Bartleby and Benito Cereno

Two memorable and stirring works—first written as magazine pieces and later published in The Piazza Tales. 'Bartleby,' (also called 'Bartleby the Scrivener') is a haunting moral allegory set in the business world of 19th-century New York. 'Benito Cereno,' a harrowing tale of slavery and revolt aboard a Spanish ship, is regarded by many as Melville's finest short story.