For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved.
Since this is a collection of short stories, we're going to analyze the plot of just one story. Check out this analysis of "Bartleby" below.
Act I
From the beginning of the story to the moment Bartleby first says, "I prefer not to"—the moment when the inaction of the story really gets started.
Act II
From when Bartleby first prefers not to, through the moment the lawyer leaves his law offices, abandoning Bartleby, hopefully forever.
Act III
But Bartleby is tenacious. Act III goes from when the lawyer abandons his old offices, through the new occupants sending Bartleby off to jail, and ends with Bartleby's sad death. "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!"