Bartleby the Scrivener

"I would prefer not to..." This is Bartleby's constant remark to the characters of Herman Melville's  Bartleby the Scrivener.  Most of the characters, particularly the narrator's three employees, Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut, get wry annoyed of Bartleby's refrain very quickly. In the other hand, the speaker in the story doesn't show any anger towards Bartleby's response and is always very patient. His patience remains throughout the story, even when he is forced to love offices to escape from the stalker Bartleby. I think the reason for his putting up for Bartleby's presence and annoying tendencies is that he sees bits of himself in Bartleby. This is made especially evident at the end of the story when the narrator discovers Bartleby's backstory of having worked in a dead letter office. He sees how this depressing job has affected Bartleby and in my opinion, I think he believed he would have reacted the same way if he'd been in Bartleby's position. Throughout the story, resemblances can be seen between the speaker and Bartley such as their reserved demeanor and loneliness. This is all confirmed by the way the narrator reacts to his discovering Bartleby's story in the end.