18 Nov Bartleby, the Scrivener

Find and read the passage in “Bartleby, the Scrivener” that begins on page 555 5th edition, page 544 of the 6th edition, or page 543 of the 7th edition, with the sentence “And remembered a certain unconscious air of pallid–how shall I call it?–of pallid haughtiness…,” and ends on page 556 of the 5th edition, page 545 of the 6th edition, or 544 of the 7th edition, with the sentence “it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach.” In this passage, the narrator reflects on his response to the discovery that Bartleby has been living in the narrator’s office. . In a well-organized essay, trace the changing attitudes of the narrator toward Bartleby and discuss the significance of the narrator’s conclusion concerning Bartleby’s soul. In your response you may choose to consider elements such as diction, point of view, and tone.

Your essay should be approximately one to two pages in length. Use one-inch margins

and a 12-point font.

• The first paragraph should contain a thesis statement in which you clearly present the

argument you want to make in your essay.

• Each body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence in which you clearly state the

argument for that paragraph.

• Be sure to support your arguments with brief, relevant examples. Each body paragraph

should include at least three pieces of supporting evidence and should be clearly linked

together with intelligent commentary.

• When using direct quotations from the text, document your citation using standard

conventions (for example, use line numbers when quoting poems, act and scene

numbers for drama, and page numbers for fiction).