Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby the Scrivener" is about a lawyer who hires a copyist, named Bartleby, who politely refuses to not work. While most employers would not tolerate an employee who continually prefers to do less work, this attorney has difficulty firing or disciplining his scribe and allows his insubordination to continue for an extended period of time. Bartleby demonstrates great ability at copying documents and works diligently all day and night. The lawyer soon discovers that Bartleby has begun to reside in his office and never leaves it. After only a few days working there, he expressed his preference not to assist in the group reading of copied papers, a common editor's task. When asked to perform simple tasks, he responds, “I would prefer not to.” He uses this phrase several times throughout the story. And he seems to ignore the consequences of his actions and the emotional state he arouses in those around him. Some critics of the story suggest that there is a correlation between Bartleby's behavior and Herman Melville's current state of mind or "that Bartleby represents not only Melville but the 19th-century American artist in conflict with his environment” (Felheim 370). In the 21st century, when a person cannot easily adapt to their environment, it is generally called autism. Bartleby's ability to work well under precisely defined structural working conditions, his repetitive speech and behaviors, and his inability to understand or care about the mental distress of those around him demonstrate characteristics commonly observed in a person with the disorder. autistic. Autism is defined as a behavioral disorder that manifests itself as "qualitative deficiencies in social relationships...... middle of article ...... Full text. Internet. November 15, 2011. .Klin, Ami, Warren Jones, Robert Schultz and Fred Volkmar. “The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: lessons from autism.” Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences 358.1430, Autism: Mind and Brain. February (2003): 345-360. Jstor. Internet. November 15, 2011. .Melville, Herman. “Bartleby the Scrivener.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Julia Reidhead. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2007. 2363-89. PrintRapin, Isabelle. “Children with autism: diagnosis and clinical characteristics.” Pediatrics 87.5 (1991): 751. Academic research completed. Internet. November 15 2011. .