"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" 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 being a man who likes to take the "easy" way. What else is gained by telling this story this story from the Boss' perspective? Why not Bartleby's perspective? Why not one of the other clerks?

The Boss, who is the protagonist, tells the story. This means that this story is in first person point of view. Besides learning how the Boss likes to take the "easy" way, the reader also learns about how the Boss sees the character Bartleby. The reader can feel the tension and the impatience the Boss feels when Bartleby constantly refuses to obey his orders. In short, the telling of the story from the Boss' perspective allows the reader to gain a good understanding for why the Boss felt pity, impatience, and tension with Bartleby. This perspective allows readers to almost put themselves into the story and into the Boss' shoes.

If the story were told in Bartleby's perspective, the story would be very dull and filled with negativity and a feeling of hopelessness. If Bartleby was asked to tell his story from beyond his grave, he would most likely respond with "I would prefer not to". In addition to that, Bartleby is a man that always keeps to himself and doesn't let anyone into his personal life. So, if Bartleby were to actually tell his story, we would only get vague information from him because of this. The clerks also can't tell the story of Bartleby because they don't care about Bartleby. The Boss doesn't care at first, but as the story moves along, the reader starts to see how the Boss develops feelings of worry and sympathy for Bartleby. Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut could care less about Bartleby. They aren't the ones who worry about him not eating or not finding a home for himself. It is only the Boss that shows this. The Boss is also the only one who cares enough to want to know why Bartleby acts the way he does. The other clerks wouldn't be able to move their story along because they would only focus on their negative feelings for Bartleby. They would only want to talk about how much they wanted Bartleby to be removed from the law firm.

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