"Bartleby, the Scrivener"

Paper Summary:

This essay details the plot of the story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" about a man named Bartleby that lives a hopeless and pitiful existence. As the story goes on, Bartleby becomes a successful professional working with lawyers. The narrator of the story is a lawyer who worked with Bartleby and details his memories of him. This paper compares these two characters: the narrator and Bartleby.

From the Paper:

"At first reading, Bartleby's story seems nothing more than a hopeless tragedy. He seems to have no reason to live, and even less a reason to die. He has no friends, no life other than his work. Even that is not pleasing to him, and he stops doing it. There is no purpose to his life. By the end, we wonder if the purpose really was to help others see their own shortcomings, and learn more about themselves. That is what seems to happen to the narrator of the story; he changes forever by knowing this strange, quiet man."

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