An argument of the writer’s choice

What would it mean to read both Gregor and Bartleby as tragic figures of modernity? In what ways do their respective authors hold them up to us readers as tragic heroes? (Please
note: A tragic hero was defined by Aristotle as a figure whose lack of knowledge, deficiency of virtue, or excess of character leads him or her to ruin and/or destruction.) In what ways are these two characters the victims to the social and cultural circumstances to which they belong? How do Kafka (author of Metamorphasis) and Melville (author of Bartleby) indicate this to us as readers? In what ways do they use these characters to comment upon the nature of (office) work and modern society more
generally?

Write an argumentative essay putting any stance forward using the above questions as a prompt(s).

Here are the official directions for the assignment

Please note: these essay prompts are designed to stimulate the development of your own views on the work in question, and so simply answering the questions posed in each prompt is insufficient for the purposes of this assignment. It is vitally important that in developing your reading of the novel, that you substantiate it by means of textual evidence, which you must cite and explain. Your essay should between 6-8 double-spaced pages in length, using 12-point font and normal (i.e., 1-inch margins). For the purposes of this assignment, no additional sources besides our text are required; however, if you consult secondary literature, then these sources must be cited. The Department requires all students to cite sources in accordance with the Chicago Manuel of Style. Please be sure to give your essay a title.