Project Gutenberg 2004-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 3588 Melville, Herman 1819 1891 Melville, Hermann Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street Steve J. Nelson and Clara T. Nelson "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" by Herman Melville is a short story written in the late 19th century, during the period known as the American Renaissance. The tale presents a legal scrivener who exhibits an unusual form of passive resistance, famously responding to requests with the phrase "I would prefer not to." The story explores themes of isolation, the human condition, and the conflicts between individual will and societal expectations. The narrative is told from the perspective of a nameless lawyer, who describes his interactions with Bartleby, a new scrivener who initially demonstrates exceptional diligence but gradually declines to perform any tasks. As the lawyer confronts Bartleby's growing refusal to comply with standard office duties, he grapples with feelings of frustration, pity, and confusion. Bartleby's presence becomes increasingly unsettling, revealing his profound detachment from the world around him. The story culminates with Bartleby's ultimate fate in a prison setting, alluding to deeper existential questions about humanity, purpose, and the impact of societal neglect. Through the surreal interactions between the lawyer and Bartleby, Melville crafts a poignant commentary on the condition of modern life and the plight of the individual within a callous society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction Psychological fiction Young men -- Fiction Wall Street (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction Copyists -- Fiction PS Text Browsing: Literature Browsing: Psychiatry/Psychology Browsing: Fiction 113201 112738 2024-09-05T08:03:02.595470 2023-10-05T08:38:51.915003 text/html text/html 91026 2024-06-25T07:36:06 text/html 98804 2024-09-05T08:03:06.334514 application/epub+zip 97837 2024-09-05T08:03:03.850541 application/epub+zip 97837 2024-09-05T08:03:03.063470 application/epub+zip 221741 2024-09-05T08:03:08.168500 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 214295 2024-09-05T08:03:05.769467 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 181506 2022-09-05T12:16:02.391287 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104510 104498 2024-09-05T08:03:02.287458 2023-10-05T08:38:51.589002 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 84665 2024-06-25T07:36:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17088 2024-09-05T08:03:08.295491 application/rdf+xml 14983 2024-09-05T08:03:03.405507 image/jpeg 3511 2024-09-05T08:03:03.228476 image/jpeg 98828 2024-09-05T08:03:02.607476 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia