Analysis of Bartleby the Scrivener
...iased due to the fact that we don’t hear anything directly from Bartleby on how he is feeling or why he does the things that he does. This narrative technique is probably used so the reader can gain more detail. For instance, if Bartleby were the narrator we would have been told everything up front about his life. This would make the story meaningless since everything Bartleby was doing would make sense to the reader. With the first person narration from the lawyer, the reader becomes more interested and yearns to finish the story to see what happens and if there is an explanation to Bartleby’s odd behavior. This is not the only way the narrative technique affects the story. The narrative technique is also used to set the tone of the story. The narrative technique chosen gives the feeling and meaning of the story as it is told. For example, the narrative efforts by the lawyer let the reader see and feel what the lawyer feels. If Bartleby or any of the other characters had been the narrator, we would have seen things from their point of view. When Bartleby is always repeating the fact that he’d prefer not to do anything that is asked of him, the reader becomes...