I Would Prefer Not To 1.25” Button Bartleby Quote Melville Wall Street Job USA

Description

I Would Prefer Not To
'Bartleby' Quote Button
This listing is for a 1.25" button with the quote "I Would Prefer Not To," from the short story 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' by Herman Melville ("Moby Dick").
"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in Melville's 'The Piazza Tales' in 1856. In the story, a Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to make copy or do any other task required of him, with the words "I would prefer not to". It seems rude to force the man to do anything, but he refuses to give any reason why he is electing to do nothing. The lawyer cannot bring himself to remove Bartleby from his premises, and decides instead to move his office.
Bartleby the Scrivener explores the theme of isolation in American life and the workplace through actual physical and mental loneliness. Bartleby never leaves the office, but repeats what he does all day long, copying, staring, and repeating his famous words of "I would prefer not to", leading readers to have another image of the repetition that leads to isolation on Wall Street and the American workplace.
Wear this button while refusing to do something, while carrying out an unpleasant chore, while working at a dead-end job, or while reading some classical literature.
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Pin back on each button. US penny for scale. Penny NOT included in price of button.