Podcast
Questions and Answers
What was the narrator's profession?
What was the narrator's profession?
What was the name of the person who pronounced the narrator's first grand point to be prudence?
What was the name of the person who pronounced the narrator's first grand point to be prudence?
What happened to the office of Master in Chancery?
What happened to the office of Master in Chancery?
What was the view from one end of the narrator's chambers?
What was the view from one end of the narrator's chambers?
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What was the height of the surrounding buildings?
What was the height of the surrounding buildings?
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What is the main occupation of the narrator?
What is the main occupation of the narrator?
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Why is the narrator unable to write a complete biography of Bartleby?
Why is the narrator unable to write a complete biography of Bartleby?
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What is the narrator's personality trait?
What is the narrator's personality trait?
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What kind of clients does the narrator typically deal with?
What kind of clients does the narrator typically deal with?
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What is the narrator's tone towards his profession?
What is the narrator's tone towards his profession?
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Study Notes
The Narrator's Background
- The narrator is an elderly man who has been in contact with law-copyists or scriveners for the last 30 years.
- He has known many scriveners professionally and privately, and could relate many stories about them.
- He waives the biographies of other scriveners to focus on Bartleby, a unique scrivener.
Bartleby
- Bartleby is a scrivener of the strangest kind that the narrator has ever seen or heard of.
- There is no material available for a full and satisfactory biography of Bartleby, making it an irreparable loss to literature.
- The only information available about Bartleby is what the narrator has seen with his own eyes and one vague report.
The Narrator's Profession
- The narrator is a lawyer who has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best.
- He belongs to a profession that is proverbially energetic and nervous, but he has never suffered from turbulence.
- He is an unambitious lawyer who does a quiet business among rich men's bonds and mortgages and title-deeds.
The Narrator's Characteristics
- The narrator is considered an eminently safe man by those who know him.
- He is known for his prudence and method, as pronounced by the late John Jacob Astor.
The Narrator's Office
- The narrator held the office of Master in Chancery, which was not very arduous but pleasantly remunerative.
- The office was abolished by the new Constitution, which the narrator considers a premature act.
The Narrator's Chambers
- The narrator's chambers were located upstairs at No.—Wall-street.
- One end of the chambers looked upon a white wall of a spacious sky-light shaft, while the other end offered a view of a lofty brick wall.
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Description
Get to know the profession of law-copyists or scriveners through the eyes of a narrator who has had extensive contact with them. Explore the quirky characters and their stories.
