His use of the word “prefer” can imply that he used “prefer” when he was physically and mentally capable of participating in examining the papers but he chose not to do so. Bartleby chose to be polite yet obdurate in preserving his individuality throughout the course of the story by simply repeating, “I would prefer not to.” In only one instance, Bartleby said no was when his vision was impaired and he decided not to do any more writing (page 311).
It took the lawyer a while to realize that Bartleby meant no in a polite manner and he was impervious to reasoning (page 302). However, Bartleby uses “prefer” as a substitute for “no.” The first time Bartleby used his famous phrase, “I would prefer not to,” the narrator could not believe his ears. Preferring to do something often implies that if one had a choice, one would rather not perform the task, but in the case that one does not have a choice, s/he will perform the task assigned. The dictionary definition of the word “prefer” is, “like (one thing or person) better than another or others tend to choose” ( ). While the meaning of the word is misleading and a source of irritation to his employer and co-workers, Bartleby was stolid and unaffected by their reaction. Bartleby’s use of the word “prefer” is a powerful choice in this literature.
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