Bartleby The Scrivener-The Meaning To The Presence Of Turkey And Nippers Essay, Research Paper

In the story,” Bartleby the Scrivener”, it is possible to see some serious meanings to the presence of Turkey and Nippers. One of the reasons Turkey and Nippers might be in this story is because of the problems the narrator is having with these characters, may also end up being the same problems he has with Bartleby. In this story Turkey is an alcoholic and can not do his job in the afternoon. In the morning Turkey is a great worker and is very useful to the narrator. In the afternoon he will be after having a few drinks and will no longer be able to function at the best of his abilities. The narrator no longer finds Turkey useful in the afternoons so he is really just taking up space during this time. Nippers works at the opposite time of Turkey. His best work is done in the afternoon. He was a very nervous and anxious man who had to take all of his anxiety out in the short period of time in the morning. He had to do this before he could concentrate and settle down to do his work. Unlike Turkey he did not need the alcohol to have these two sides to his personality. This was just part of his own personal existence. When the narrator hires Bartleby he is thinking and hoping that this is a man who can work at his best for the whole day. Nippers and Turkey might be here therefore to show us that the narrator is going to have the same problems with Bartleby. Nippers and Turkey also give us something to compare Bartelby to.

Another reason Turkey and Nippers might be in the story is because they can be part of the setting. The story is taking place around the 1850’s. The mood is set by there only being two windows to look through and one was kind of a black wall. It’s a depressing setting, there is not much to be happy about. Nippers and Turkey can be a representation of what will happen to people that work in this office. They are in a depressed setting and neither of them seem to want to be there. After a while you start to take a different attitude and outlook on life.

Turkey and Nippers could also be in the story to make the narrator feel good about himself. The narrator should have fired both Turkey and Nippers. Both of them were only working half of the days and were almost useless the other half. Turkey was an alcoholic and dressed poorly. Instead of firing them the narrator let them both stay on the job. The narrator may have some guilt about things that he has done in his life and by letting these two men stay to work for him he feels he is doing something good and useful. He figures Turkey and Nippers would probably never last at any other job and he feels they wouldn’t be able to survive without this job. So the narrator is making himself feel good providing space for these men and paying them for their services even though it is only half of a days work. Turkey and Nippers have important meaning to the story, ” Bartleby the Scrivener”. They are foreshadowing what Bartleby will be like after working at the office for only a little time. They both play a role in the setting of the story and hoe the office will change your personality and perspective on life after working there for sometime. As well Turkey and Nippers relieve the narrator of some of the guilt he may have about things he has done in the past.