The unnamed narrator is in many ways the opposite of Bartleby: an optimistic and stable man, the lawyer seems to be a completely devoted contributor to both society and the economy in general. Thus, it's possible Melville chose the lawyer as his narrator to more dramatically emphasize Bartleby's stagnation and listlessness. Unlike his employer, Bartleby seems completely apathetic about his work, and seems to have no faith in the occupation that he has chosen for...
The unnamed narrator is in many ways the opposite of Bartleby: an optimistic and stable man, the lawyer seems to be a completely devoted contributor to both society and the economy in general. Thus, it's possible Melville chose the lawyer as his narrator to more dramatically emphasize Bartleby's stagnation and listlessness. Unlike his employer, Bartleby seems completely apathetic about his work, and seems to have no faith in the occupation that he has chosen for himself. Indeed, Bartleby seems to be simply going through the motions in life and is uninterested in his work. As such, the lawyer's optimistic work ethic and contribution to the work force is, in some sense, deconstructed. Therefore, we can hypothesize that Melville chose a stable and normal lawyer as his narrator in order to call into question, through Bartleby's apathy, the robust American work ethic represented by this lawyer.
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