After reading the novella, write at least three strong paragraphs theorizing as to WHY Bartleby goes into a downward spiral. What has driven him to this point? Why is there no turning back? YOU MUST CITE paragraph numbers (or line numbers) to back yourself up. Even if you are coming up with something totally off the wall as an answer, you need to prove where it came from. There must be something that he says or does to give you an idea of why he becomes the way he becomes. I have had some really creative and crazy answers with this assignment in the past. I LOVE THAT! Be creative! Make something up, but BACK YOURSELF UP with the text somehow.

Pay attention to where he is coming from initially, who he is working with, the job expectations before and after he begins to slow in his work, etc. The only way you could really have a wrong answer here is if you don't put your all in the three paragraphs, you don't cite your theories, and you come across as someone who clearly did not read the text. One more thing: simply saying that he is depressed (although you would probably be right) is not sufficient. I want to know what you believe triggered it all.

Make me proud, people! Put some thought in to this. You could really make