Isolation in Bartleby the Scrivener"I prefer not", "I prefer not", Bartleby tells the reader that he isolates himself. The phrase demonstrates his lack of involvement, another form of isolation. The narrator tells the reader exactly what he did to Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below. In the novella the author tells the reader, down to the smallest detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He tells us in this passage: "I placed his desk near a small side window in that part of the room, a window which had originally afforded a side view of certain filthy courtyards and bricks, but which, owing to later erections, to the moment, there was no view, although it provided some light. Three feet from the windows was a wall, and the light came down from far up between two tall buildings, as if from a very small opening in a dome beyond. to a satisfactory arrangement, I procured a folding green screen, which might completely isolate Bartleby from my sight, without, however, keeping him from my voice." The quote describes how the narrator isolates Bartleby from society. His window, usually a form of escape, also causes Bartleby to become trapped behind another wall, thus reinforcing his total isolation. The irony is that the narrator, while trying to isolate Bartleby, is affected by him, so much so that he seems almost human. Instead of firing him on the spot for refusing to copy, proofread or leave the premises, he tries to find him another job and even considers inviting him to live in his residence as his guest. The narrator develops before our eyes into a caring person, very different from the cold and unsympathetic person at the beginning of the story. "Making friends with Bartleby, indulging him in his strange obstinacy, will cost me little or nothing, while I will rest in my soul what will ultimately prove a sweet morsel for my conscience." The narrator would normally befriend Bartleby or any other "sucker", but Bartleby has given him a conscience. The narrator understood that a common flaw in a person does not determine the person. At the beginning of the story, the narrator only cared about his job, but now he realizes that people have lives outside of work, except Bartleby..