Bartleby the Scrivener

I have to admit that this was one of the strangest stories I've read. I wasn't really sure what to make of it as I was reading it. I have never run into anyone who acts as Bartleby does, and this is one thing I think most of us agree on. Having the answer "I would prefer not to" to every question is not a normal answer. Bartleby very peaceably refused to do any work or to leave the office, and what do you do with a worker like that? This was the question his boss really struggled with, and I think we all have to agree with him that it is a difficult question to answer. I tried to put myself in his place, but I had no idea what I would do with Bartleby either. Bartleby intrigued me, and I really wanted to be able to sit down and get to know him, to understand his past and how he ended up the way he did. But as much as most of us would really like that, Melville gave us no clues until the very end, when it was suggested that Bartleby perhaps had worked on a dead letter office. Even this little bit of information doesn't really say much, because it doesn't really explain why a person woul become like Bartleby and do nothing all day every day. Melville leaves us all guessing, and I'm not really a huge fan of that; nevertheless, it was a very thought-provoking story, and I did enjoy reading it, as strange as it was.