Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”


Herman melville quote i would prefer not to classic book Etsy Book

In their simplicity and politeness, these five words -"I would prefer not to"- and the use of the verb "prefer" most notably - achieve a paradoxical significance within the narrative. The statement juxtaposes a conditional with a negative sense, and this lends the reply its force.


I Would Prefer Not To Novel by Herman Melville ShopiPersia

"Melville seems to promise the very stuff of existence: time, space, air. We don't so much read him as inhale him." — Geoffrey O'Brien, Village Voice "There are very few stories that, on re-reading after re-reading, seem to become impossibly more perfect, but Herman Melville's eerie, aching story 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' is one such."


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

Critics have disagreed over the story's meaning, with this tale of one man who repeatedly asserts that he 'would prefer not to' carry out the orders of his employer inviting a raft of interpretations. Melville (1819-91) wrote 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' in 1853, and it was first published in Putnam's Magazine later that year.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

Important Quotes Explained Page 1 "I would prefer not to." This is the most famous line in Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," and perhaps one of the most famous lines in American literature. Whenever the Lawyer asks his scrivener Bartleby to do something, Bartleby responds, "I would prefer not to."


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

For me, it's the finest short story ever written. And the ending: it delivers a serious punch, a conclusion which invites you to reconsider Bartleby's entrenched refusals to comply.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

In Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," the title character constantly repeats the phrase "I would prefer not to," (Melville 1489) eventually becoming jailed and dying alone because of his abstinence. While critics disagree about interpretation, Bartleby's unpleasant end could be perceived as a dig towards Henry David Thoreau, who.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.” (12 wallpapers

Bartleby. For decades, literary critics have argued over how to interpret the character of Bartleby from "Bartleby the Scrivener" (1853). At first glance, he seems to have little or no character to speak of: he arrives at the offices of the Lawyer, is hired to do some copying, then begins to respond to any request made of him with "I would.


I Would Prefer Not To Essential Stories by Herman Melville

We don't so much read him as inhale him." -- Geoffrey O'Brien, Village Voice "There are very few stories that, on re-reading after re-reading, seem to become impossibly more perfect, but Herman Melville's eerie, aching story 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' is one such." -- Stuart Kelly, Guardian. "Melville instinctively aspired to the grandest scale.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

Melville wrote "Bartleby" at a time when his career seemed to be in ruins, and the story reflects his pessimism. The narrator, a successful Wall Street lawyer, hires a scrivener named Bartleby to copy legal documents. Though Bartleby is initially a hard worker, one day, when asked to proofread, he responds, "I would prefer not to."As time progresses, Bartleby increasingly "prefers.


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About I Would Prefer Not To. A new selection of Melville's darkest and most enthralling stories in a beautiful Pushkin Collection edition Includes "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno" and "The Lightning-Rod Man" A lawyer hires a new copyist, only to be met with stubborn, confounding resistance.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.” (12 wallpapers

Quote by Herman Melville: "I would prefer not to." Find & Share Quotes with Friends Herman Melville > Quotes > Quotable Quote (?) "I would prefer not to." ― Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener tags: ego , melville , mystery , nobody , puzzle , secret Read more quotes from Herman Melville Share this quote: Like Quote Recommend to friends


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

Bartleby the Scrivener Quotes. "I would prefer not to.". "Ah, happiness courts the light so we deem the world is gay. But misery hides aloof so we deem that misery there is none.". "Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!". "Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance.".


I Would Prefer Not To / Bartleby the Scrivener Herman Melville Etsy

Kindle $13.99 Rate this book I Would Prefer Not To: Essential Stories Herman Melville 3.79 57 ratings18 reviews A new selection of Melville's darkest and most enthralling stories in a beautiful Pushkin Collection edition Includes "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno" and "The Lightning-Rod Man"


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

Herman Melville was born to a merchant family in New York City in 1819. His father died suddenly in 1832, and Melville took jobs as a bank clerk, a farmhand and a teacher to make ends meet. In 1839, he embarked on the first in a series of sea voyages that would provide him with inspiration for his novels Typee (1846), Omoo (1847) and his great.


Herman Melville Quote “I would prefer not to.”

" Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street " is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam's Magazine and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856.


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3.9 5 ratings See all formats and editions A new selection of Melville's darkest and most enthralling stories in a beautiful Pushkin Collection edition Includes "Bartleby, the Scrivener", "Benito Cereno" and "The Lightning-Rod Man" A lawyer hires a new copyist, only to be met with stubborn, confounding resistance.