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Food
One of the strongest motifs in “Bartleby the Scrivener” is the amount of references to food and drink. For example, two of the Lawyer's scriveners have food-related nicknames: Turkey and Ginger Nut. Ginger Nut is nicknamed for the cake he often delivers to his co-workers. Turkey's name is less obvious but it is possible that the nickname is a reference to his red complexion after he returns from lunch. Furthermore, one of the peculiarities that the Lawyer first notices about Bartleby is his lack of eating. He notes that Bartleby sometimes eats the ginger nut cakes, but he does not appear to eat any actual meals. The Lawyer considers this in one of the most amusing passages of the story: “My mind then ran on in reveries concerning the probable effects upon the human constitution of living entirely on ginger-nuts. What was ginger? A hot, spicy thing. Was Bartleby hot and spicy? Not at all. Ginger, then, had no effect upon Bartleby. Probably he preferred it should have none.” In a story where materialism plays a role, food makes a good metaphor for desire and avarice. Bartleby, who prefers not to deal with these things, is ultimately killed by food, or rather, the lack of it. Bartleby's death, while symbolically caused by his withdrawal into apathy, is physically caused by his refusal to eat, or rather, his preference not to eat—his preference not to engage in the avarice and greed of his materialistic world.
Descriptions of Routine
“Bartleby the Scrivener” is almost exclusively set in a Wall Street office. As a result, the story is filled with repeated, lengthy descriptions of routine and office life in general. For instance, the story opens with an extended description of the Lawyer’s Wall Street office, there are multiple passages that highlight what a scrivener is and what they are expected to do, and there are many moments throughout in which the Lawyer approaches his employees and asks them to complete some slight variation of the same task. The repeated emphasis on routine is a crucial component of the narrative because it creates a dull, monotonous tone that persists throughout the text. The Lawyer is even self-aware enough to admit that working as a scrivener for a legal office is a “very dull, wearisome, and lethargic affair” and he can imagine that many would find the job “intolerable” to do every day. “Bartleby the Scrivener” has produced many different interpretations over the years. One popular reading is that the text is distinctly anti-capitalist. The text’s repeated emphasis on the monotony of office life appears to support this, given that Wall Street is not depicted in a particularly flattering light.
