The way in which Bartleby acts or doesn’t act makes him a satanic hero.What makes someone a satanic hero is that they are out of the picture, they see everything that is going on, thus he can see the “truth” when his other co-workers can’t. This is not the only thing that makes a satanic hero. While knowing the truth and not acting upon it or acting upon in an unsuitable way in that situation. At first, when he started working he was very diligent and hardworking, but as time passed, he began to settle down. The problem is that he kept settling down. Bartleby who was once on the top of the employee has fallen. It can first be seen when he said this “I would prefer not to.” (302). After that his job began to spiral downhill, he had no drive to work, for example staring at a brick wall. The ways of the satanic hero cause everyone around him to come down, lowering the morale. His co-workers wanted to help him but they would eventually stop trying to help him and hoped that he will help himself. All this added together make the character Bartleby the satanic hero.
-Denny Huang
Bartleby, the scrivener, the man who would prefer not to do anything, should be considered as an anti-hero. By definition, anti-hero is someone who can see the truth, or the solution to existing problems, but meanwhile refuse to take any action. Bartleby, whose characters are exactly opposite to what a hero may have, is actually the one who has the deep insight of truth. From two parts we can see why he has this insight which others don’t have. First, When he is asked to do anything, he always refuses by saying:” I would prefer not to…” Here the use of word “prefer” does not just mean to be polite. He’s not that type of person who cares about what others may think of him. But rather, this “prefer” is actually his elaborate choice. He has gone through all the possibilities and come to the conclusion of “doing nothing is the best way to do everything.” So he choose not to do every time. Apart from this use of word, the narrator’s comment on the death of Bartleby also verifies Bartleby’s insight of truth. “Eh. He’s asleep, ain’t he?” “With kings and counsellors.” (Melville 321) This shows narrator’s acknowledgement to Bartleby’s death, which means that the death, the ultimate form of “not doing anything”, is what Bartleby wants. The death is the extent of his “not doing anything”, which is the truth of life at that situation.
— Zeyu Kang
I like Zeyu’s point of Bartleby being an anti-hero because he doesn’t take any physical action and refusing all requests made upon him. The thing is, maybe Bartleby’s inaction is his way of acting upon the truth. That because the truth can be that there is no meaning to life, or no one should be bounded by societal demands, that one can freely do what he or she WANTS to do. Let’s not forget that in the story, Bartleby rejects all requests that are asked of him, but acts freely as he desires, such as sleeping in the entry of the building, or sitting on a bannister. In this case, perhaps Bartleby wants the narrator, or whoever it may be, to understand the truth that he sees. This method of inaction could very well be Bartleby’s way of voicing the truth – to not be restricted by societal norms. Is his way of voicing very socially disturbing? Yes, of course, just like how Denny pointed it out! But he can also be considered as an anti-hero because perhaps Bartleby didn’t act with enough efforts in voicing the truth and made the mistake in thinking that his inaction will allow people to wonder what this world is truly like.
If there is no truth, then Bartleby is nothing at all.
I disagree with the Bartleby being a satanic hero simply because I don’t believe that the lack of voicing your opinions and how you feel make you a satanic hero. Many would agree that Bartleby lived a very cowardice life as he did not put any real effort into his life and continued to live without any meaning to his life but to say he was a satanic hero role is an exaggeration to me. It is clear that Bartleby is suffering from depression and at that time in America, mental illnesses and depression were not properly treated and to this day mental illnesses such as depression are not properly treated.