“Occupy Bartleby,”

As Russ Castronovo explores in his article “Occupy Bartleby,” Melville’s passive copyist became “a patron saint” (253) for the Occupy Wall Street Movement. This topic asks you to make an argument about what “Bartleby,” a nineteenth-century short story, can teach us about contemporary politics and protest. You may choose to look at a specific issue (Christian charity as a solution to social ills, the alienation of the worker, etc.) or to look at the implications of “Bartlebyan politics” more broadly. What are the strengths and limitations of Bartleby’s refusal to participate? What is the difference between protesting a single issue and Bartleby’s refusal to name a reason or goal for his “protest”? Your essay must focus on a close reading of “Bartleby” as text—that is, you must engage in a careful analysis of the short story itself and not simply refer to Bartleby as a cultural symbol.