Reading & Comprehension

Read Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (2363).

Themes

CAPITALIST LIFE, WALLS, MASCULINITY, CLAUSTROPHOBIA, FOOD, IDENTITY, ALIENATION & ISOLATION, NONCONFORMITY, PASSIVE RESISTANCE, MARTYRDOM, DEAD LETTERS.

Discussion Questions & Topics

Characterize Bartleby and the narrator. What emotional response do Bartleby’s actions invoke?

Discuss passive resistence with respect to Thoreau’s "Civil Disovedience." Is Bartleby’s act of passive resistance similar to or different from Thoreau's. What, if anything, is Bartleby "resisting"?

How do walls function in the story? Read representative passages on pgs. 2364, 2368 and 2383. Construct a diagram of walls.

How can we account for the narrator’s persistent reticence to get rid of Bartleby? See pgs. 2370, 2371, 2376 and 2377.

Read aloud the conclusion of the story. How can Bartleby’s life be compared to a dead letter? Why does Melville end with the exclamation: “Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity! (2389).” What does the exclamation do?

What role does food play in the story?

Assignments

Short Essay #3: Write a comparative/contrastive analysis of the film Bartleby and Melville's story "Bartleby, the Scrivener." Be sure to include a sufficiently narrow argumentative thesis. Also be sure to explain the significance and implications of the comparisons and/or contrasts you identify. 500-750 words. Submit via WebCT. DUE DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4 p.m.

Discussion #6: Discuss the similarities and differences between Bartleby and "Bartleby, the Scrivener." Respond interpretively to one of your peer's postings, addressing the narrative effectiveness of a similarity or difference. 250-500 words (including both entries). DUE DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 4 p.m.