Bartleby, The Scrivener : A Story of Wall-Street

Herman Melville wrote Bartleby the Scrivener as an emotional response to the fact that his masterpiece Moby-Dick was not selling as well as he had expected. The work is said to have been inspired, in part, by Melville's reading of Emerson, and some have pointed to specific parallels to Emerson's essay, The Transcendentalist. Although the story was not very popular at the time it was published, Bartleby the Scrivener has become among the most famous American short stories. It has been considered a precursor to absurdist literature, touching on many of the themes extant in the work of Franz Kafka, particularly in The Trial and A Hunger Artist. However, there exists nothing to indicate that the German-language writer was at all familiar with Melville, who was largely forgotten until after Kafka's death. "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by Herman Melville. The story first appeared, anonymously, in Putnam's Magazine in two parts. The first part appeared in November 1853, with the conclusion published in December 1853. It was reprinted in Melville's The Piazza Tales in 1856 with minor textual alterations. The work is said to have been inspired, in part, by Melville's reading of Emerson, and some have pointed to specific parallels to Emerson's essay, "The Transcendentalist." The story has been adapted twice: once in 1970, starring Paul Scofield, and again in 2001, starring Crispin Glover.

bartleby The Scrivener (1853), By Herman Melville, Tells The Story Of A Quiet, Hardworking Legal Copyist Who Works In An Office In The Wall Street Area Of New York City. One Day Bartleby Declines The Assignment His Employer Gives Him With The Inscrutable I Would Prefer Not. The Utterance Of This Remark Sets Off A Confounding Set Of Actions And Behavior, Making The Unsettling Character Of Bartleby One Of Melville's Most Enigmatic And Unforgettable Creations.

Title Page......Page 2 Contents......Page 4 Begin Reading......Page 6 About the Author......Page 55 Credits......Page 56 Copyright Notice......Page 57 About the Publisher......Page 58