Bartleby The Scrivener Analysis

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“Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a fictional short story written by Herman Melville in 1853. The Melville short story had a character named Bartleby where this individual had a lost soul and had no one to depend on until the narrator came to his “aid”. Bartleby was man that had no family, no awareness of his surrounding, and possibility no reason to keep on living, however, the narrator felt impelled to help his fellow peer. At the end of the story, Bartleby becomes numb to his surroundings and his well-being, in result, he starve himself to death leaving the narrator clueless about his life. This story is filled with literature and easily adaptable to various forms of criticism. Moreover, if one truly wants to understand the character psychological implications of Herman Melville “Bartleby, The Scrivener”, the primary focus should be on Bartleby, and how he develops and defines himself throughout the short story. Using the fundamentals of the psychoanalytical theory of critical evaluation, one would understand the implications of the psychic apparatus of Bartleby throughout the story. In order to gain the significant understanding of most of the details that is implied throughout Bartleby way of portraying himself to others, it vital to evaluate it psychoanalytically. When Bartleby was hired by the narrator, the narrator took notice that Barrlteby “did an extraordinary quantity of Writing” (Melville). However, when asked upon to help …show more content…

However, I felt psychoanalytical theory was the best criticism to be implemented in this short story. The analysis of the phrase, “I would prefer not to” and the possible psychological double in the story were the best analysis to interpret Bartleby. To be able to understand the psychanalytical approach to “Bartleby, the Scrivener” exposes me to better understand criticism as a

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