We can never be one hundred percent sure of the validity of our literary analyses. This is especially true in the case of Herman Melville's “Bartleby the Scrivener.” Critics have tried to make sense of the text for decades, and most will describe it as “inscrutable.” I don't pretend to know more than the critics, but instead offer my interpretation of the work. Based on my observations and analysis, Melville's use of many elements in his story - chief among them the character of Bartleby, but also the dead letters, the numerous walls of Wall Street, and the state of Wall Street itself - works well to develop a sense of desperation, intentional or unintentional, in the story as well as in the narrator and consequently in the reader. This desperation could arise from a number of influences, such as a certain "incurable disorder" that some critics claim is schizophrenia (Wilson), the quality of human uselessness in general, or the capitalist society in which the lives of Melville's characters take place . To understand Bartleby's influence on the desperate atmosphere of the story, we must first understand Bartleby's character and how he differs greatly from others. Bartleby is described as having a "cadaverously gentlemanly nonchalance" (1096) and solitary, friendless and solitary; “like a real ghost” (1095). Mitchell, in his critical essay, also observes that “Bartleby seems incapable of recognizing the possibility of hope.” (Mitchell) Finally, Bartleby is apathetic and whenever he is asked for something he simply replies “I'd rather not”. The lawyer, on the other hand, is intensely focused on Wall Street values ​​such as money, productivity and utility. Bartleby demonstrates great frustration with the lawyer... middle of paper... does not know the cause of Bartleby's suffering, but knows that Bartleby's desperation can only lead to death” (Mitchell). Cited Inge, M Thomas. Bartleby the Inscrutable: a collection of commentaries on Herman Melville's short story "Bartleby the Scrivener". Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1979. Print.Wilson, James C. “‘Bartleby’: The Walls of Wall Street.” Arizona Quarterly 37.4 (Winter 1981): 335-346. Literary Resource Center. Network. April 13, 2015.Mitchell, Thomas R. "Dead Letter and Dead Men: Narrative Purpose in 'Bartleby, the Scribe.'." Studies in short fiction. 27.3 (Summer 1990): 329-338. Literary Resource Center. Network. April 13, 2015.Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew. “Doing Justice to Bartleby” ATQ: A Journal of American Nineteenth Century Literature and Culture ns 17.1 (March 2003): 23-42. Literary Resource Center. Network. April 13 2015.