English 102: Close Reading of Bartleby

 Bartleby: Analysis of a Paragraph

“Good-bye, Bartleby; I am going—good-bye, and God some way bless you; and take that,” slipping something in his hand. But it dropped upon the floor, and then,—strange to say—I tore myself from him whom I had so longed to be rid of.” (Page 177)

I believe that this was a very important paragraph since the narrator was finally telling Bartleby good-bye and he was not going to deal with him anymore. The narrator has decided that since Bartleby will not leave him or quit him that the narrator must be the one as to quit Bartleby. The narrator decides to rid himself completely of Bartleby, by changing his office, moving somewhere else and if he finds Bartleby at his new places then he will go against Bartleby as if he was a trespasser. 

Another important part of this text was how the narrator slipped something into Bartleby’s hand but it just dropped to the floor. This could have many meanings as to if Bartleby is a ghost or simply a part of the narrator’s mind that has manifested due to his insanity. Bartleby could also be a figure that haunts the narrators mind and is a being or an image of how the narrator wishes himself to be. 

But further down the storyline a lawyer appears at the narrator’s new place and tells him that there is a man at his old place that refuses to do anything and that he prefers not to. That narrator wanted to call the place and see how Bartleby was doing but instead he did not though a few weeks later the landlord and a few tenants go to visit the narrator since Bartleby is now “haunting the building generally” according to the landlord. 

 Here is a link to a video of the movie version of the tale of Bartleby and he would prefer not to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-9tAqdd_4Y