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Bartleby the Scrivener and The Confidence Man
Although most people do not think of Herman Melville as a particularly funny writer, his "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "The Confidence Man" have kept readers laughing for a century and a half.
"Bartleby" is a simultaneously accurate and absurd depiction of life in a Wall Street office in the middle of the nineteenth century. It is the gentle comedy of a boss' helpless inability to control a stubborn employee, who when asked to do ordinary chores around the office simply responds, "I prefer not to."
In "The Confidence Man, " Melville skewers the hypocrisies and inadequacies of America and Western civilization through ridicule. His biting satire leaves many readers smirking until the moment when they recognize someone remarkably like themselves as the next target in the con man's sights.
"Bartleby" is a simultaneously accurate and absurd depiction of life in a Wall Street office in the middle of the nineteenth century. It is the gentle comedy of a boss' helpless inability to control a stubborn employee, who when asked to do ordinary chores around the office simply responds, "I prefer not to."
In "The Confidence Man, " Melville skewers the hypocrisies and inadequacies of America and Western civilization through ridicule. His biting satire leaves many readers smirking until the moment when they recognize someone remarkably like themselves as the next target in the con man's sights.
368 pages, ebook
Published September 1, 2009
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About the author
Herman Melville
2,267 books4,490 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was no longer well known to the public, but the 1919 centennial of his birth was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick eventually would be considered one of the great American novels.
Melville was born in New York City, the third child of a prosperous merchant whose death in 1832 left the family in dire financial straits. He took to sea in 1839 as a common sailor on a merchant ship and then on the whaler Acushnet, but he jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands. Typee, his first book, and its sequel, Omoo (1847), were travel-adventures based on his encounters with the peoples of the islands. Their success gave him the financial security to marry Elizabeth Shaw, the daughter of the Boston jurist Lemuel Shaw. Mardi (1849), a romance-adventure and his first book not based on his own experience, was not well received. Redburn (1849) and White-Jacket (1850), both tales based on his experience as a well-born young man at sea, were given respectable reviews, but did not sell well enough to support his expanding family.
Melville's growing literary ambition showed in Moby-Dick (1851), which took nearly a year and a half to write, but it did not find an audience, and critics scorned his psychological novel Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852). From 1853 to 1856, Melville published short fiction in magazines, including "Benito Cereno" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener". In 1857, he traveled to England, toured the Near East, and published his last work of prose, The Confidence-Man (1857). He moved to New York in 1863, eventually taking a position as a United States customs inspector.
From that point, Melville focused his creative powers on poetry. Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) was his poetic reflection on the moral questions of the American Civil War. In 1867, his eldest child Malcolm died at home from a self-inflicted gunshot. Melville's metaphysical epic Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land was published in 1876. In 1886, his other son Stanwix died of apparent tuberculosis, and Melville retired. During his last years, he privately published two volumes of poetry, and left one volume unpublished. The novella Billy Budd was left unfinished at his death, but was published posthumously in 1924. Melville died from cardiovascular disease in 1891.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 14, 2023
"A felicidade
busca a luz, por iso xulgamos que o mundo
é alegre; pero o sufrimento ocultase na lonxanía, por iso xulgamos que non existe"
busca a luz, por iso xulgamos que o mundo
é alegre; pero o sufrimento ocultase na lonxanía, por iso xulgamos que non existe"
December 11, 2018
"Bartleby" is supposed to be a story about the changing nature of work (particularly the transition to office work) and the social isolation that comes from that, and "The Confidence Man" is supposed to be about the nature of trust in a "modern"/industrial economy (especially regarding the nature of transactions for assets that cannot be immediately confirmed to exist). But given the convoluted writing, these stories aren't about any of that. "Bartleby", no matter what anyone else says, is not funny, certainly not today and (given Melville's lack of success as a writer in his lifetime) probably not when it was first published either. I got about 20% of the way through "The Confidence Man" and couldn't take it anymore. Here is a passage (which describes an "animated" response) representative of the writing style:
That is some atrocious writing. I count 18 commas used in that one sentence. I am lost in a sea of clauses. Kant had clearer prose. For the love of God, someone have Melville call Orwell or Hemingway to figure out how to write a sentence! The con-man is the scholar who pulled Melville's writings out of the historical abyss where they should have stayed.
"Which animation, by the way, might seem more or less out of character in the man in gray, considering his unsprightly manner when first introduced, had he not already, in certain after colloquies, given proof, in some degree, of the fact, that, with certain natures, a soberly continent air at times, so far from arguing emptiness of stuff, is good proof it is there, and plenty of it, because unwasted, and may be used the more effectively, too, when opportunity offers."
That is some atrocious writing. I count 18 commas used in that one sentence. I am lost in a sea of clauses. Kant had clearer prose. For the love of God, someone have Melville call Orwell or Hemingway to figure out how to write a sentence! The con-man is the scholar who pulled Melville's writings out of the historical abyss where they should have stayed.
March 15, 2012
I prefer not to do a review of this book.
May 31, 2022
Loved Bartleby. Continued on to The Confidence Man and WOW it could've been a tenth its length and it would've been much better that way.
March 2, 2023
Excellent!
January 19, 2017
Over the last couple of months I have, (warning: blatant commercial blurb) enjoyed listening to my Amazon Prime -Audible audio channel while in the car. This short story was one good example. This story, which starts as a comedy deftly deepens into a more somber tale full of angst and reflection, even a little uncomfortable. I'm glad I finished it.
November 11, 2008
After some coaching and a reread, I take back what I said about "Bartleby..." I take it all back. This is, for its time and ours, a superior story.
August 30, 2019
Difficult read for me. Kept putting it down.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews