Description of a Narrator in Bartleby, the Scrivener

The narrator describes himself as a lawyer who is unwilling to think more than necessary to do his work well and live a good and comfortable life. In my opinion, such a view makes his life better and much easier, as he has a very positive attitude toward the world. He has a vast network of connections and finds a scrivener Bartleby the most interesting one. According to the author, the scrivener is very smart and, when learning something, considers only initial sources trustworthy. Such an attitude attracted him to the narrator, who seems interested in ordinary people: being able to establish connections quickly, he may choose the best of them.

In addition to his views that the way of living should be the easiest possible, he has many connections with people and does not forget to mention as many of them as possible. When talking about John Jacob Astor and his fellowship with this famous man, he seems very proud. Such name-dropping reveals his pride and very high self-esteem, which correlate with his attitude toward life. I think that the easiness of living is his core belief, and while having a broad set of connections, he feels good about mentioning the best of them. Examples are Bartleby and John Jacob Astor: the former due to his intelligence and the latter due to his fame and money.

Thus, according to his writings, the narrator is a really “eminently safe man,” Everybody who sees him is friendly and often even thanks him for his appearance in their lives. He reaches such a situation through his friendly attitude toward everyone, ease in his manners, and readiness to listen and talk with everyone. In addition, his high self-esteem naturally attracts people who are happy to be closer to such a generous person.