To Prefer or Not

To Prefer or Not

 "Imagine my surprise, nay, my consternation, when without moving from his privacy, Bartleby in a singularly mild, firm voice, replied, "I would prefer not to."(21)

 

     "I would prefer not to" (21) replies Bartleby to his employer after being asked to examine a small paper. His employer, the narrator of Bartleby, the Scrivener written By Herman Melville, was shocked when his employee of only three days refused to do what was asked of him. There is a time when we all feel like telling our employers "we prefer not to", but often we find ourselves doing what we don't like to do to keep in good standings with our boss. We often will find ourselves overworked, under- payed, and exasperated. The thought of standing up and verbalizing are thoughts, without the fear of losing our positions, would be liberating. I would prefer not to write this essay, but if I didn't I would fail and failure is not an option.We all have a choice, but there are consequence's of our decisions. Bartleby may have the power to opt out, but he was taking a great risk in doing so.  Bartleby was lucky that his employer was too stunned with his refusal to fire him.
     The phrase "I would prefer not to" is used through out the story to show Bartlby's reluctance in everything that is asked of him. His preference in; reading the copies, then writing them, leaving the office, in eating, finally his preference in living; has defined his existence. The narrator and his other employees began to use the phrase without even realizing it. Living your life without preference is not living at all. Bartleby is a great example of a person who really couldn't care less about anything.
The employer tried to help Bartleby find a new job, a new residence, and secure a good meal for him; but in the end it was Bartleby's choice and he preferred not to.

 

Ralf Roletschek [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons