Character Analysis
Right up front, the lawyer who narrates Bartleby tells you:
I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best. (2.2)
He's an easy-going, lazy sort of guy. If Bartleby's motto is "I prefer not to," the narrator's could be, "well, okay, sure, why not." When Bartleby refuses to do work, the narrator doesn't fire him; he just lets him be, because that's easier:
I concluded to forget the matter for the present, reserving it for my future leisure. (2.27)
He eventually moves his office because getting rid of Bartleby is too much trouble. Bartleby resists; the narrator rolls over.
It's hard to admire someone who rolls over all the time with such enthusiasm. The narrator lacks the courage of his convictions—for that matter, he lacks convictions. He doesn't want to kick Bartleby out, but then he doesn't kick too hard either when Bartleby is dragged to prison. He's not very heroic…but then, most people, most of the time, aren't very heroic. Bartleby is firm, but most people aren't really firm. They compromise; they make do; they get along. The narrator, perhaps, would look no different from you, or us, under most circumstances. Bartleby shows just how compliant the lawyer is, and just how compliant most people are. The narrator shows how unusual it is to say "I prefer not to," and how thoroughly society depends, for good or ill, on folks who want things to go easy.
Bartleby Narrator's Timeline