"Bartleby the Scrivener" Herman Melville

At the beginning of the "short" story, the narrator is glad to have a new copyist, which he considers to be, in contrast to Turkey and Nippers, calm. He is stunned when he first asks Bartleby to help him and is replied to with the answer, "I would prefer not to." He doesn't know what to do, but decides that he must finish his work and think about it at another time. On multiple occasions, when the narrator asks Bartleby to help he gets the same response, "I would prefer not to." In a state of outrage and uncertainty, he asks his other employees what they think of that response, and, at different times, Turkey and Nippers both get angry and say that Bartleby needs to leave or offer to beat him up. The narrator is very confused and intrigued by Bartleby's behavior, but does nothing about it. He just allows him to constantly reject his requests and get away with it. Eventually, Bartleby refuses to even copy anymore and just occupies the building at all times. He makes it his home, the place where he sleeps. Even under these conditions, the only thing the narrator does is ask him to leave, and when he "prefer(s) not to" he just lets him live there. I think that for some reason the narrator feels some sort of loyalty and duty towards Bartleby. He feels bad for him, because he has no family or friends that he has ever mentioned and must be lonely. When Bartleby still doesn't leave after given his 6-day notice, the narrator's only reasonable solution is to move his business and leave Bartleby there. The narrator is curious about Bartleby's whereabouts after the move, until one day when the new occupant of the building comes to complain about how Bartleby still won't leave. Once again, the narrator takes it upon himself to try to convince him to leave, even offering him the opportunity to live with him until they find other means of living space. Bartleby refuses as before, and eventually, the new occupants call the police and have him removed. In this case, the narrator goes to the jail to see him where Bartleby accuses him of being the reason that he was taken there. Still, the narrator is not mad at Bartleby, but wants to help him. He goes back to the jail for the second time and finds him dead. I think that the narrator thought of Bartleby as a responsibility of his. He kept mentioning the bible and the commandments, which indicates that he is a religious man. He thought it was his duty to help Bartleby once he became involved in his live, because he had no one else.