Bartleby the Scrivener

The story  of Bartleby the Scrivener is of a clash between the stubborn Bartleby and the passive Lawyer. This is not exactly a conflict though because the lawyer feels bad for Bartleby and the only problem is that Bartleby stops working and just lives in the office. At first, I thought Bartleby would be a symbol for the robotic worker who just does whatever his employer says, but then Bartleby said "I would prefer not." for the first of many times. The lawyer puts up with this for a surprisingly long time. The lawyer had some sort of a respect or showed concern for Bartleby. The lawyer makes many attempts to reach out to the alienated Bartleby; the lawyer even tries to help him financially. Eventually, Bartleby goes to prison. The lawyer still shows his care for Bartleby by suggesting that he gets the best food in prison, but Bartleby refuses to eat. When Bartleby finally dies, Melville creates sympathy for Bartleby. The lawyer reveals in the end that he discovered that Bartleby used to destroy letters that were intended for dead people. I can see how this would cause some psychological damage to a person leading to Bartleby's refusal to relate to any living person. I think the moral of the story is not to judge anyone until one knows that person's story.