I’d Prefer Not to: An ode to Jenny Odell’s Refusal
“How to Do Nothing” is a book about the different techniques and practices we could use to resist the attention economy that we are consumed in today. In Chapter three Odell focuses on the Anatomy of Refusal, which is what she titles the chapter. She tends to focus on the reaction of refusal in society, not necessarily the refusal itself. In doing this it helps to analyze the effects refusal could have today. It is hard to pinpoint how a group of people would react to abnormalities within society, including simply being passive, but it helps if we understand more than one way a person could react. The title of Odell’s book says, “Resisting the Attention Economy” and I think she alludes to passivity when explaining this resistance through her interpretation of “Bartleby the Scrivener”.
There is this recurring theme within “Bartleby the Scrivener” about being passive. I think Odell recognized this theme and decided it fit well into her argument about refusal from the economy. In the book she focuses on the lawyer’s reactions, describing him in “disbelief” and “despair”. This is important because she is alluding to society. And in a way Bartleby could be described as very passive within the story. Not doing too much or too little, but simply existing in a world where everything around him kept on moving. Odell couldn’t help but highlight this in her book stating, “Bartleby, who remains maddeningly placid throughout the story, exposes and inhibits a space around the original question, undermining its authority.” Not only is he physically passive, but he is also mentally passive. His linguistic structure makes him nearly impossible to communicate with because he is neither agreeing or disagreeing. Today people wouldn’t act like this, but it would be important to note the idea of being passive. Everyone feels the need to be involved, especially when it’s so easy to get involved with social media and the internet. Being passive today could be considered a threat but used as a weapon also. In society, having a difference in opinion can cause people to maybe dislike you or not associate with you but when acting as a passive individual there are no sides. In the book the lawyer says, “Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance.” Simply being passive is resistance in the attention economy.
Bartleby was pure resistance throughout the whole story. It was almost as if he was a stagnant human being living on earth. But in a way the lawyer still felt responsible for Bartleby because who was the one who hired him under his company. He wrestles his own thoughts on how to handle him because while he tries many things to get Bartleby to comply, he continues to be insubordinate and quite stubborn. The lawyers attempt to get justification from Bartleby’s ongoing refusals and is driven to read Jonathan Edwards Freedom of the Will. Odell makes a point about this saying how the lawyer “induced a salutary feeling” that gave him justification for the reason Bartleby was in his life. More importantly it’s worth noting that in a moment of confusion and disbelief the lawyer turned to a book or another man’s writing to look for justification or validation. He goes on to believe “Bartleby was billeted upon me for some mysterious purpose of all-wise Providence.” When we are confused or don’t know how to handle something the first thing we turn to is Google. Immediately after that we find a source of justification as to why something odd is going on and usually run with it. It’s the refusal of refusal in society. It helps cope with the idea of the unknown. Part of the reason why it is odd that the lawyer is confused and ultimately shocked by Bartleby’s behavior is because he doesn’t know the reason for his actions. Odell states, “He not only will not do what he asked, he answers in a way that negates the terms of the question.” In doing this she suggests that the lawyer can’t deduce anything from Bartleby because Bartleby doesn’t “battle on the same plane”.
Long story short, Bartleby refuses any orders and requests given to him by saying he “prefers not to” and eventually this leads to demise. Reading this story it was interesting but kind of sad at the end; throughout the story you were waiting for Bartleby to comply with his employer and eventually get better but he continues to refuse everything until he starves in a prison and dies. Sad right? Well Odell doesn’t choose to interpret it like this. She writes about it with a more interesting and glorified connotation. I think that changing the way you’re told about a story could change your understanding of it and that’s what Odell tries to do. Bartleby can be considered a good role model in the beginning of the book, being a good employee that does his work, while his refusal wasn’t too extreme. This is what Odell tends to focus on in the story to express her point. As the story continues though, it gets sadder as the lawyer begins to feel guilty for Bartleby’s demise. Though refusal is a good thing, which is what Odell is trying to convey with Bartleby, there is a point where you cross the line and it becomes fatal. As the end of the story of Bartleby approaches it seems like he is refusing life itself, noncompliant with everything. She doesn’t want to focus necessarily on the sad part of the story of Bartleby eventually dying because of his self-neglect. Instead, she highlights more towards the beginning of the story shortly after the lawyer hires Bartleby and notices his odd personality. This allows her point about refusal to be emphasized when referencing the story. If she were to make the story seem like how it is, sad and pessimistic, the understanding of it within her writing would seem a little bit odd. It’s important not that you use another story within your writing but how you are expressing it to be, even if it’s the total opposite.
There are three other employees in the story that Odell doesn’t mention: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut. Odell doesn’t mention these other characters but it’s important to know about them. They each have their own reaction to Bartleby just as the lawyer does. Keep in mind Turkey is calm in the morning while Nippers is more on edge in the morning, and Ginger Nut is a 12-year-old boy that is ambiguous. The lawyer asks both what they think of the situation and Turkey is very chill about it, nothing too serious. Nippers on the other hand says, “I think you should kick him out of the office.” And finally, Ginger Nut gives an honest answer to the lawyer and says that Bartleby is “luny”. All three have impulsive immediate reactions to Bartleby’s behavior: the first two being based on their emotional state and Ginger Nut being honest with himself. In addition to these reactions, Odell explains the lawyer’s initial immediate reaction as being in “disbelief” and “despair”. These different kinds of reactions are the same ones we see today, ranging from emotional outbursts to brutal criticism to straight. Furthermore, these are correlated to controversial issues in our world today. Either there is an emotional bias you have towards a subject or its simply all facts to you. These other characters also play a part in understanding resistance within the attention economy by expressing their reactions to refusal.
Bartleby plays a significant part in the Anatomy of refusal and with what is the general reaction towards refusal within Society. While Odell focuses on that part, there is much to be said about the short story of Bartleby about refusal and resistance in the attention economy. One form of refusal in that short story is being passive because it creates a presence of unknown for us. Odell labels this as the “third space” that we could learn to inhibit and that would overall help us. I mentioned the title of her book earlier and I would like to come back to that, as she uses the word “Do” in her opening title too. I think it’s important to be aware of the passive existence in our world and understand how it works. Maybe this is how Odell wants us to “Do Nothing” in the attention economy today.
Reference
How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy — Jenny Odell
Bartleby The Scrivener — Herman Melville
