"Bartleby, the Scrivener" and "the Metamorphosis" Literature Essay

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“Bartleby, The Scrivener” and “The Metamorphosis”
“Bartleby, the Scrivener”, and “The Metamorphosis” short stories appear different since their plots have no significant similarities. The primary purpose of Herman Melville is to address and comment on the man’s condition by demonstrating how one travels through life alone. On the other side, Franz Kafka’s goal might have been to illustrate the struggles people face while expressing their identity in the present world. However, similarities between these stories may be found from the characters, the symbols, as well as through their narrative view. The main characters in “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, and “The Metamorphosis” are Bartleby and Gregor Samsa, respectively. This literature maintains that the main characters coincide through ways such as how they are alienated from society, dehumanized, and unable to live without interference from other people.
In the scrivener, the author has demonstrated how Bartleby struggles to determine whether he should continue practicing law. In one instance, he states that he “would prefer not to” (Melville, p.7). Additionally, Bartleby’s level of commitment and performance starts diminishing, which forces him to stop all activities. Further, Bartleby’s high level of inactivity and poor performance becomes the main reason he is socially loathed. Additionally, Bartleby’s laziness may be attributed to the fact that he has nothing to lose and knows how to take advantage of other vulnerable individuals. Moreover, the alienation from other society members is demonstrated by how Bartleby stays in a corner within this workplace, and he rarely goes out to eat and would only speak if he is spoken to first. Besides, Bartleby has very minimal interactions with colleagues. On the other side, Gregory in the Metamorphosis experiences a similar fate; after his remarkable metamorphosis, he starts feeling alienated from his family members. The main reason for Gregor’s alienation at the family level is that he looks different from other family members. The hatred he experienced from the family members is attributed to the inability to provide from the family since he was their provider. Before transforming to an insect, Gregor was filled with gratitude since he would easily provide for his family. However, he is filled with displeasure when he thinks about the family’s financial situation and the need to make adjustments to conform into the current situation. Most importantly, before Gregor’s transformation, he had felt isolated at his job, and the nature of his work as a traveling salesman complicated his social relations since he only managed to establish casual acquaintances.
Additionally, both Bartleby and Gregor are regarded as social rejects because of their failures and because they do not conform to what is considered socially acceptable by other members of society. However, it would be critical to note that Bartleby’s alienation is facilitated by free will and the personal decisions he made. Ideally, Bartleby considers his cubicle as his home; it’s where he eats, sleeps and hangs...