Bartleby the Scrivener- Question 4

This ridiculous "I would prefer not to" has a crazy impact on the daily lives of everyone in the story. First off, it makes the fellow scrivener's mad. They feel that they must do everything for him, because he would prefer not to do it. At first, they were not sure how to respond to this abnormal behavior, but they end up threatening him. On the other hand, the lawyer almost feels sympathetic for Bartleby. He sees the reactions not as rebellious, but, because they seem odd, as a sign of lack of intelligence. These sympathetic feelings make him allow Bartleby to do things that he would normally not allow. He originally is okay with Bartleby's sleeping in the building. He eventually realizes how weird it is that Bartleby will not do anything, only sit there, and asks him to leave. When he gets that same phrase again, he reacts by moving the office. Though this is an extreme reaction, it is elicited by an extreme person.