“I would prefer not to.”

“Bartleby the Scrivener” is one of Melville’s most famous stories. The story is about the Lawyer, a well-established man of sixty working on Wall Street, who hires a copyist—seemingly no different from any other copyist. But Bartleby is different.

“At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famish- ing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light.”

One day, the Lawyer has a small document he needs examined. He calls Bartleby in to do the job, but Bartleby responds: “I would prefer not to.” This answer amazes the Lawyer, who has a “natural expectancy of instant compliance.” He is so amazed by this response, and the calm way Bartleby says it, that he cannot even bring himself to scold Bartleby. Instead, he calls in Nippers to examine the document instead.

Since then for whatever he is asked to do he responds “I would prefer not to”.

I feel like Melville’s touches the problem of rising middle-class job dissatisfaction and depression, as well as realizing the future significance of Wall Street to American life. Nowadays, many of us are so unhappy with our job because of we might be underemployed or because that is not the job we dream of. We might wish but in fact there are very few Bartelbys in the world now who could respond to their Boses by saying “I would prefer not to”.

The video that I picked shows the scene in which Bartleby refuses to do what he is asked to do by saying “I would prefer not to”. While his coworkers show amazement and resentment, he still insists on not doing that.