Bartleby's Facebook

The first thing to notice from Bartleby’s Facebook profile would be his status update. His current status would most likely say that “Bartleby prefers not to be on Facebook.” Throughout most of the text, Bartleby’s character uses the phrase, “I would prefer not to,” which would make his status update sound reasonable. Past updates would include: “Bartleby got a job”, Bartleby preferred not to examine a small paper”, and finally, “Bartleby prefers not to do anything anymore”. Next, one would notice Bartleby’s friend list. It would most likely consist of one person, which would be his boss. In the text, it seems as if the narrator, who is Bartleby’s boss, is the only person who genuinely cares for Bartleby. One can see this in the scene where the narrator visits Bartleby. He, “slip[s] some silver into the grub-man’s hands,” and tells him to get Bartleby the best meals. The visits themselves say that the narrator sympathizes with this character. One of Bartleby’s “favorites” would most likely include the application “Music iLike.” In this, one song would probably stand out from the rest in portraying Bartleby, and that song would be, “Hotel California,” by The Eagles. The song has an eerie sadness to it that relates to Bartleby’s life. In addition to this, there’s a feeling of entrapment in the song, and at the end of the text, Bartleby is sort of trapped in a place that he doesn’t enjoy. One would imagine Bartleby’s profile would be very simplistic because in the text he never let anyone know his true self. In the end though, Bartleby’s friend would probably create a “Rest in Peace Bartleby” profile, and thousands of people would join, because at the end of the text Bartleby goes “offline.”