Melville? S? Bartleby, The Scrivener? : Researching The Limits Of Compassion Essay, Research Paper
In democratic ages work forces seldom sacrifice themselves for another, but they show a general compassion for all the human race. One ne’er sees them bring down pointless agony, and they are glad to alleviate the sorrows of others when they can make so without much problem to themselves. They are non disinterested, but they are soft.
– Alexis De Tocqueville
( www.cybernation.com )
Compassion is an unconditioned quality that is found within human nature, and is expressed to those in the signifier of a assisting manus to people who are financially and emotionally troubled. However, each person may hold a different bound towards the sum of compassion that one can demo to another being. In Herman Melville? s narrative, ? Bartleby, the Scrivener? , Melville is demoing the reader that each person does hold a bound, when it comes to showing compassion towards other existences. Melville besides shows that this bound is different for each person, when he talks about how each of the characters interact with Bartleby.
The narrative of? Bartleby, the Scrivener? begins with the storyteller placing himself as a adult male who is? filled with a profound strong belief that the easiest manner of life is best? . This really attitude towards life in general, suggests that the storyteller can non be excessively compassionate towards other existences because demoing compassion and supplying support is difficult work emotionally and physically. To be compassionate, one must be able to understand the interior workings of the unfortunate psyche, so that one can assist repair the job. Therefore, the storyteller does non hold the experience or the spontaneousness to assist others because all who know him, see him to be? an eminently safe adult male? ( 2330 ) . However, one must observe that as the narrative progresses, the storyteller does force his boundaries towards assisting Bartleby, but finally fails because he does non take the clip to understand Bartleby.
There is no uncertainty that the storyteller is a compassionate individual because he puts up with the jokes of his employees. One of his employees is an old adult male named Turkey, who handles himself good in the forenoon, but in the afternoon becomes impudent. Any other individual would hold fired Turkey, when he becomes impudent towards his fellow workers and clients, but the storyteller by and large leaves him entirely. One can reason that the storyteller is weak, and being a? safe? adult male, he decides to allow things be the same in order to forestall a struggle, but this is an wrong decision. The storyteller could hold fired Turkey, which would hold prevented a struggle every bit good as deciding the issue sing Turkey? s attitude, but the storyteller chooses to maintain Turkey.
Although one can state that the storyteller is compassionate, one must besides take into history the extent of his compassion. In the scene where Bartleby refuses to assist analyze the paper, the storyteller backs off from a confrontation. He says, ? I looked at him firm. His face was leanly composed ; his grey oculus indistinctly unagitated. Not a furrow of agitation rippled in him? ( 2336 ) . The storyteller does non cognize how to manage the state of affairs because he could non happen any human qualities within Bartleby. Therefore, he plays it safe and avoids the confrontation by continuing to other affairs. This scene helps demo the storyteller? s bounds because by playing it safe, he is non assisting Bartleby, but alternatively delays the inevitable confrontation. Therefore, one can reason falsely that the storyteller has a weak character, when in world he is looking at the universe with a different position, and hence is non able to understand the demands of Bartleby.
It is easy to see that the storyteller is a compassionate adult male, although many would reason that he is weak. He allows his employees to be themselves, and attempts to reign them in when they go excessively far. Therefore, when Bartleby refuses to assist him and the others examine the paperss, he avoids a confrontation. However, the others are speedy to judge Bartleby. This is seen when Nippers says, ? I think I should kick him out of the office? ( 2337 ) while Turkey says, ? shall I travel and black his eyes? ? ( 2339 ) . Neither of these characters attempt to understand Bartleby, and if they had their manner, they would hold fired him instantly. This shows that the bound of their compassion towards Bartleby is really short, and it besides allows the reader to come to the decision that the storyteller is so an extraordinary adult male, whose bound towards assisting Bartleby exceeds that of many people.
A compassionate individual is a individual who understands the strengths and failings of other people. With a better apprehension of the individual, one can assist screen out the other individual? s jobs. The storyteller? s position of life, along with how he lives his life, makes him incapable of demoing more compassion towards Bartleby. John Seelye says that the storyteller? s? methodicalness of his universe is suggested by the design of his office: two bordering flats, with antipodean Windowss looking out upon opposing white and black walls, proposing the cleanly defined moralss of their dweller? ( 97 ) . Therefore, due to his? committedness to equilibrate, order, and rational procedures, his office is non equipped to manage a instance like the cryptic copyist, the? motionless immature adult male? whose gravitation about destroys the balanced motions? of the storyteller? s life. Bartleby? demands love that passes all apprehension? , but the storyteller is incapable of understanding Bartleby? s demands, and the? most he can give is [ limited compassion ] ? ( 97 ) .
However, the storyteller does do a connexion with Bartleby in the scene where he realizes that Bartleby has been populating in the office. He says, ? for the first clip in my life a feeling of overmastering biting melancholic seized me. Before, I had ne’er experienced nothing but a not-unpleasing unhappiness. The bond of a common humanity now drew me overwhelmingly to gloom. A fraternal melancholy! For both I and Bartleby were boies of Adam? ( 2341 ) . This is an of import scene because now that he has made a connexion with Bartleby, he goes beyond his? safe? zone and becomes more compassionate towards the demands of Bartleby.
By trying to understand Bartleby, the storyteller becomes more compassionate, and therefore leaves his? safe? zone. This is apparent when he tries to happen information about Bartleby? s personal life. However, Bartleby refuses to speak about his life, and the storyteller finds that he can? t interruption through the wall that Bartleby has erected. One can state that the storyteller? s effort to understand Bartleby is halfhearted because he already feels that H
vitamin E will ne’er be able to to the full understand Bartleby, and therefore can non assist get the better of Bartleby? s jobs. He says, ? what I saw that forenoon persuaded me that the copyist [ , Bartleby, ] was the victim of innate and incurable upset. I might give alms to his organic structure ; but his organic structure did non trouble him ; it was his psyche that suffered, and his psyche I could non make? ( 2342 ) . Therefore, the storyteller has given up seeking to understand Bartleby, which in consequence leads to Bartleby? s decease.
