Bartleby the scrivener i would prefer not to

Bartleby chose to be polite yet obdurate in preserving his individuality throughout the course of the story by simply repeating, вЂњI would prefer not to.вЂќ In only one instance, Bartleby said no was when his vision was impaired and he decided not to do any more writing (page 311).

It took the lawyer a while to realize that Bartleby meant no in a polite manner and he was impervious to reasoning (page 302). However, Bartleby uses вЂњpreferвЂќ as a substitute for вЂњno.вЂќ The first time Bartleby used his famous phrase, вЂњI would prefer not to,вЂќ the narrator could not believe his ears. Preferring to do something often implies that if one had a choice, one would rather not perform the task, but in the case that one does not have a choice, s/he will perform the task assigned. The dictionary definition of the word вЂњpreferвЂќ is, вЂњlike (one thing or person) better than another or others tend to chooseвЂќ ( ). While the meaning of the word is misleading and a source of irritation to his employer and co-workers, Bartleby was stolid and unaffected by their reaction. BartlebyвЂ™s use of the word вЂњpreferвЂќ is a powerful choice in this literature.

Bartleby the scrivener i would prefer not to