Project Gutenberg 2004-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 4430 Melville, Herman 1819 1891 Melville, Hermann Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartleby,_the_Scrivener Steve J. Nelson and Clara T. Nelson "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street" by Herman Melville is a short story written in the late 19th century, during the period known as the American Renaissance. The tale presents a legal scrivener who exhibits an unusual form of passive resistance, famously responding to requests with the phrase "I would prefer not to." The story explores themes of isolation, the human condition, and the conflicts between individual will and societal expectations. The narrative is told from the perspective of a nameless lawyer, who describes his interactions with Bartleby, a new scrivener who initially demonstrates exceptional diligence but gradually declines to perform any tasks. As the lawyer confronts Bartleby's growing refusal to comply with standard office duties, he grapples with feelings of frustration, pity, and confusion. Bartleby's presence becomes increasingly unsettling, revealing his profound detachment from the world around him. The story culminates with Bartleby's ultimate fate in a prison setting, alluding to deeper existential questions about humanity, purpose, and the impact of societal neglect. Through the surreal interactions between the lawyer and Bartleby, Melville crafts a poignant commentary on the condition of modern life and the plight of the individual within a callous society. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 70.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction Psychological fiction Young men -- Fiction Wall Street (New York, N.Y.) -- Fiction Copyists -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: American Literature 113349 2025-08-05T07:00:10.348220 text/html 91026 2024-10-28T18:33:33 text/html 121810 2025-08-05T07:00:15.801242 application/epub+zip 120611 2025-08-05T07:00:13.186260 application/epub+zip 108557 2025-08-05T07:00:12.049259 application/epub+zip 249839 2025-08-05T07:00:17.818200 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 242399 2025-08-05T07:00:15.154229 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 181506 2022-09-05T12:16:02.391287 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104505 2025-08-05T07:00:10.019271 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 84657 2024-10-28T18:33:33 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17374 2025-08-05T07:00:17.951173 application/rdf+xml 14971 2025-08-05T07:00:12.610226 image/jpeg 3510 2025-08-05T07:00:12.342224 image/jpeg 119920 2025-08-05T07:00:10.358253 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia