Man of Mystery (Part II)

I found Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" rather perplexing. I understood the plot of the tale, and I understood Bartleby's character. I was amused by Melville's dry humor by way of Turkey and Nippers, and I felt sympathy toward Bartleby throughout, especially in his death. Yet I am not sure I understand Bartleby's motivation. It is clear that something is off psychologically within Bartleby, yet I am never able to fully ascertain a cause. The only clue which the reader is given is when Melville reveals that "Bartleby had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington" and reflects upon this occupation of "Dead letters! does it not sound like dead men?"

In researching the Dead Letter Office (and by "research," I of course mean "Wikipedia"), I discovered that the office concerns letters which cannot be delivered because the address is either illegible, insufficient, or nonexistent. If all other methods of discovering the proper address are exhausted, the letter is then shredded--or, in Melville's time, burned. Melville indicates that he considers working in this office would likely be a hopelessly depressing job as one would constantly be destroying heartfelt pieces of correspondence. Yet I still do not believe that that alone could justify Bartleby's queer personality. I honestly cannot give a definitive answer myself concerning Bartleby's disposition; perhaps it simply cannot be surmised correctly. Perhaps Bartleby is intended to remain an enigma.

You Sad Little Man (Part One in the "I Don't Like Robert Cohn" Saga-Because I Feel This Will Not Be My Only Post on the Subject)

“‘Listen, Jake,’ he leaned forward on the bar. ‘Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?’

‘Yes, every once in a while.’

‘Do you know that in about thirty-five years more we’ll be dead?’

‘What the hell, Robert,’ I said. ‘What the hell.’”

-The Sun Also Rises, p 19

Well, Robert Cohn sounds like a cheerful character, doesn’t he? It seems that Cohn might be suffering some sort of midlife crisis. Then again, given his history, a midlife crisis is not too surprising. Hemingway does an excellent job of depicting Cohn as a rather pathetic creature. A victim of culture shock, Cohn becomes embittered and self-conscious. He marries the first girl that smiles at him. He then is shocked by his wife’s departure from him, though considering he was planning on doing the same, it seems as though the shock is not so much from the departure as from the idea that he was not his wife’s entire world. He promptly falls into the same rut with Frances.

Now, Cohn is suddenly beginning to realize that perhaps he does not have to attach himself to the first woman that shows him a bit of kindness. I am not stating this to summarize the plot; I am proving his patheity (thank you, chacha.com, for providing the noun form of “pathetic”). It is evident that Cohn is suffering from some degree of depression—or at least self-awareness—yet Hemingway’s rather despicable description of Cohn makes it rather difficult to show any amount of pity for him. It appears as though Hemingway wants the reader to feel pity for Cohn; frankly, I feel more disgust.