Read: Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street Study Guide.
1. What effect does the opening paragraph have on its readers? How are Bartleby
and the narrator different?
2. What does the story (Bartleby) imply about society in the 1800s? In what ways
does the absence of nourishment and dysfunctional eating symbolically reinforce
the storys themes
3. Why is Bartleby often described in terms reminiscent of a "corpse" and a "ghost"?
What is the view from the windows of the law office and why is this important in
the story?
4. Bartleby repeatedly replies I would prefer not to in response to his bosss
requests. Write about whether this stock phrase shows Bartleby to have free will
or not.
5. What is the significance of the Christ metaphor? Why?
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