Get I Am A Rather Elderly Man

"Bartleby, the Scrivener" examines themes such as isolation, passive resistance, and the failure of communication.

In answer to my advertisement, a motionless young man one morning, stood upon my office threshold, the door being open, for it was summer. I can see that figure now— pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby.

The last line of the story “Bartleby,” by Herman Melville, is "Ah humanity!" Broadly speaking, the narrator is lamenting the ravages of modern life and capitalism on the individual.

The Lawyer begins by noting that he is an "elderly man," and that his profession has brought him "into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men the law-copyists, or scriveners." While the Lawyer knows many interesting stories of such scriveners, he bypasses them ...

As an example of clinical depression He is a passive person, and good at the work he agrees to do. He refuses to divulge any personal information to the narrator. Bartleby's death is consistent with depression—having no motivation to survive, he refrains from eating until he dies.

In the story, a Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copies or do any other task required of him, refusing with the words "I would prefer not to."

The last line of the story “Bartleby,” by Herman Melville, is "Ah humanity!" Broadly speaking, the narrator is lamenting the ravages of modern life and capitalism on the individual.

Tone The story is written by the Lawyer, who is reflecting on his experiences with Bartleby. The tone is one of interest, frustration, and regret.