Bartleby the Scrivner
In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the author uses several themes to convey his ideas. ... Melville uses the actions of an eccentric scrivener named Bartleby, and the responses of his cohorts, to show these underlying themes to the reader. The first theme, alienation, is displayed best by Bartleby’s actions. ... His lack of resolve when dealing with Bartleby angered them because they knew that if they would have taken the same actions, they would have been dismissed much more rapidly. ... The first time Bartleby refused to proofread a paper, the narrator simply had someone else do it instead of confronting him and resolving the issue right then.