Characters Protagonist/Antagonist?
What is the Boss up against in the person of Bartleby?
The Boss is up against a person who is very calm and nonchalant. Bartleby is someone who just keeps to himself and is very repetitive. this makes people become annoyed of him fairly quick.
Does Bartleby represent a force between himself as an individual?
Bartleby can represent a force between himself as an individual because he doesn't allow himself to grow as a person. He tends to "prefer not to" do anything which keeps him from doing new things.
Major/ Minor (Who are the major players in the story? What do we know about them?Are they likable? Sympathetic? Realistic? What's the function of the story's minor characters?)
The major players in the story are the Boss and Bartleby. Boss is the manager of the law practice in Wall Street. Bartleby is one of the Boss's employers and prefers not to do anything he is told to do. Bartleby tends to get repetitive, which annoys the other characters. These characters are realistic. The story's minor characters are there to show the other kinds of characters the Boss works with.
Dynamic/ Static- Who Changes? Who stays the same? Is the story about growth or change?
The character that changes would be the Boss. The character that stays the same would be Bartleby. The story is about change in that the Boss changes how he saw certain things, like how people can act even to their boss.
Round/ Flat- Who is the round character? Who are the flat characters?
The round character would be the Boss because the reader can see he's dynamic in the way he thinks and acts. The flat character would Bartleby because he tends to be repetitive and doesn't want to do any kind of work.
Point of View
Who tells the story?- the first person narrator, who is flawed but human...He's reliable, we trust him. His actions definitely support what he tells us about himself; especially the part about being a man who likes to take the "easy" way. What else is gained by telling this story from the Boss's perspective? Why not Bartleby's perspective? Why not one of the other clerks?
The story is told from the Boss's perspective also because he is a character who is in the right state of mind. The story takes place in the office, in Wall Street, that Boss manages. The story wasn't told in Bartleby's perspective because it would be dull or bland and would not be very detailed. The story wouldn't work in the other clerks' perspective because they weren't there in the events that took place between Boss and Bartleby. In the other clerks' perspective, the clerks would be really annoyed of Bartleby.
Plot Exposition:
What background information does the narrator relate that gives us a greater understanding of the events unfolding?
The background information that the narrator gives us, that gives us a greater understanding of the events unfolding is the emplolyment he's in and about the peculiar people he works with. He tells us that Bartleby is the most peculiar of the bunch.
Why does the information about Bartleby's previous employment come at the end of the story rather than at the beginning?
The information about Bartleby's previous employment comes at the end of the story rather then the beginning because instead of letting the reader know why he acts the way he does, the author decides to make the reader question his actions. This leads to the reader to want to finish reading to see if the author writes how Bartleby became the way he is.
Complication- How does the Boss react when Bartleby repeatedly refuses to perform his duties? How does his reaction intensify? What is the Boss's dilemma?
At first the Boss is dumbfounded when Bartleby repeatedly refuses to perform his duties. Instead of forcing Bartleby to work he just makes someone else do it. He soon becomes aggravated but instead of making Bartleby do his duties, he moves his offices somewhere else. Boss's dilemma is trying to make Bartleby do his work by only telling him and not forcing him.
Climax-Where do you feel the events reach their pinnacle? Where is the conflict most intense, the clash most "explosive"?
I feel that the events reached their pinnacle when people start going to Boss to tell him about Bartleby not doing anything and that Boss doesn't know him. The conflict is the most intense when Boss goes to talk with Bartleby and would result in Bartleby getting taken away by the police. He asks Bartleby if he wants to stay in his house, which Bartleby refuses.
Resolution-What's the outcome of the explosion?
The outcome of the explosion is Bartleby getting sent to prison and eventually dying in there. We find also find out what was Bartleby's previous employment.
Epiphany-Who has gained insight in this story, Bartleby or the Boss, or anybody?
Boss is the character that has gained insight. He finds out the reason why Bartleby might have became the way he did. He learns that people become the way are by past experiences.
Meaning (Theme) :
Does the story leave you thinking anything? Feeling anything? What do you make out of it all?Passive aggressive people are difficult to accommodate, difficult to ignore.
Passive resistance is a radical form of rebellion. Offices, where Americans spend the greater part of their lives, are not democracies.
Have a life outside work! Don't expect your occupation to bear the burden of your existence.
What other ideas does the story suggest to you?
