The Resilience Of Bartleby: Explaining The Purpose Of An Analogical Interpretation

Abstract

This thesis aims to discuss how Bartleby, the character from Herman Melville’s 1853 short story Bartleby the Scrivener, A story of Wall Street, has managed to still haunt today’s society and political issues, by being resilient and re-emerging in political movements such as Occupy Wall Street. I will argue that by applying the concept of Limits of Analogy, and the American Dream-Myth concept, we can interpret Bartleby’s death, as the American Dream-Myth, which better highlights the story’s message that forces forth a confrontation of a harsh reality. The following will start by explaining the American Dream-Myth concept induced by John Archer, later including Russ Castronovo’s take on the limits of analogy.