In the short story "Bartleby the Scrivener", Herman Melville uses plot, setting, point of view, characterization, and tone to reveal the theme. Different critics have very different ideas about what exactly the main theme of "Bartleby" is, but one theme that numerous critics agree on is the theme surrounding the lawyer, Bartleby, and humanity. The theme of "Bartleby the Scrivener" revolves around three main developments: Bartleby's existentialist point of view, the lawyer's portrayal of selfishness and materialism, and the humanity they both possess. The three developments present the lawyer and Bartleby's alienation from the world into a "safe" world of their own design. The lawyer, although an active member of society, alienates himself by forming walls with his own selfish and materialistic character. The story of "Bartleby the Scrivener" is told from the limited first-person point of view of the lawyer or narrator. This point of view allows the narrator's selfishness and materialism to influence how the story is perceived by the reader. The lawyer states, “All who know me think me an eminently sure man” (Melville 131). The lawyer is a very methodical and cautious man and has learned patience by working with others, such as Turkey, Ginger Nut and Nippers. However, the lawyer's constant concern for his own self-approval detracts from his benevolence towards Bartleby. Indeed, the lawyer is unable to see Bartleby's desperate situation because of his unshakeable concern about what the scribe can do for the lawyer's self-approval instead of what he can do for Bartleby. In this sense the lawyer's "wall" is a sort of safety net for one's ego. He does not allow Bartleby's irrationality to affect him because ... middle of paper ... heme portrays the alienation of the lawyer, or the narrator, and Bartleby from society in a safe world that they themselves have designated , symbolized by physical and figurative walls. Bartleby's existentialism and isolation, as well as the lawyer's selfishness and materialism, demonstrate the different characterization of humanity that each possesses. Works Cited Hoffmann, Charles G. "The Shorter Fiction of Herman Melville." [1953] Critics on Melville. Ed. Thomas J. Rountree. Coral Gables, Florida: University of Miami P, 108-10.Melville, Herman. "Bartleby the scribe." [1863]. Literature. 5th ed. Eds. James H. Pickering and Jeffery D. Hoeper. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 1997. 131-57.Seltzer, Leon F. The Vision of Melville and Conrad. Athens, OH: Ohio UP, 119. Tsuchinaga, Takishi. "Bartleby the Anchor." Rakuno Gakuen University Newspaper 16 (1991): 1-13.