Bartleby Essay

Bartleby Essay Discuss the conflict of the individuals' need to communicate his individual thoughts and feelings versus the desire of society's institutions, for conformity in Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and Updike's "A & P." In Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and John Updike's "A & P," the conflict of the individual thoughts and feelings versus the desire of society's institutions for conformity occurs with the characters who were different. Initially, a scrivener is someone who copies things …

…fearful of their disturbance, reminds them of where they are. He is scared that the "old and gray sheep's" conformity will be corrupted. This establishes the point that people who are different are punished for their differences. In conclusion, Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and John Updike's "A & P" establish that society feels that it is necessary for all people to conform. The walls built in the stories threaten society's conformation; therefore, they are punished.