The narrator attempts to grapple with the problem of Bartleby through the tenets of religion and philosophy, and the narrator feels he must choose between justice and mercy. Explain the allusions in this part of the story and the contradictory ideas that they represent. One idea that's implicit in the story is that of the social contract: what does Bartleby owe to society, and what does society owe to him in return? To what extent must this social contract be "amended" to allow for what the narrator sees as the Christian tenets of mercy and brotherhood?