The experiences an individual goes through, especially ones that can be troubling, can impact their lives in a manner that heeds either positive or negative results. Constantly remembering in the stories Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street by Herman Melville and Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both protagonists are affected by the harrowing experiences they went through in the past to the point that they are unable to adapt to change, isolate themselves from those around them, and show signs of insanity, which eventually leads to their eventual demise. 

The experiences both protagonists face in their past continue to haunt them in the present, causing them to struggle to adapt to the changes they encounter. This is evident in the life of Bartleby; when entering his new occupation as a scrivener, he is a dutiful worker, but his passive demeanor instantaneously catches the attention of the Lawyer and his co-workers; “I should have been delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious. But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically” (Melville, 480). It is not until Bartleby’s death that the Lawyer is able to finally reach an explanation behind his behavior. It is revealed to him that before becoming a scrivener, he worked at the Dead Letter Office in Washington, meaning spent his time burning letters that never reached their recipients. The Lawyer is baffled that Bartleby could maintain a positive outlook on life after working at a job that solely involved the haunting subject of death; “‘dead letters! Does it not sound like dead men?’” (Melville, 502). Transitioning from a job where he was surrounded by death on a daily basis, to the job of a scrivener where the work is mind-numbingly simple, causes a change that Bartley is not accustomed to. Bartleby is still haunted by this past occupation, shown by the behaviors he displays, which evokes sympathy from the Lawyer.  Similar to Bartleby, the experiences Goodman Brown encounters in his past cause him to struggle to adapt to change in his present life. After meeting with the Devil in the forest, he realizes that those he previously perceived to be good, such as his wife Faith and Deacon Gookin, have actually been followers of the Devil all along. This causes him to believe that the religion he has been piously following is false; before venturing to discreetly meet the Devil, he is anxious to reveal this to Faith, as he views her as being “a blessed angel on earth”. After discovering that Faith is not a follower of his religion, he begins to question his morals and beliefs, and he cannot acclimate to this revelation. This causes him to eventually spiral into insanity. This can be related to the Psychology Today article “How Memories Influence Behavior” by Peter Noel Murray, as he states that “the experiences we remember are defined by change” (Murray). The troubling situations experienced by Bartleby and Goodman Brown in their pasts are still remembered by both protagonists every time they encounter a situation that brings change into their life, as they struggle to adapt to this change as a result of these experiences.The Cognitive Neuroscience Society article “Linking the Past to the Future Through Memory” by Lisa P. Munoz can also provide an explanation for this: “Memory is not just for remembering. It is becoming increasingly apparent that memory has an important role to play in other functions that directly impact our psychological well-being” (Lmunoz). By constantly remembering the past, the mental well-being of both Bartleby and Goodman Brown is impacted, causing them to struggle to accept any change.

Both protagonists also become detached from the world around them as a result of the experiences that still continue to haunt them in their past. Bartleby isolates himself from those around him, especially the Lawyer and his co-workers. When not doing the amount of work that is sufficient for the Lawyer, he spends his time blankly staring at the wall in front of him, and does not appear to have any sign of a social life outside of working as a scrivener, as he does work even after the office has closed; “the utterly unsurmised appearance of Bartleby, tenanting my law-chambers of a Sunday morning, with his cadaverously gentlemanly nonchalance, yet withal firm and self-possessed, had such a strange effect upon me” (Melville, 486). Due to the effects his past occupation have left on him, Bartleby has settled into a life of isolation, not able to engage in the world around him. In the case of Goodman Brown, because of his discovery that those around him are followers of the Devil and not of the religion he practices, he chooses to remain adamant about his beliefs rather than become influenced by this evil. By doing so, he is isolating himself from those around him in the village of Salem, and everything he was once accustomed to; “when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain” (Hawthorne, 8). 

Bartleby and Goodman Brown begin to both show signs of insanity as a result of the experiences they endure in their past. The Lawyer attempts on a myriad of occasions to fire Bartleby, because although he is a conscientious employee, the behaviors he displays worries the Lawyer and his co-workers, Turkey and Nippers. Even after Bartleby has been fired and the Lawyer has moved his practice to a new office, he still remains in the office, which arouses public curiosity. When he is sent to jail, he does not resist; “as I afterwards learned, the poor scrivener, when told that he must be conducted to the Tombs, offered not the slightest obstacle, but in his pale unmoving way, silently acquiesced” (Melville, 498). It can be deduced that due to his past job, Bartleby isolated himself from those around him, causing him to take upon a passive demeanor and have a pessimistic view on the world around him. Similarly, Goodman Brown, after realizing that the individuals he once viewed as being devout followers of his religion are actually followers of the Devil, is filled with fear and longs for the life he once felt comfort in. This leads to him renouncing his religion, and due to this, “his dying hour was gloom” (Hawthorne, 8), as he dies devoid of his faith and trust in the people he once thought he knew, especially his wife. 

It can be deduced that Bartleby and Goodman Brown are similar in the way that they both experience troubling situations that lead them to be adapt negatively to change. Bartleby adopts a pessimistic outlook on life as well as passive mannerisms as the result of his previous occupation that caused him to be surrounded by death on a consistent basis, which causes his transition to the job of a scrivener, where the work does not require much thought, to be difficult. In the case of Goodman Brown, his discovery that the individuals he once believed were as pious as him had actually become converted by the evil temptations of the Devil without his knowledge is a change that leads him to question the faith he was devoted to for a immense amount of time. These experiences also lead to both protagonists isolating themselves from those around them, as Bartleby does not communicate with the Lawyer or his co-workers, staring at the wall of his office in deep thought, and Goodman Brown detaches himself from the individuals he once trusted, most notably his wife Faith, in order to preserve his religious beliefs and purity. Ultimately, Bartleby and Goodman Brown both spiral into insanity, Bartleby dying in the jail he willingly allows himself to be put into, and Goodman Brown dying overcome with feelings of depression and fear.
