Bartleby And Civil Disobedience Essay Research Paper free essay sample

Bartleby And Civil Disobedience Essay, Research Paper The highly simplified definition of civil noncompliance given by Webster s Dictionary is nonviolent resistance to a jurisprudence through refusal to follow with it, on evidences of scruples. Thoreau in Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King in Letter from Birmingham Jail both argue that Torahs thought of every bit unfair in one s head should non be adhered to. In Herman Melville s Bartleby, a adult male named Bartleby is thought of by many to be practising civil noncompliance. His actions are nonviolent, and he refuses to follow with anything his foreman says. But his behaviour has nil to make with ethical motives. Bartleby is simply a alone cat who does non wish to work and has nil to make with civil noncompliance. Thoreau says that if unfairness is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of unfairness to another, so I say interrupt the jurisprudence ( Jacobus 134 ) . We will write a custom essay sample on Bartleby And Civil Disobedience Essay Research Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He is personally giving permission for an person to disregard anything he or she finds morally unacceptable. However, in Bartleby, Bartleby s boss topographic points no unfair Torahs and assigns no unfair work. He merely asks Bartleby to make easy undertakings such as, when those documents are all copied, I will compare them with you, or, merely measure around the Post Office, won T you? And see if there is anything for me ( Melville 116 ) . The foreman, who is besides the storyteller, neer requests Bartleby to execute any hard jobs. Martin Luther King, Jr. s reading of an unfair jurisprudence is, a codification that a numerical or power bulk group compels a minority group to obey but does non do binding on itself ( Jacobus 159 ) . The injustic vitamin E described here by King besides does non fit the word picture of Bartleby s foreman. Bartleby needs no civil noncompliance since nil could be considered unfair in the foreman s direction. Even if an unfair act were placed against Bartleby, he would non hold had any attentions about the unfairness. He was a adult male who needed a topographic point to populate and take to be a law-copyist. He has no desire to make any work and no desire to interact with other worlds. Anytime an order was given, the same response would answer from Bartleby s oral cavity: I would prefer non to ( Melville ) . Bartleby did non weigh the issues of morality and immorality in his assignments. He merely does non desire to cover with others. When asked to look over some work with Turkey and Nipping, he refuses. His foreman offers him a place, and he refuses this every bit good. The stoping footer to Bartleby provinces that Bartleby s old profession was a subsidiary clerk in the Dead Letters Office in Washington. The dead letters he handled had no association to any populating individual. Bartleby was accustomed to working at a topographic point where covering with adult male is unneeded. As Tho reau says, Dead letters! Does it non sound like dead work forces? ( Melville 140 ) . Bartleby has no connexion with civil noncompliance. King and Thoreau s thoughts of what civil noncompliance is do non fit up with the actions of Bartleby. Bartleby was non seeking to do a statement against unfair Torahs by non staying by them. He was merely a lone wolf. All his refusals to make what was ordered stemmed from his demand to be separated from humanity. Bartleby merely wanted to populate by himself with nil but his ain ideas to cover with.