Bartelby the Scrivener

     I found the story Bartelby the Scrivener by Herman Melville to be extremely long boring, and frankly, pointless. The author used an excessive amount of details and seemed to ramble on. He also used quite a bit of characterization. The speaker spends multiple pages talking about his four workers, Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nut, and most of all, Bartelby. I found the character of Bartelby to be rude and annoying. I realize the point was to make him seem lonely, but I found his behavior ridiculous. The fact that he repeated "I would prefer not to" many times a page made me want to quit reading every time, because I knew what was going to happen each time he was questioned. The only line that kept me interested for more than a few seconds says Bartelby was "as useless as a necklace" (661). I found this statement to be far from the truth. Necklaces add so much to an outfit, they even complete outfits. Some people have necklaces they wear every day because they are a part of their person or simply statement necklaces they break out non occasion. Bartelby is not a necklace. He is the one that is useless. He does not complete anything. He is not a part of anyone's person or a "special occasion" kind of guy. It is obvious the speaker is a man because this is just wrong.