Katip Bartleby

"I'd rather not."

This famous sentence, which came from the mouth of a rare clerk working in a Wall Street law firm in the mid-nineteenth century and expressed his philosophy of life, has been repeated ever since.

Clerk Bartleby is a pioneer who draws the boundaries of work with passive resistance, saying that he prefers not to do the duties assigned to him. Bartleby, who 'chooses not to work' one day even though he does his job perfectly, is told from the perspective of the lawyer who owns the law firm. Unable to cope with his clerk's stubbornness, the lawyer wants to get rid of this useless man who stops not only working but also living, in the castle of capitalism, at his desk overlooking the walls of huge buildings, and eventually turns to an irrational and irrational solution. Bartleby's story reflects the individual's attitude towards society's rules, as well as opening a window to the issues of free will and determinism. It is surprising and thought-provoking that while Bartleby, who isolates himself from the world and does not compromise on his freedom, does not do anything he does not want, the lawyer, who is both pitied and angry at his clerk for not working, does not show the necessary reaction to this resistance.

Bartleby the Scrivener, who inspired important writers from Kafka to Albert Camus, is one of the pioneers of absurd literature and a cult work of American literature.

"Imagine my surprise, nay, my horror, when Bartleby, from where he was sitting behind the screen, said in a very soft but determined voice, 'I would rather not.'
(From the Promotional Bulletin)


Thin Cover:

Number of Pages: 80

Year of Printing: 2016


eBook:

Number of Pages: 42

Year of Printing: 2014


Language: Turkish
Publisher: Red Cat

Number of Pages: 80

First Printing Year: 2014

Language Turkish