Discuss the Changes in the Lawyer and in His Motivation Throughout the Course of His Acquaintance with Bartleby

Chris Brignall

A.P. English

Mrs. Anderson

December 14th, 2015

Bartleby the Scrivener

Discuss the changes in the lawyer and in his motivation throughout the course of his acquaintance with Bartleby. Study closely the end.

The Lawyer is a character in this short story that we relatively know very little about. We know that he seems to be a very lonely man, as well as someone who veers away from confrontation. It is very evident that he is unaware of his weakness in that area. When he is first seen in contact with Bartleby, we see that a confrontation has a risen, and the lawyer is incapable of handling the issue. He cannot even kick Bartleby out of his office, and instead, picks up everything and moves to a completely new building in order to escape a conflict. Even though the lawyer wants to avoid confrontation, we see a change in him through his sympathy towards Bartleby. Even though Bartleby is the lawyer’s ex-scrivener as well as formal employee, the lawyer can’t help but feel as though he is still his responsibility. The lawyer’s genuine sense of compassion is something that helps us readers connect to the story. The lawyer changes from throughout the story because he ultimately becomes more sympathetic because he does not want to be alone. Letting go of Bartleby will take away the one thing that covers up his loneliness.

Passages

        [Lawyer:] "The time has come; you must quit this place; I am sorry for you; here is money; but you must go." "I would prefer not," [Bartleby] replied, with his back still towards me. "You must." He remained silent

        This passage shows the initial confrontation between the lawyer and Bartleby. This quote is significant to the question, because in order to understand the lawyer and know how he changes in the story, you must first know how he initially acted towards Bartleby. The lawyer is not found of Bartleby and that’s why he fires him from his practice. The lawyer definitely epitomizes avoiding someone, because instead of just kicking Bartleby out of his office, he moves to a completely new building.

        “Strangely huddled at the base of the wall, his knees drawn up and lying on his side, his head touching the cold stones, I saw the wasted Bartleby. But nothing stirred. I paused, then went close up to him, stooped over, and saw that his dim eyes were open; otherwise he seemed profoundly sleeping. Something prompted me to touch him. I felt his hand, when a tingling shiver ran up my arm and down my spine to my feet.”

        This passage shows the concern and sympathy that the lawyer has to Bartleby as he lays there. Throughout the story, the way that the lawyer thinks about Bartleby changes significantly. He feels as though it is his responsibility to worry about Bartleby and constantly make sure that he is okay, even when he doesn’t have to. The lawyer’s motivation throughout the story is to not be alone. “Something prompted me to touch him,” is very important when understanding how the lawyer has changed. He knows that he shouldn’t be feeling this way towards Bartleby yet he can’t help the fact that he cares about him and is sympathetic towards him.