The story leaves me wondering if other people who have worked in the dead letter office become like Bartleby. The story leaves feeling like nothing was really accomplished and that I should try to help people like Bartleby. I think this is a story that might make the reader carefully watch those around them and see if any of them might become like Bartleby. Other ideas that the story might suggest is that you can't help others who don't wish to be helped. Also that past experiences can change your outlook on life. Another idea is that by being isolated can be dangerous to yourself.
Irony
:
The Boss doesn't recognize that his own passiveness is as persistent and frustrating as Bartleby's. Or that his genteel, self-interest in Bartleby is leading to no good.
Can you think of other ironies?
Other ironies in the story is that the Boss, whose is a lawyer and is supposed to be protecting peoples' rights, is against how Bartleby is rebelling against working. Also that Bartleby is pretty isolated and is vacant because he used to work in the dead letter office.
Paradox
:
Bartleby is stubborn, self-absorbed, rebellious, and insubordinate, yet many readers, and even the narrator, the Boss himself, have a deep sympathy for him. Why?
Others?
Many readers may have a deep sympathy for the character because of how the story ended and about his previous employment. Readers find out that he worked in the dead letter office, which would probably be the reason behind why he prefers not to do anything. He saw that people didn't get their letters delivered by people who cared about them. This led him to feel empty and become isolated. In the end we feel sympathy for him because there might have been people who cared deeply about him but never got the chance to tell him.
Ambiguity:
Exactly why does Bartleby always "prefer not to"? Why can't he make friends, or communicate? What's at the heart of his rebellion? Why doesn't he quit and get a different job? Why does the Boss have sympathy for Bartleby?
What else in the story seems open
to individual readers' interpretation?
Bartleby always "prefer not to" because he sees no point in doing anything. Bartleby doesn't really care about life anymore. He used to work in the dead letters office where letters didn't get to the people who were supposed to recieve them. He can't make friends or communicate because he lost his liveliness. He feels empty and all his will to live. He then becomes stubborn and doesn't have the will to talk to anyone. The heart of his rebellion lies in himself not wanting to do anything. Bartleby doesn't quit his job and get a different one because he sees no point to and prefers to be isolated. The Boss has sympathy for Bartleby because he doesn't want Bartleby to feel like he's alone. The Boss sees that Bartleby doesn't have a home, friends and he barely has any food. This makes the Boss want to help him. In the story, individual readers' interpretation can be for the reason behind the story. Also why the Boss doesn't just force Bartleby do his work.
Symbol
:
What do the "dead walls" and Bartleby's "dead wall reveries" represent?
What's the significance of the setting? Why is it a story of "Wall Street"?
Why do Turkey and Nipper have nicknames, but the Boss is never named, and we never learn Bartleby's first name? What's in a name?
The "dead walls" and "dead wall reveries" represents Bartleby's mind and how he doesn't feel anything anymore. He sees no point in life. We see that Bartleby can be a danger to himself because he wants to be isolated. The significance of the setting and why it this is a story of "Wall Street" is because Wall Street known to be harsh and everyone has to communicate. But in Bartleby's case he doesn't talk to anyone and isolated in a career where communication is the key to know what is going on around you. Turkey and Nipper both have nicknames because the represent some typical people. They were stereotyped for what they do. Boss is never named because he is also stereotyped for being the boss. We never learn Bartleby's first name to add to the mystery of who he is and why he is the way he is. He is meant to seem isolated and depressed. Names are meant to tell people who you are. The key behind your name lies from those who named you. People know the person you might be talking about by their name.
Your Questions, My Questions….
1. Why don't we know anything about Bartleby other than what we see of him in the story? Is that a weakness of the story?
We don't know anything about Bartleby other than what we see of him in the story because Bartleby doesn't like to talk about himself. He prefers to be alone and doesn't tell anyone about himself. This isn't a weakness of the story because the author purposely didn't include details about Bartleby. The author wanted Bartleby to be mysterious.
2. Why doesn't the Boss just fire Bartleby?
The Boss doesn't fire Bartleby because he feels sympathy for Bartleby. He sees that Bartleby doesn't have anything and wants to help. But he also found a weird interest in Bartleby. He wanted to know more about him.
3. What does the Boss do for a living? What kind of company is he running?
Boss is an old lawyer for the people in Wall Street. The kind of company he is running is a law firm.
No comments:
Post a Comment