What Does Bartleby Prefer Not To?: A Reinterpretation of Bartleby s Resistance with Organizational Theories

This paper focuses on the well-known enigmatic but key expression "I prefer not to," which Bartleby repeatedly uses in Herman Melville's short story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street." The expression has been interpreted as resistance, but against what Bartleby is resisting has long been discussed without producing a consensus. Recently, Bartleby became the central figure of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The movement views Bartleby as the symbol of hatred of capitalism. Using organizational theories, however, this paper tries to prove that Bartleby is mainly resisting the organizational system that was becoming the main feature of American business starting in the mid-nineteenth century. Four essential elements of organization clearly defined (organizational) goals, members, a structured system hierarchy, and communication are used to analyze the circumstances in which Bartleby uses the expression. This analysis will indicate that he (or Melville) is resisting the growth of business organization in the nineteenth century America. It suggests that Bartleby may be the embodiment of the narrator's nostalgia for the by-gone period in which independent artisans enjoyed freedom in their workplace.