Most of you concede that the narrator, despite his flaws, makes a sincere effort to help Bartleby — even though he ultimately fails to do so.

Alex raises a good point about the lawyer’s non-confrontational manner. Given the extremes to which he went to avoid having to use force to throw Bartleby out — most strikingly he moved his office — it seems like the lawyer avoids confrontation in part to avoid coming face-to-face with the real nature of the relationship that he has with his workers.

Despite his attempt to avoid seeing how power relations work within his office, the narrator clearly does engage in a serious personal struggle to help the pallid scrivener. As he tells his story, he explicitly credits Christian ethics for urging him to sympathize with Bartleby. But the conclusion makes one wonder if this ethic can really be effective in the Wall Street universe where the lawyer lives.

The primary arguement put forward by these authors, including Melville, was that capitalism caused people to be exploited. This is what Karl Marx identified as the “exploitation of the prolitariate”. The entire notion of capitalism is to gain more wealth. Without people trying to gain more and more wealth a capitalistic society would perish. Hence, it is essential for business owners to maximize profits.

This however, often comes into conflict with what is actually the “right” thing to do. Put in a more succint manner, there was a dichotomy between capitalism and a person’s conscience. It is possible to take this one step furthur and say that since the right thing to do was usually defined by religion, the dichotomy is actually between capitalism and religion/ Spirituality. This is the arguement of both Emerson and Thoreau.

In this particular story, it is clear to see that the narrator is struggling with these exact questions. In fact, the narrarator eventually gives into his conscience. When deciding what to do with Bartleby he finally surrendered stating, ” At least I see it: I penetrate to the predestined purpose of my life. I’m content. Others may have loftier parts to enact; but my mission in this world, Bartleby, is to furnish you with office room for such period as you may see fit to remain.” Because his business peers continually riduculed the narrarator for having this Bartleby present as he did nothing at all. Hence, the narrarator moved out. Finally the police came to Bartleby him away after he would still not leave. Even as embarrassed as he was, the narrarator continued to visit Bartleby. Perhaps the narrarator’s conscience really did win out, but it was a sincere struggle nonetheless.

In conclusion, Melville highlights the great social tensions of the time, particulary between capitalism and religion/spitituality/conscience. Caught up in a capitalist rat race often prevents people from seeing the many contradictions within society. Quite simply it is hidden particularly well by the inner workings of capitalism. As the narrator concluded, “I remembered the bright silks and sparkling faces I had seen that day, in gala trim, swan-like sailing down the Mississippi of Broadway: and I contrasted them with the pallid copist, and thought to myself, Ah, happiness courts the light, so we deem the world is gay; but misery hides aloof, so we deem that misery there is none.” Although this strory was written nearly 145 years ago, the dichotemy of capitalism and conscience is still hotly debated to this day.