Bartleby The Scrivener :: essays research papers

Most everyone remembers a favorite story that he or she has read. A book that just captivated the reader from beginning to end. But how do authors successfully grab the attention of their readers? Authors utilize specific techniques to convey the characters, setting, and plot effectively. The two short stories Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville and The Tenant by Bharati Mukherjee do just that. The authors of both stories effectively develop unique characters through description or narration, action, and dialogue, which fit in with both the setting and the plot. The main character in Bartleby, the Scrivener is indeed an interesting one. Although the name of the story may give the impression that the main character is Bartleby, it is in fact the narrator whom we learn the most about. The narrator is described as a very orderly person. His actions and speech demonstrate his fastidious ways. The narrator even shows the reader right from the beginning that he prefers to go about i n an orderly fashion, by the fact that he absolutely must give background about his life and work, before he can begin to tell us about his employee. "Ere introducing the scrivener†¦if is fit I make some mention of my self, my employés, my business, my chambers, and general surroundings†¦" (Meyer, 113). The narrator’s setting, including his office, also shows that he likes to keep everything organized. His office is separated into sections by folding glass doors to distinguish his side of the room from his scriveners’. The narrator also separates Bartleby into confinement. "Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice" (118). The reader can see that the narrator likes to have a set way of doing tasks through his actions and interactions with the other characters. The narrator is obviously not one whose dem ands are often ignored. He does not quite seem to know how to react when Bartleby "prefers" not to comply with the narrator’s wishes. "I staggered to my desk, and sat there in a deep study†¦ Was there any other thing in which I could procure myself to be ignominiously repulsed by this lean, penniless wight? – my hired clerk?" (122). Another one of the narrator’s qualities is being pompous. He seems to have an overblown image of himself and puts himself above others.