In Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, the narrator chooses not to tell us about his own life. Instead, he speaks about a strange fellow named Bartleby. The lawyer tells about Bartleby most likely because he feels a connection to the man based on their similarities. The lawyer subconciously sees that Bartleby is a more extreme version of himself. Both the lawyer and Bartleby are friendless and have no known family. While the lawyer pities Bartleby for never leaving the office, the lawyer himself rarely seems to go anywhere else either. He remains, like Bartleby, set off from society by his own choosing.
These similarities are what allow the narrator to have sympathy for Bartleby, time and time again. Even when the lawyer has seemingly moved on, he continues to come back to Bartleby and even visits him in prison. This dedication, shown by a man who "has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best", appears because the lawyer recognizes the connection between himself and his eccentric employee. (Melville, 642).
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