Most everyone remembers a favorite story that he or she has read. A book that just captivated the reader from beginning to end. But how do authors successfully grab the attention of their readers? Authors utilize specific techniques to convey the characters, setting, and plot effectively. The two short stories Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville and The Tenant by Bharati Mukherjee do just that. The authors of both stories effectively develop unique characters through description or narration, action, and dialogue, which fit in with both the setting and the plot. The main character in Bartleby, the Scrivener is indeed an interesting one. Although the name of