Question

Read the excerpt from Herman Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener and select the correct answer:

A) Before, I had never experienced aught but a not unpleasing sadness.
B) Upon inspection, the drawer exhibited a great array of the shells of various sorts of nuts. Indeed, to this quick-willed youth, the whole noble science of the law was contained in a nutshell.
C) So he sent him to my office, as student at law, errand boy, cleaner and sweeper, at the rate of one dollar a week.
D) For the first time in my life, a feeling of overpowering stinging melancholy seized me.

Answer 1

In Herman Melville's 'Bartleby, the Scrivener', the narrator's feelings evolve from melancholy and pity to fear and repulsion towards his employee, Bartleby, against the backdrop of deepened understanding of the latter’s distressing solitude and peculiar behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpts from Herman Melville's 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' describe the narrator's complex feelings towards Bartleby, who is his employee.

As the story unfolds, we see the narrator's emotions evolve from melancholy and pity to fear and repulsion, caused by his deeper understanding of Bartleby's peculiar behavior and unfortunate circumstances. The descriptions offer a profound exploration of human compassion, isolation, and the limits of social responsibility.

The narrator initially experiences a deep sympathy for Bartleby, which later conflicts with the practical need to address the discomfort and issues Bartleby's presence in the office creates. This conflict is exemplified when the landlord gets Bartleby arrested as a vagrant, a decision that leaves the narrator with mixed emotions.

The narrative also conveys the profound loneliness and desolation Bartleby experiences, as emphasized by the discovery that he lives in the office space with minimal means for sustenance or comfort. Melville's work is replete with rich symbolism and metaphors, reflecting on themes of alienation and the human condition.