Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street Summary
Herman Melville

Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street Summary

"Bartleby the Scrivener" was written by Herman Melville in 1853 and was first published in Putnam's Magazine in the November/December issue of that year. The plot involves one man's difficulty in coping with his employee's peculiar form of passive resistance. One day, Bartleby the scrivener announces that he "would prefer not to" follow his employer's orders or even to be "a little reasonable." The resulting tragedy follows from Bartleby's inability or unwillingness to...

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