The Boss is up against Bartleby's constant resistance and refusal to do anything at his job. It comes to the point where Bartleby even refuses to fulfill basic biological needs such as finding a home or feeding himself. The Boss is the protagonist of the story because the reader gets to see more of his emotions and attitude towards the situations and characters of the story. The reader also sees Bartleby through the narrator's eyes. In the Boss' eyes, Bartleby is against him and everyone else. This is what makes Bartleby the antagonist of the story. Bartleby does represent a force beyond himself as an individual because of his stubborn and resistant ways of responding to people. He also keeps to himself and refuses to reveal his life story to the Boss.
The major players of the story are the Boss and Bartleby. The Boss is obviously the boss at the law firm. He is a "rather elderly man" of about sixty years. Bartleby is an employee at the law firm. Around the time he is introduced, Bartleby is described as a hard worker, but as the story goes on he becomes stubborn and resistant with the Boss. When asked to do something by his Boss, he would simply reply with "I would prefer not to". Bartleby isn't exactly the most likable person of the story due to his stubborness and repetition. The Boss, on the other hand, shows a more likable personality due to his magnanimous and sympathetic attitude towards Bartleby throughout most points of the story. In a way Bartlby can be viewed as a realistic character in this story because he can represent many resistant employees that exist in reality. These are employees that are bored with their jobs and become stubborn over time as a result.
The minor characters of the story are Turkey, Ginger Nut, and Nippers. Turkey is an Englishman at around the same age as the Boss. He works well in the morning but when the afternoon hits, he becomes irritable. He is also submissive to the Bossbecause, before saying what he wants to say, he begins with the phrase "With submission, sir". Ginger Nut is a twelve year old boy that performs tasks ordered by the employees at the law firm. He received his nickname because he usually sends employees like Turkey and Nippers ginger nut cakes. Nippers is another employee at the law firm that, unlike Turkey, works well during the afternoon. He does not work well in the morning because of his problems with indigestion, which cause him to become irritable and impatient. The function of these characters is to show the typical American employees at your everyday office. There are always the submissive employees that always agree with their bosses so that they wouldn't anger them. There are also impatient employees that, when you speak to them, reply to you in a cantankerous manner. Then there are the assistants of the office, as shown by the character Ginger Nut. These assistants run errands that are ordered mainly by the bosses. They might be asked to fetch coffee or a new batch of copies.
The dynamic character of the story seems to be only the Boss because he changes into a selfless man who becomes more considerate of others' feelings. The static character of the story is Bartleby because he remains resistant, quiet, and lonesome. He also continues to keep to himself, not letting anyone else into his personal life. This also makes Bartleby a flat character. The Boss becomes the round character because of the way he changes his views. This story is more about change than it is about growth because we see how the Boss, the narrator of the story, changes his perspective of life. Bartleby is the one that changes the Boss because of what he had to endure with this stubborn man. The Boss becomes preoccupied with Bartleby and his strange, introverted attitude. He becomes more humane than he was before.
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