QUESTIONS FOR CLASS DISCUSSIONS

Ambiguity: 
Exactly why does Bartleby always "prefer not to"? Why can't he make friends, or communicate? What's at the heart of his
rebellion? Why doesn't he quit and get a different job?
Why does the Boss have sympathy for Bartleby?
What else in the story seems open
to individual readers' interpretation?

At the end of the short story, the reader's are told that Bartleby used to work at a dead letter office. A dead letter office is where letter is mailed when people have either died or vanished. I think that because Bartleby was exposed to all that sadness, he became depressed. When Bartleby first arrived at the lawyers office. ( The boss is the lawyer). He took on the task of writing letters and other documents rather than reading sad letters that were meant for people who are no longer living. He was able to do that until it became to much for him. After a while all he really did was stare out the window. He barely ever went outside. He only ate a certain food. And even with food, it came to the point where he just stopped eating entirely. I believe that Bartleby is in a deep depression and that is the sole reason to his lack of communication with the boss and anyone really. Bartleby doesn't get a new job because he realizes that the boss accepts his passive resistance while still allowing him to live there and do no work. Why would he feel the need to quit and go somewhere else is he is content with the job he currently has. It's not like anyone is harassing him or forcing him to go, so it is really beneficial to him. The boss has sympathy for Bartleby because of his personality. Bartleby is a very quiet man who keeps to himself. He speaks to no one, bothers no one, and it seems as though he is homeless because he obviously sleeps in the office. I think that the boss also feels sympathy for him because he knows that is he was to fall under any other boss, they would treat him very harsh. So he feels that if he allows Bartleby to stay there, he is doing a kind thing. I think that the whole story is open to any interpretation because there is not enough information given in the story to really make us all come up with the same interpretation. I mean Bartleby is the main character and most important and he is the character who is given the least information. Even Ginger Nut, Turkey, and Nibbles are given some type of background information. But the story does give a positive tone to it, even when Bartleby died.