Which Melville short story features a clerk who refuses to conform to his employer's norms about work?

Study for the Chronological Movements in American Literature Test. Explore key literary developments with multiple-choice questions, flashcards, and detailed hints. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which Melville short story features a clerk who refuses to conform to his employer's norms about work?

Nonconformity in the workplace and the pull between labor norms and individual choice are at the heart of this item. Bartleby, the Scrivener presents a clerk in a clerical job who gradually refuses to perform tasks that his employer expects, famously saying, “I would prefer not to.” This simple refrain becomes a sharp critique of a modern office economy that demands constant productivity, exposing how a worker’s withdrawal can challenge the authority of the boss and the social assumption that work defines worth. The story uses the employer’s bemused, then frustrated, reactions to illuminate themes of alienation, helplessness, and the limits of charity in a capitalist environment, all set within Melville’s finely observed Wall Street office world. The other works named aren’t Melville short stories about clerkly resistance to work—the Jungle is a Sinclair novel about immigrant labor, The Call of the Wild is a travelogue of a sled dog’s adventures, and The Awakening is a Chopin novel about personal freedom and social constraints—so Bartleby is the best fit for this description.

Nonconformity in the workplace and the pull between labor norms and individual choice are at the heart of this item. Bartleby, the Scrivener presents a clerk in a clerical job who gradually refuses to perform tasks that his employer expects, famously saying, “I would prefer not to.” This simple refrain becomes a sharp critique of a modern office economy that demands constant productivity, exposing how a worker’s withdrawal can challenge the authority of the boss and the social assumption that work defines worth. The story uses the employer’s bemused, then frustrated, reactions to illuminate themes of alienation, helplessness, and the limits of charity in a capitalist environment, all set within Melville’s finely observed Wall Street office world. The other works named aren’t Melville short stories about clerkly resistance to work—the Jungle is a Sinclair novel about immigrant labor, The Call of the Wild is a travelogue of a sled dog’s adventures, and The Awakening is a Chopin novel about personal freedom and social constraints—so Bartleby is the best fit for this description.

More practice questions