When the storyteller concludes that he could non link to Bartleby, it seems he has reached the bound of his compassion towards Bartleby. He devises a program to acquire rid of Bartleby, apologizing that he is assisting the copyist, when in truth he is corrupting him. He says, ? I told Bartleby that in six yearss clip he must unconditionally go forth the office. I offered to help him in this enterprise, if he himself would but take the first measure towards a remotion? ( 2345 ) . This indicates that the storyteller has reached his bound, when it comes to assisting Bartleby. However, it besides shows that the storyteller is still being compassionate towards Bartleby because he is giving him beforehand notice, along with money, when other people would hold merely had Bartleby removed from the premises. It can be argued that the storyteller is giving money to Bartleby in order to ease his guilty scruples, but the fact remains that many people would hold fired Bartleby the twenty-four hours he quit working, and they would non hold given him excess wage. Therefore, the storyteller is still seeking to be compassionate, although he himself admits subsequently on that he was seeking to corrupt Bartleby.
Furthermore, when Bartleby refuses to go forth the premises, the storyteller packs his things and moves to another country. This is humourous because he is the 1 who is traveling, since Bartleby refuses to go forth. The storyteller could hold had Bartleby thrown into gaol, or he could hold kicked him out, but chose non to. Many people would believe that the storyteller is weak because he does non throw Bartleby out, but alternatively moves his office to another location to suit Bartleby, and avoid a confrontation. The storyteller says to himself, ? you will non thrust him, the hapless, pale, inactive person? you will non thrust such a incapacitated animal out of your door? ? The storyteller realizes that he would instead allow Bartleby? unrecorded and decease? in the office, alternatively of throwing him out. In the same line of logical thinking, the storyteller says to himself, ? you will non hold him collared by a constable, and perpetrate his guiltless lividness to the common gaol? ( 2349 ) . Therefore, he still remains compassionate towards Bartleby, while at the same clip he leaves Bartleby, believing that he is no longer responsible for Bartleby? s public assistance. This act shows that the storyteller is still a captive towards his ain rational thought, and therefore is still incapable of assisting Bartleby.
However, the storyteller? s compassion towards Bartleby has extended farther, when he offers to give Bartleby a new occupation. He says, ? would you like to go through the state roll uping measures for the merchandisers? That would better your wellness? . Bartleby refuses to accept any of the occupations that the storyteller offers him, which in bend cholers the storyteller. The storyteller is at his humor? s terminal because he is seeking to assist Bartleby, but his aid is ever rejected. Finally, the storyteller offers to take Bartleby to his place. He says, ? [ Bartleby, ] will you travel place with me now? non to my office, but my home? and remain at that place till we can reason upon some convenient agreement for your leisure? ? ( 2352 ) . The spontaneousness of the storyteller? s action shows that the storyteller has once more moved farther off from his? safe? zone, in his demand to assist Bartleby. This besides shows that the bound of his compassion has increased significantly, as he once more tries to associate to Bartleby.
The storyteller? s? safe? zone is once more challenged, when he learns that the landlord had called the constabulary to take away Bartleby. The storyteller, who for most of his life was considered to be an? eminently safe adult male? ( 2330 ) , goes to the Tombs to see Bartleby. This shows that he is once more forcing the bound of his compassion in order to supply comfort to a adult male that he barely knows. The storyteller is once more traveling out of his manner to guarantee that Bartleby is decently taken attention away. He says, ? I narrated all I knew [ about Bartleby to the functionary ] , and closed by proposing the thought of allowing him remain in as indulged parturiency as possible boulder clay something less rough might be done? ( 2353 ) . This act goes beyond what many people would make for person in demand, and hence one should esteem and look up to the type of individual that the storyteller has become.
When the storyteller goes to see Bartleby in the Tombs, Bartleby says, ? I know you. . . and I want nil to state to you? ( 2353 ) . This suggests that everything that the storyteller had done was non plenty, and hence this response would anger many people if they had to digest what the storyteller went through in assisting Bartleby. However, the storyteller merely felt hurting, and once more tried to make out by seeking to guarantee that Bartleby? s stay would be every bit comfy as possible. This is seen when he gives money to the chow adult male, and asks the adult male to take attention of Bartleby. He says, ? I want you to give peculiar attending to my friend at that place ; allow him hold the best dinner you can acquire. And you must be polite to him as possible? ( 2353 ) . This once more shows that the storyteller is a compassionate adult male, who does a batch to assist give physical comfort to Bartleby, but can non make out to Bartleby? s psyche, because he is still incapable of understanding Bartleby.
Therefore, Melville shows in? Bartleby, the Scrivener? that there is a bound to compassion, which differs for each person, when one tries to assist another person. True compassion is when one gives freely, love that surpasses all apprehension. However, this is a quality merely seen in really few people ( i.e. Mother Teresa ) . Although the storyteller tries to understand Bartleby, he finally fails because they are worlds apart. The storyteller is rational and practical, while Bartleby is retreating from life. In order to associate to Bartleby, one can non apologize the state of affairs, as it will non profit Bartleby. Alternatively, the storyteller should hold given him unconditioned love, which would hold brought Bartleby back into the societal universe.
Melville, Herman. ? Bartleby, the Scrivener. ? The Norton Anthology of American
Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton & A ; Company Inc. ,
1998. 2330-2355.
Seelye, John. Melville: The Ironic Diagram. Evanston: NorthWestern University
Imperativeness, 1970.
