Suppression and subversion through the walls in “Bartleby the Scrivener” In “Bartleby the Scrivener” an elderly lawyer recounts the mandate of a scribe, Bartleby, from his office . The progression of this employer/employee relationship describes the disengagement between opposing social classes and its consequences. The presence of the subtitle of “Bartleby the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street” was given great consideration. The subtitle carries with it the baggage of emerging capitalist culture, but also alludes to the confinement permitted by walls. Melville uses architecture strategically in his short story “Bartleby the Scrivener” to demonstrate the disengagement between social classes produced by capitalism. In the story, the narrator, representative of the upper class, controls the actual physical partition that separates him and the scribes, representatives of the lower class. In the same way that he controls sliding doors, the lawyer manipulates religion and economic factors to control the separation between him and Bartleby. Architecture is also part of Bartleby's characterization; always stare at a brick wall. Melville is acknowledging Bartleby's inability to overcome the brick wall. Melville demonstrates in the relationship between Bartleby and the lawyer that the walls each erects are not without consequences, ultimately leading to Bartleby's death. While capitalist culture constructs an enlightened window of opportunity for the lawyer, Bartleby is bound to the vision of a brick wall. Melville also uses architecture to demonstrate the ways in which each character engages and disengages from the other. Ultimately, the architecture of social classes that a capitalist culture produces results... middle of paper... of hand, Bartleby fails to overcome the boundaries of the lawyer, but finds a way to overcome them. manipulate them in order to subvert the lawyer's authority. The walls used by the lawyer and the scribe hide the bonds of common humanity that Melville is interested in discovering. Because the lawyer ignored the fraternal bond between them, he refused to recognize Bartleby as an individual, eventually causing his obliteration, due to starvation. Works Cited Barnett, Louise K. “Bartleby as Alienated Worker.” Studies in Short Fiction 6.4 (1974): 379-385. Print.Marx, Karl. The Communist Manifesto. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1954. Print.Melville, Herman. "Bartleby, the scribe." Series of electronic classics. Penn State U, 2002. 1-45. November 18, 2010.Wilson, James C. "'Bartleby': The Walls of Wall Street." Arizona Quarterly 37.4 (1981): 335-346. Press.