There is a stark contrast in the way that Melville describes life on the sea vs life in the office. I think the story is ultimately about how an unfitting job can kill the soul in a person. Bartleby continues to "prefer" to do less and less work until he is doing nothing. The narrator who employs him is very relatable and the phases of how he feels towards Bartleby were very similar to what I felt through the course of the story. The rest of the characters are just archetypical people you may find in a workplace, i.e. the irritable ambitious worker, the content worker, and the young and vivacious worker. I think this was an interesting short piece and it made me think about what I want from a job.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wut. The weirdest, yet most thought provoking book I have read in a while. Why Melville thought his books were trash, I will never know.
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A lot of Bartleby reads like a strange, 19th century, white-collar workplace comedy. The characters are specific and funny, Bartleby is a mystery to us and the narrator, and I still feel like there's parts of this I didn't quite grasp (the post-script ending most of all).
It's quick and easy as Melville goes, and excellently written.
It's quick and easy as Melville goes, and excellently written.
I found the second story, Benito Cereno, extremely boring and pretty racist.
On a novella spree, and picked up this lovely little story. My dirty secret is that I've never actually read any of Melville - Moby Dick always feels like too big a lift to start... The writing is tight, even for a book written in the 19th century, that doesn't always, to my ear, translate well to our times.
bartleby is labor goals.
i would never have been able to read this, but it was perfect as an audiobook. the frustration and bafflement of the lawyer was so satisfactory. it was written in a dry way i don't like, but bartleby himself made up for it.
3.5/5
i would never have been able to read this, but it was perfect as an audiobook. the frustration and bafflement of the lawyer was so satisfactory. it was written in a dry way i don't like, but bartleby himself made up for it.
3.5/5
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'I would prefer not to' - this is the sentiment that permeates Bartleby the scrivener. Whatever request his boss has of him, thus is his response. Whatever opportunity presents itself, thus is his response.
Bartleby's numbness could be interpreted as someone experiencing depression, a degree of absentism from their daily lives. He shows no motivation, no passion, has no inclination to fight for anything, to present any arguments. He is unmoved by tasks that come from his job, pleas from other people, even others trying to help. He just exists, he doesn't even care if he is in a room without any furniture, all by himself.
At the beginning of the book, he did complete some of the copies he was assigned, only refusing to proofread. And this then expanded towards not wanting to do anything, and essentially spending his entire time at the office. This could be interpreted therefore as an effect of a predictable life, where each day is the same, where there are no challenges for the mind, to the point that the mind just atrophies.
Another aspect that was interesting to me here is how little requests and dialogue do. When a manager asks for something, most of us will at least consider it. This is due to the agreement we are bound to based on our contract, but there aren't immediate repercussions. And this is also something that struck me about this novella: there is little the boss can do beyond issuing requests and afterwards offering help through dialogue. Forceful functions, like the authorities, take time and depend on trickier procedures. But it is essentially goodwill and a sense of accountability that keep us working together as a society.
Really interesting little read, though it takes about 10 pages or so to actually get into it, the first few pages are quite a dense description of how this particular office operates, which I found somewhat irrelevant.
Bartleby's numbness could be interpreted as someone experiencing depression, a degree of absentism from their daily lives. He shows no motivation, no passion, has no inclination to fight for anything, to present any arguments. He is unmoved by tasks that come from his job, pleas from other people, even others trying to help. He just exists, he doesn't even care if he is in a room without any furniture, all by himself.
At the beginning of the book, he did complete some of the copies he was assigned, only refusing to proofread. And this then expanded towards not wanting to do anything, and essentially spending his entire time at the office. This could be interpreted therefore as an effect of a predictable life, where each day is the same, where there are no challenges for the mind, to the point that the mind just atrophies.
Another aspect that was interesting to me here is how little requests and dialogue do. When a manager asks for something, most of us will at least consider it. This is due to the agreement we are bound to based on our contract, but there aren't immediate repercussions. And this is also something that struck me about this novella: there is little the boss can do beyond issuing requests and afterwards offering help through dialogue. Forceful functions, like the authorities, take time and depend on trickier procedures. But it is essentially goodwill and a sense of accountability that keep us working together as a society.
Really interesting little read, though it takes about 10 pages or so to actually get into it, the first few pages are quite a dense description of how this particular office operates, which I found somewhat irrelevant.
Both stories are good, but I preferred Bartleby. A nice introduction to Melville if you don't want to tackle Moby Dick.