Written by Herman Melville, Bartleby, The Scrivener, is a short story that tells the story of a lucky Wall Street lawyer who hires a scribe named Bartleby to serve for his law firm. At the beginning, he is an excellent copyist but as the story progresses, his working potential diminishes. On the other hand, the narrator's attitude towards Bartleby constantly changes, leading him to be both introverted and extroverted. This essay will discuss an important conflict present throughout history: social responsibility versus social isolation. Furthermore, his actions will fuel the consequences of his reputation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, in the second passage, the narrator clearly demonstrates the notion of social responsibility through his altruistic character trait. “A feeling of caution began to come over me. My first emotions were those of pure melancholy and the most sincere pity.” He shows selflessness through his feelings towards Bartleby. The loneliness felt by the copyist is suffered by the narrator. He is empathetic and tries to understand the deepest and most sincere feelings of others, which represents how he demonstrates social responsibility through his thoughts and actions. Furthermore, when the narrator decides to no longer go to church, he is showing altruism because his absence from church is motivated by his concern and willingness to work things out with Bartleby. On the other hand, not going to church also makes him lose the notion of social responsibility since he is not acting in the interest of society. Second, the notion of social isolation appears clearly through the narrator's actions and his way of reasoning. "But as Bartleby's despair grew and grew in his imagination, that same melancholy turned into fear, that pity into revulsion." The narrator remained particularly compassionate towards Bartleby throughout the story. Variously, it is clear that his desolation and sympathy quickly turned into negative feelings towards Bartleby. His altruism turned into selfishness. Therefore, being self-centered, he also isolates himself from society by only thinking about himself and does not care about the well-being of others. Furthermore, his decision not to go to church refers to the notion of selfishness, because this decision shows that the narrator only thinks of himself. However, his way of reasoning shows that he shared so much selflessness towards Bartleby and as a result, his view towards him quickly changes. Third, the change in attitude of the narrator towards the scribe; Bartleby, can lead the copyist and the reader to misinterpret the narrator's good reputation. The lawyer shows signs of social responsibility towards the complex character of the copyist by feeling pity and empathy towards him. The narrator gives Bartleby more money than he actually owes him. In a sense, this is a sign of altruism since he decides to help her financially considering the fact that he cannot help her emotionally. He tried to do everything for someone who needed it. Thus, throughout the story, the lawyer demonstrates a duality in his personality, as he quickly changes his perception and attitude towards Bartleby. This change in attitude highlights one of the major conflicts in history between social responsibility and social isolation. Nonetheless, as the story continues, Bartleby's simple words "I'd rather not do it." drove the narrator crazy. By.