"Bartelby, the Scrivner"

“Bartelby, the Scrivner” by Herman Melville

                Bartelby’s behavior is unusual and bizarre. I wish I could tell my superiors “I would prefer not to!” like Bartelby did. The reasons for Bartelby’s behavior are not certain; however, there are segments in the short story that provide clues to why he behaves the way he does. One possibility could be that Bartelby is autistic. He challenges to connect on a social level. For example, he does not react when his coworkers are mocking and threatening him. He also never initiates a conversation. Another possibility for his behavior could be what he did at his previous job. “What I saw that morning persuaded me that the scrivener was the victim of innate and incurable disorder. I might give alms to his body, but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach,” (Melville, 658). Working at the Dead Letter Office could have caused his soul to suffer. An example of Bartelby having a bland and blank soul is him just staring at a wall outside the window. His boss finds him doing this in many instances. Bartelby’s soul could be hurt and suffering and it cannot be fixed.