Short Story: ‘Bartleby’ by Herman Melville
13 August 2010
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Now, the Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.
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Our story this week is called “Bartleby." It was written by Herman Melville, one of America’s best-known writers. Here is Shep O’Neal to tell you the story in Special English.
(MUSIC)
SHEP O’NEAL: I am an old lawyer, and I have three men working for me. My business continued to grow and so I decided to get one more man to help write legal papers.
I have met a great many people in my days, but the man who answered my advertisement was the strangest person I have ever heard of or met.
He stood outside my office and waited for me to speak. He was a small man, quiet and dressed in a clean but old suit of clothes. I asked him his name. It was Bartleby.
At first Bartleby almost worked himself too hard writing the legal papers I gave him. He worked through the day by sunlight, and into the night by candlelight. I was happy with his work, but not happy with the way he worked. He was too quiet. But, he worked well…like a machine, never looking or speaking.
One day, I asked Bartleby to come to my office to study a legal paper with me. Without moving from his chair, Bartleby said: “I do not want to.”
I sat for a short time, too surprised to move. Then I became excited.
“You do not want to. What do you mean, are you sick? I want you to help me with this paper.”
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