Response #5

The fact that Bartleby refuses to copy the manuscripts shows how he is deliberately braking the mold on what society wants to do. By law, it is mandatory that a Scrivener review the manuscripts that he is copying and because Bartelby does not comply with the "system" demonstrates how he refusing to conform on his predetermined obligations. Bartleby is taking a stance by engaging is passive resistance, a technique used by the great pacifists ranging from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Ghandi in order to prove his point that he will no longer comply of what has been placed on him. By not interacting and repeating the phrase "I prefer not to", Bartleby cunningly and tactfully disarms any argument that the lawyer could try and use. As a result, the lawyer goes through a range of emotion from range to pity to understanding due to the frustration that Bartleby's response stirs up. Bartleby also refuses to give any personal information such as his place birth just to illustrate how he is completely shut off and will not comply, even with the simplest of questions.