1. What effect does the opening paragraph have on its readers? How are Bartleby and the narrator different?
2. What does the story (“Bartleby”) imply about society in the 1800s? In what ways does the absence of nourishment and dysfunctional eating symbolically reinforce the story’s themes
3. Why is Bartleby often described in terms reminiscent of a “corpse” and a “ghost”? What is the view from the windows of the law office and why is this important in the story?
4. Bartleby repeatedly replies “I would prefer not to” in response to his boss’s requests. Write about whether this stock phrase shows Bartleby to have free will or not.
5. What is the significance of the Christ metaphor? Why?