At one point in the story of Bartleby the Scrivener, the author writes, "Meanwhile Bartleby sat in his hermitage, oblivious to everything but his own peculiar business there." As Bartleby's colleagues are hard at work, he is off in his own world and not helping with the work being done.
As I read this story I was mostly annoyed with Bartleby's character. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it really might be nice to be able to have Bartleby's attitude at times. Don't we all want to pick and choose the work that we do or don't do? Don't we all desire to be left alone to our own "peculiar business" sometimes? Bartleby may be annoying, but I think there is a piece of Bartleby's attitude in all of us.
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