At the end of “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the Lawyer reveals the one clue he has to Bartleby’s history, which is a rumor that Bartleby once worked in the dead letter office. The Lawyer believes this is the cause of Bartleby’s strange behavior and says “Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men?”. The Lawyer’s theory is that by reading all those dead letters, which are intended for people who are dead or gone, must have been so depressing that it drove Bartleby slowly to his apathy and emotional detachment. This is the topic that Nick Courtright briefly mentions at the end of his video and analysis of Bartleby.  Dead Letters are a form of failed communication, of someone trying to reach out and connect to another person through language and failing to find that connection. By reading all of these ‘dead letters’, Bartleby was more exposed to the despair that comes from not being able to receive letters once you’re dead and that’s what slowly caused him to die. By mentioning these dead letters towards the end, Melville tries to give insight into Bartleby’s motivation to passively resist any part of his job besides writing. After years of reading letters of failed communication, Bartleby perhaps wanted to be a part of the creation of language and communication between human beings. The letters could also symbolize the hard work of the emerging middle-class. Sorting letters day in and day out could eventually be difficult for anyone to endure for a long time. Today, such repetitive tasks are a common source of depression for some employees. By making them dead letters, Melville emphasizes the extent to which Bartleby had to face depression everyday just to make a living.