Meaning- THEME

Does the story leave you thinking anything ? feeling anything? what do you make out of it all? passive , aggressive people are difficult to accommodate, difficult to ignore. Passive resistance is a radical form of rebellion. Offices , where americans spend the greater part of their lives , are not democracies . have a life outside work! dont expect your occupation to bear the burden of your existence. what other ideas does the story suggest to you?

The story of Bartleby made me feel a sad in the ending and it also made me think about how selfish people and also how tough some people have it, because Bartleby died and how sad his life was, he was like a depressed robot. Another thought I had was how it was probably destiny for Bartleby to appear into the boss's life so that a change could develop in the boss's way of thinking about life and other people. I agree with the sentences, "Aggressive people are difficult to accommodate, difficult to ignore" "Passive resistance is a radical form of rebellion" because for example Bartleby was a so passiv and calm and only said thing he would say is " I prefer not to" when he was asked to do a task. Turkey and Nippers were aggressive they got annoyed by Bartleby quickly and wanted to attack him, they didn't accommodate to anything not even the fact that Bartleby didn't leave the office so they would never see him. "Offices , where americans spend the greater part of their lives , are not democracies." I don't agree with this because people should have a life outside work, you shouldn't expect your occupation to bear the burden of your existence, this was what Bartleby did he didn't really have a life, except how he had a lady in the office with him one night, all Bartleby was work also the boss, in the story there was no sign that the boss had a life outside of the office or even had a family.

Point Of View

who tells the story? -the first person narrator , who is flawed but human ... he's reliable , we trust him. His actions definitely support what he tells us about himself ; especially the part about being a man who likes to take the "easy" way . what else is gained by telling this story from the boss perspective? why not one of the other clerks.

The person telling the story is the boss. The boss is the first person narrator , he is flawed but human, he is reliable and we do trust him.His actions do support what he tells us about himself, especially the part about being a man who likes to take the "easy" way, because he doesn't aspire anything. The story is told in the Boss perspective to show the reader that he is a man who only cared about himself and Bartleby changed him, also so the story could be more interesting much more dynamic and set every point the author is making through the story. The story is not told by any of the other clerk because if it was told by Nippers, Turkey or Ginger nut then Bartleby would just be criticized, the story would probably go off topic and their personalities wouldn't be as funny, things would just be vague. Nipper, turkey and Ginger nut are there characters to make the story more entertaining and also for us readers to know some more opinions about the Bartleby situation. Without them we wouldn't have realized the bosses change.

Harriet Jacobs

• Harriet Ann Jacobs was born in 1813, she was born in North Carolina , Edenton.
• It was not Harriet Jacob's nature to give up without a fight. Born into slavery, Harriet Jacobs would thwart repeated sexual advancements made by her master for years, then run away to the North.
• Harriet's mother, Delilah, was the slave of John Horniblow, a tavern-keeper, and her father, Daniel Jacobs, a white slave owned by Dr. Andrew Knox. Delilah died when Harriet was six years old and was brought up by her grandmother.
• Her father- was the son of a white man - named Henry Jacob.
• after this she found out that she was a slave, she moved with her grandmother Molly
• Her grandmother's mistress taught Harriet how to read and sew, she learn about Christianity through the mistress and her grandmother.
• Harriet Jacobs wrote herself Incidents in the life of a slave girl which was published in 1861 under another name.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Sjacobs.htm / http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/jaco-har.htm

Slave Trade

• weapons , goods,captured slaves
• Most slaves were from Africa
• Hundreds of slaves were put in a ship with barely any space to breath
• Slaves were sold like items in a market
• there was violence all over the ship
  
• slaves were punished if they didn't want to eat - they were hanged upside down
• some slaves were thrown off the ship with cannon balls chained to their feet.
• many slaves died because of hunger and cruelty , many were murdered to set an example to other slaves so they wouldn't rebel.

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h603.html / my own knowledge.

Fugitive Slave Act/ Law

• this law was pass to protect the properties of the Masters
• This law was passed on 1793
• if the North say any slaves they had to be "good citizen" and report it to the south , or hold it for the owner.
• heavy penalties were imposed upon anyone who helps a slaves
• The law stated that in future any federal marshal who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave could be fined $1,000. People suspected of being a runaway slave could be arrested without warrant and turned over to a claimant on nothing more than his sworn testimony of ownership. A suspected black slave could not ask for a jury trial nor testify on his or her behalf.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASfugitive.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0819828.html

Abolition Movement

• From the 1830s until 1870, the abolitionist movement attempted to achieve immediate emancipation of all slaves and the ending of racial segregation and discrimination.
• both white and black Abolitionist fought against slavery during the 9th century.
• The Abolition movement happened in the 1800's to end slavery.
• The majority of abolitionists activity happened in the United States and Great Britain, but it also happened in other countries as well.
• Antislavery began in the colonial days in the United States.
• Abolitionist : William Lloyd Garrison,Sojourner Truth,Harriet Tubman,Frederick Douglass,Henry "Box" Brown,Harriet Beecher Stowe.

http://afgen.com/abmovement.html / http://www.mce.k12tn.net/civil_war/abolitionists.htm

Plantation life

• Slaves worked for long hours endlessly clearing the land, plowing fields, raising livestock, making buildings, and planting crops to transform the landscapes into luxurious plantations.
• Labor was intense and if you didn't work fast or the master saw you resting you would get whipped or punish .
• Slaves usually received cornmeal salt herrings, and eight pounds of pork or fish each month for food.
• Women would most their work in the house cleaning , washing ,mending. Female slaves and young children usually served as domestics, tending to the master's family as cooks, servants, and housemaids, and were often starved, whipped, and even raped.
• slaves slept on the floor with just a "coarse" blanket
• Man would usually attend the fields, garden and Horses
• Music and religion is what gave slaves a reason to live and it gave them strength
• slaves believed in Christianity
• slaves lived in bad conditions but they had gone through so much that their bodies and minds were strong.

http://americanabolitionist.liberalarts.iupui.edu/plantation_life.htm