Moby Dick

I really enjoyed reading this short story. Bartleby’s indifference and passivity reminded me somewhat of Mersault’s from Albert Camus’s The Stranger, as well as Peter Gibbons’s from the movie Office Space. Being assigned to the “Literary Allusions and Other Moments of Literature” category of our Moby Dick blog, I was intrigued by Melville’s reference to Cicero and why the narrator has a plaster-of-paris bust of the Roman philosopher in his office. In addition to being a philosopher, Cicero was also a lawyer and politician. Despite his opposition to the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar, his political positions were inconsistent and tended to shift in response to changes in the political climate. While this may be a very subtle reference, I feel that Melville makes it to draw a parallel between Cicero and the narrator, as well as emphasize the narrator’s inability to take a firm position on how to handle the strange character of Bartleby. In addition to this allusion, Melville sums up the narrator’s character in the third paragraph of the story; he writes,

I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best… I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause… All who know me, consider me an eminently safe man. (Melville 5)

Melville characterizes the narrator as a “safe man” who always takes the path of least resistance. While the narrator tries to learn about Bartleby and does seem to ponder about his situation, he finds it much easier to leave Bartleby behind and fend for himself. He would like to be charitable and selfless, but he never goes out on a limb to help Bartleby. He never actually asks Bartleby if there is anything that he can do for him; he can only ask Bartleby to do things for him.

References:

Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.”http://www.enotes.com/bartleby-scrivener-text/bartleby-scrivener-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero

As Professor Friedman has said, Melville makes numerous references to literature, philosophy, and Greek/Roman mythology and history in Moby Dick.

In the first paragraph of the novel, Melville alludes to the Roman politician known as Cato the Younger. Cato lived from 95 BC to 46 BC and was a statesmen during the late Roman Republic. He is remembered for his stubbornness and being in staunch opposition to Gaius Julius Caesar and the triumvirate. I may be simplifying this quite a bit, but I believe that a Civil War broke out between supporters of Caesar and a faction of the Senate who opposed Caesar; the latter group included Cato. After Caesar’s troops defeated the rebellion army in the Battle of Thaspus, Cato committed suicide by stabbing himself (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Younger)

In Moby Dick, Ishmael compares his need to go to sea to Cato’s suicide: Melville writes:

Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world… This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship (3).

I know we talked briefly in class about how “pistol and ball” could mean that sailing is Ishmael’s substitute for either killing himself or going on a murderous rampage; however, I believe this reference to Cato’s suicide indicates that Ishmael is referring to the former. It would also be difficult for Ishmael to kill others with a just a single ball which also implies suicide.

Melville could be making this reference to Cato for a couple of reasons. He could be trying to foreshadow that Ishmael is a rebellious character who might stand up to Captain Ahab (the nautical Caesar). He could also be trying to illustrate that Ishmael’s character is somewhat pretentious since he is comparing himself to Roman figure who had the courage to oppose Caesar. Finally, Melville could simply be making a reference to Cato because he wants to show the readers that he is familiar with the history and is therefore an educated and learned individual.