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How Is Bartleby The Scrivener Relevant Today

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After reading Melville’s short story Bartleby the Scrivener, I started to think about how the story is relevant to today. Melville is able to capture the tedious and repetitious work environment of people who work in offices not only through the description of the office, but also through the interactions of the workers. In the story, Bartleby is put in an office space without a view to the outside world. Instead the lawyer positions him facing the a wall. The wall symbolizes the class difference between the two men. The lawyer addresses his scriveners not through their name, but through a nickname associated with the person. It becomes clear as the story goes on that the lawyer is not a humane employer and is not interested about his employees

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