In "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, the main character,
             Bartleby, and the narrator form a parallel to each other, and also
             compliment each other in terms of humanity. Both also lose part of their
             humanity as a result of the inhuman business environment in which they find
             themselves. As Bartleby however shows signs of losing all his humanity the
             dark, gray world in which he lives, he increasingly has a humanizing effect
             on the narrator. The humanizing process is complete with Bartleby's death.
             The effect of the dehumanizing world on Bartleby is manifest in the
             decayed nature of his physical body. A change in administration is what
             causes the loss of his original job, which was soul destroying to begin
             with. As Bartleby's working life with the narrator progresses, he becomes
             increasingly passive. His decay of body is thus followed by a decay of his
             spirit. He increasingly refuses gently to do anything at all. His words
             of refusal form a motif throughout the story: "I would prefer not to."
             The dehumanizing effect, as seen above, is evident first in
             Bartleby's appearance. The narrator describes his first impression of
             Bartleby as being "pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn
             (p. 66). Bartleby's initial hunger for work may be indicative of his
             previous loss of occupation. Still, simply having something to work at
             does nothing to restore his lost humanity. He does not enjoy the work, but
             keeps working "silently, palely, mechanically" (p. 67), yet he continues
             for a time until what little spark of interest was left in him, is
             After his first refusal to work, Bartleby's passivity becomes
             narrator later finds that his employee is living in the office, not
             bothering to go home. It is as if he is increasingly consumed to become
             part of his gray, drab surroundings. No effort to raise his in
             ...