Bartleby, the Scrivener
By Herman Melville
- Release Date: 1998-01-01
- Genre: Short Stories
Description
"Bartleby the Scrivener" is one of the first great stories of corporate discontent. The emptiness of modern business life is an important theme. The narrator's initial self-characterization is important to the story. He is a "safe" man, one who takes few risks and tries above all to conform. The most pragmatic concerns of financial security and ease of life are his priorities.
Reviews
Bartley the scrivener
4By sammy nonameyAh humanity! What a fun little read. It fairly burbles along.INSPIRATIONAL!!!!!!!!
5By Blue Stream RecordsThis book really inspired me to get out of my parents house and instead get some things done!!!!!! Loved when bartleby died lololBartleby the Scrivener
4By Carol from SilvertonHerman Melville brings to life a time in offices before computers and copying machines - when copying was done by clerks or scriveners. Such is Bartleby until the time arrives when Bartleby would "prefer not." The narrator's efforts to persuade Bartleby to prefer to do some work in the office to earn his salary earn our sympathy and our admiration for the narrator's tolerance, but Bartleby's quiet and passive resistance is stronger than entreaties of rationality or force and we see a strange bond develop between them. This is a tale that the reader will remember and the phrase "I would prefer not" may become a part of the reader's vocabulary.A woeful tale indeed!
5By XonealeiEach page of this book pressed me to read the next. With a heart-wrenching ending, this book has reflected to my view the inadequacies within myself; chiefly in my treatment of (or avoidance of treating) the Bartlebys in my life.
