Bartleby and Iraq

At first thought, I didn't see much of a relationship between Bartleby and Iraq, but after the class discussion and time spent going over the story on my own there were a few connections I noticed. In the story, Bartleby often stands by the window for long periods at a time just staring out at the wall daydreaming, lost in his own mind. I think this paired with his other habits and mannerisms can be compared to that of returning soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues that developed because of what they were exposed to in the war. When they come back many soldiers show behavior that seems distracted or they space out returning to memories and experiences they had while oversees. We don't know anything about Bartleby's past, but maybe he had gone through a traumatic experience that made him into the person we read about in the story. Another connection that is slightly more obvious is the narrator being a symbol for the United States and Bartleby representing Iraq. The narrator tries to help Bartleby throughout the entire story in various ways on many occasions. This is like the United States which has been in Iraq for years and has been trying to help there with many different plans and tactics.