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Bartleby the Scrivener Study Guide

by Herman Melville

Bartleby the Scrivener study guide contains a biography of Herman Melville, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The narrator, an elderly lawyer who does a comfortable business helping wealthy men deal with mortgages, title deeds, and bonds, relates the story of the strangest man he has ever known. Bartleby is a new addition to the narrator's staff. The narrator already employs two scriveners, Nippers and Turkey. Nippers suffers from indigestion, and Turkey is a drunk, but the office survives because in the mornings Turkey is sober even though Nippers is irritable, and in the afternoon Nippers has calmed down even though Turkey is drunk. Ginger Nut, the office boy, gets his name from the little cakes he brings the men. Bartleby comes in answer to ad, and the narrator hires the forlorn looking young man in hopes that his calmness will soothe the…

Read the full Bartleby the Scrivener Summary

• Bartleby the Scrivener Summary
• About Bartleby the Scrivener
• Character List
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of of Pages 3-14
• Summary and Analysis of Pages 14-25
• Summary and Analysis of Pages 25-38
• Summary and Analysis of Pages 38-46
• Related Links on Bartleby the Scrivener
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Bartleby the Scrivener: Major Themes
• Bartleby the Scrivener: Essays
• Bartleby the Scrivener: E-Text
• Bartleby the Scrivener: Questions
• Bartleby the Scrivener: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Herman Melville: Biography