Bartleby, The Failure

Part I of Essay
It is not rare, sometimes it is even common, that an author speaks about his or her self in their works. Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" is often considered such a story. Many of the characters in the story and images created allude to Melville's writing caree ....

Part II of Essay
.... until the point no one notices his absence. Melville had reached the prime of his popularity early in his career, so when he published Moby Dick, his career was already in decline. His disappointment was only to increase as his career diminished until his death which was hardly noticed in the literary community. The narrator also resembles Melville, but in a different way. Melville uses the narrator to view his own situation from a 3rd person perspective. He attempts, and is somewhat successful, in getting readers to feel sympathy for Bart ....