great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

Rebecca:

Bartleby: The Satanic Hero

A Satanic hero is someone who sees the truth, where most cannot, and responds, but in a socially inappropriate way. What exactly Bartleby is protesting is unclear, but it is clear that he is protesting something. I believe that he is protesting the monotonic lifestyle they, and maybe the entire society, are living. Another aspect of this is that the entire society is in essence doing the same job as he is, making copies. People imitate others, trends, actions, and words. Bartleby is protesting the meaningless life that he and the rest of the society are living by “preferring not to,” and doing nothing at all. He doesn’t respond in the proper way, by voicing his protest and making a change. But he also doesn’t go about his life as usual, not responding to the situation. He does in fact, respond to the situation in a socially inappropriate way. He fails to use the appropriate words to explain what he is doing and why, and he remains in places he shouldn’t. “‘I prefer not to,’ he replied in a flute like tone. It seems to me that while I had been addressing him, he carefully revolved every statement that I made; fully comprehended the meaning….. but , at the same time, some paramount consideration prevailed with him to reply as he did.” (303) Bartleby completely understood, and had a response that was not socially appropriate. Bartleby is a prime example of a satanic hero, realizing a truth the rest of society couldn’t or didn’t, yet responding in a socially inappropriate way.

Songyun: The anti-hero

              An antihero, is a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, or morality. An anti-hero sees the truth, when most cannot, he or she does not act. He is typically in conflict with a world he cannot control or whose values he rejects. Bartleby, is an anti-hero in the 19th century middle-class tragedies focusing on social problems and issues. Bartleby, does not possess any heroic qualities, nor does have tragic flaw. He has no idealism, courage like the traditional hero. His very first appearance “A motionless young man one morning stood upon my office threshold, the door being open, for it was summer. I can see that figure now pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn! It was Bartleby.” Here we can see he is not a tragic hero in the traditional sense. He is a tragic hero in the sense that he is a victim, almost innocent, of the social system he had to live in.

Michelle: The Traditional Hero

A traditional hero is one that abides by the law and follows the rules. The traditional hero sees the truth when others can’t and acts on it. Although my group members have different views where Rebecca explains he is a satanic hero and Songyun believes he is a anti-hero, I disagree and argue that Bartleby (the Scrivener) is a traditional hero. As a working man on Wall Street, he is expected to do the work that is asked of him by his manager or higher level bosses. Although Bartleby did not necessarily take action, he did take action though. Instead of complying with the routine idea of “he’s my boss or my superior so I must comply with what he asks of me”, he does the complete opposite. By doing so, he stands out to the Lawyer where he says, “I waive the biographies of all other scriveners for a few passages in the life of Bartleby, who was a scrivener, the strangest I ever saw, or heard of.” When the lawyer asks him to examine a small document that he needs but responds with “I would prefer not to.” Instead of the Lawyer asking him again (since he is at a higher position than him) he does not do so since he’s in shock and asks Nippers to do it instead. This demonstrates that Bartleby is not your typical narrator, but a ‘traditional hero’ but going against social norms.