Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street is a short story by American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853. In the story, a Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk, who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copies or do any other task required of him, responding to any request with the words "I would prefer not to."
The narrator is an unnamed elderly lawyer who works with legal documents and has an office on Wall Street in New York. In his employ are two scriveners, Turkey and Nippers, whose ages are 60 and 25, as well as an errand boy nicknamed Ginger Nut, age 12. He then takes on another scrivener, Bartleby.
At first, Bartleby produces a large volume of high-quality work, but one day, when asked to help proofread a document, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his perpetual response to every request: "I would prefer not to." To the dismay of the narrator and the irritation of the other employees, Bartleby begins to perform fewer and fewer tasks and eventually none. He instead spends long periods of time staring out one of the office's windows at a brick wall. The narrator makes several attempts to reason with Bartleby or to learn something about him, but never has any success. When the narrator stops by the office one Sunday morning, he discovers that Bartleby is living there. He is saddened by the thought of the life the young man must lead.
