“It is dangerous to isolate oneself; dangerous for an individual and for a nation.” – Jawaharlal Nehru. The quotation suggests that isolating oneself can be dangerous, as demonstrated in the case of Bartleby, a character in Herman Melville’s novella “Bartleby.” Bartleby’s isolation was dangerous; it led to his depression and eventual death. The motif of the story is the isolation of Bartleby from society.
Three literary devices support this motif: symbolism, descriptive passages, and irony. The walls symbolize Bartleby’s isolation from society; descriptive passages convey his loneliness, and irony further expounds upon the motif. Symbolism supports the motif of Bartleby being isolated from society. The symbolism is evident in this quotation, “Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice.” In this quotation, the narrator put up a screen to separate his office from Bartleby’s, isolating him from the other members of his staff and, therefore, from humanity. The phrase “I prefer not to” also indicates Bartleby’s self-isolation, showing his lack of involvement, another form of isolation. The narrator tells the reader precisely what he did to Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below.
In the novella, the author tells the reader, down to the smallest detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He describes this in the following passage: “I placed his desk close up to a small side window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy backyards and bricks, but which, owning to subsequent erections, commanded at present no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice.” The quotation describes how the narrator secludes Bartleby from society.
Even his window, usually a form of escape, results in Bartleby being trapped behind another wall, reinforcing his total isolation. The irony lies in the fact that the narrator, while trying to isolate Bartleby, becomes affected by it, to the point that he appears almost human. Instead of dismissing him on the spot for refusing to copy, proofread, or leave the premises, he tries to find other employment for him and even considers inviting him to live in his residence as his guest. The narrator develops before our eyes into a caring person, very different from the cold, unsympathetic person at the beginning of the story. “To befriend Bartleby, to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience.”
The narrator would usually befriend anyone or any “sucker,” but Bartleby has given him a conscience. The narrator has realized that a common blemish in a person does not determine the person. In the beginning of the novella, the narrator only cared about his work, but now he realizes that people have a life outside of work, except for Bartleby. The narrator then changes into a caring person, tries to understand Bartleby’s odd ways, and goes the extra mile to help him. In the end, the narrator tries to save Bartleby from his undoing, Bartleby’s isolation.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Black people were isolated or segregated from society. Nowadays, many people are isolated, such as those who are intellectually disabled, unattractive, unpopular, physically deformed, and people with contagious and deadly diseases. During Bartleby’s time, the strange were looked down upon or ridiculed (as seen in Freak Shows), and so Bartleby isolated himself and allowed others to isolate him from society. Despite the narrator’s efforts to isolate Bartleby, Bartleby brought the isolation upon himself by living an abnormal life.
By not fitting into mainstream society, Bartleby left himself open to isolation. The novella’s three literary elements – symbolism, descriptive passages, and irony – showed how Bartleby’s isolation from society fit into the story. Jawaharlal Nehru once said that isolation is dangerous, as it was in Bartleby’s case. Isolation can drive a person insane, make them mute, or even kill them. The theme of the story is not to succumb to the prejudice of others and avoid being isolated.
