"I would prefer not to" is the famous catch phrase from Herman Melville’s “Bartleby“. Bartleby, the main character in the story, successfully uses it to avoid unpleasant work. His incorruptible forthrightness and unswayable attitude appear increasingly attractive to the reader as the story progresses. Melville finally lets Bartleby die somewhat unheroically of hunger in a prison.

Somehow I believe that the phrase "I would prefer not to" can also be read in an active and vigorous sense. In any case, it seems difficult to interpret in a conclusive way.

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