DuWayne Grinnell ENG 263 5/2/13 My Analysis on Bartleby the Scrivener The story is very interesting as the self-characterization of the narrator was significant to the plot. The narrator is a safe man who takes slight risks and attempts to adjust to his surroundings. I had observed that the narrator was deeply concerned about the financial security and comfort of life which were his core priorities. Bartleby was a confused loner who was hired by an old lawyer (the narrator) to work at his business which entailed titles, mortgages and bonds. Bartleby was basically hired for copying the text but eventually he started refusing the work requested by the lawyer.
They will absorb the blame on themselves, and the whole department. Finger pointing goes back to grade school. Problems could also show issues within the department which the boss should be taking responsibility for, and the blame stops here. A good boss does not mind rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty, and help their employees when deadlines occur, they are an excellent boss. A good boss truly understands that unless the job is done, and done by all, they have not done their job.
All of this building up to the fact that we use and waste a lot of stuff that we “need” to fulfill our happiness. We use material goods to fill a void, being that we don’t want to appreciate what we have around us, instead we show this through what we buy. In the story Burgess makes the point that we don’t appreciate the finer things, because we’re spoiled. We haven’t had someone invade the USA, or have had to sacrifice significantly since the Great Depression. While many lost their jobs, the nation was brought together for a common goal and this marked a high point in our nation as we all ignored our differences to achieve something great.
What I like most about him, is he never tried to keep anything from the audience. He admittedly said that at times, he’s struggling with himself because he still thinks that he was very smart to be able to have done those adjustments in Enron’s financial standing but also feels bad about the effect these mistakes did to the employees’ pension funds and whose lives he destroyed. I would have to agree with Mr. Fastow when he said that the accounting principles is vague and is open to any understanding and interpretation. This also goes to our laws governing the Philippines. Lawyers would interpret the rules and regulations differently and would defend it accordingly.
Now, even though Nick is the storyteller, this arrogant self-description shows that he is not reliable due the fact that he thinks of himself as superior to the masses. He lives in the West Egg district of Long Island, next door to Jay Gatsby, the protagonist who inspired him to write this book. Shortly after he describes himself he begins to describe Gatsby. He is fascinated with his neighbor for the simply astounding fact that Gatsby meets, and even exceeds, his expectations. The two men are on completely different ends of some form superiority complex.
He then goes on to brag about one of his prestigious clients, which demonstrates that elite status and wealth are considered extremely significant to him. Melville directly characterizes the lawyer this way in order for him to experience some sort of change and come to a realization about missed opportunity throughout the story, making him a dynamic character. The lawyer then becomes in need of an additional scrivener, so he hires Bartleby. He had made the decision to hire Bartleby mainly because of his quiet nature. When he first started working for the lawyer, Bartleby worked diligently and “did an extraordinary quantity of writing” (20).
Another example of how Bruno was avoiding thinking about what was happening around him was when he said, “I expect we’ll have to wait here till it eases off and then I’ll get to go home” (Boyne, page 212). He was ignoring the reality, the facts, instead he is thinking ahead, about going home. This book has definitely showed me, we need to be more aware of the circumstances we are in. Innocence leads to tragedy. Before I read your book I often thought of the cruelty of the WWII and I could hardly imagined the world with people not protesting
A Fraudulent Character – Who is Mr. Martin Really? Has anyone ever turned out to be exactly who they first appeared to be? In James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat” the protagonist, Mr. Martin, first appears to be a flawless worker. His boss, Mr. Fitweiler, even proclaims that “Man is fallible but Mr. Martin isn’t” (18) because of Mr. Martin’s reputation of being an proficient and efficient worker. Also, it is a known fact that Mr. Martin never smokes or drinks and he is praised for it, “The late Sam Schlosser, the S in F&S, had praised Mr. Martin at a staff meeting .
Heimmediately fired his assistant because he believed this individual was not being careful in checking the delivery date before signing for the doors. The problem disappeared. The doors began arriving on time. Rotor was congratulated for a job well done. With the problem being solved (or so he thought), he and his new assistant began installing again.
229) I believe this quote reveals the moral because as he reads this book he find out Crusoe is all alone and isolated and even though Charlie doesn’t realize it yet he himself is isolated and lonely as well. Next the writer demonstrates the lesson by including the character’s dialogue. While Charlie is reading his progress reports with Miss Kinnian he says, “All my frends are smart people but there good.” (Pg. 229) I feel this quote expresses the theme because Charlie doesn’t realize how his friends actually treat him. He thinks they’re all nice to him, but instead they just laugh at him and make fun of him which signalizes that he’s lonely.