“Bartleby, the Scrivener” is an interesting short story written by Herman Melville for Putnam magazine at a time when Melville was in need of money (Davis 183). The narrator begins with a description of himself, his employees, and the fact that his business has recently grown. Soon after, the narrator, who is a lawyer, hires an additional employee named Bartleby, the story's namesake. He then tells the reader everything he knows about Bartleby: how he began to copy as he wished; how he then “preferred not” to carry out the tasks asked of him; how he was eventually fired but refused to leave, even when the lawyer moved his practice; how he was put in prison; and how he died of starvation while incarcerated. The narrator ends the story with a rumor that Bartleby had once been employed in the Dead Letter Bureau and that he, the narrator, feels pity and sympathy for the "poor soul" of Barleby (Melville). After reading the story for the first time, the reader feels the same sympathy, but there is also some confusion. What did Wall Street do to Bartleby to make him act the way he did? Could the lawyer have done anything to help him? Was the lawyer the cause of Bartleby's actions? Who was the protagonist? Was it Bartleby or the narrator? Although I too have many questions about Bartleby, I have found the answer to at least one of them and have chosen to share it with you. Bartleby is not the protagonist, as many believe. It is rather the lawyer, the narrator of the story, that the reader should favor. First of all, the lawyer is the narrator of the story, and although he focuses much of the story on Bartleby, we know more about him than we do about Bartleby. we make Bartleby through his actions and thoughts. ...... middle of paper ...... him than any other character in the story; all these characters are only his interpretations; and it is he who experiences the conflict of earthly verses and divine conventions. As a result, Bartleby is the antagonist of this story. Little is known about him; the reader only knows the interpretation that the narrator makes of it; and he is the cause of the conflict. Although many researchers examine this question in different ways, at least now you know the answer to one major question: the lawyer is the protagonist. Works Cited Davis, Todd F. "The Narrator's Dilemma in 'Bartleby the Scrivener': The Perfectly Illustrated Restatement of a Problem." » Studies in short fiction. 34.2 (1997): 183-192. Internet. February 15, 2014. Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” Literature to go. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2011. 101-129. Print.