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On laziness by Christopher Morley
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Like an experienced politician, Christopher Morley composes his essay and weaves his words in such a way that causes his readers to believe and support his claim that laziness is not the weakness that we currently recognize it to be, but rather it is an important asset to have. In “On Laziness”, Morley utilizes a casual tone, combines complex diction with simple syntax, and uses examples that allow for a sense of logic, leaving the reader no choice but to consider his claims, and maybe even believe them. In his essay, Morley utilizes a casual tone in order to make his essay seem a little more relatable. Morley begins his essay by saying “Today we rather intended to write an essay on Laziness, but were too indolent to do so.” (1) His first …show more content…
In his essay he states “The truly meek man is the lazy man. He is too modest to believe that any fervent and hubbub of his can ameliorate the earth or aussage the perplexities of humanity.” (5) Within that short passage, Morley utilized a variety of sophisticated words, most likely a deliberate choice to establish a bit more ethos within his essay. But in an effort to not separate himself too much from his audience, he combines eloquent diction and elementary syntax to still allow for relatively easy comprehension. Morley makes his claims appear more credible through his choice of diction, which works to make him and the essay appear more brilliant as …show more content…
He makes claims that are rather hard to dispute. Morley uses real life examples like when he says “Thus we see that it was sheer laziness that led to the greatest triumph of Doctor Johnson’s life, the noble and memorable letter to Chesterfield in 1775.” (11) In this quote, he refers to a time where a great philosopher had one of his largest successes in life, all because he was lazy. It makes it hard for someone to dispute a real life example. Morley also provides many convincing claims that appear to be irrefutable and even enticing, such as when he states “If you once get a reputation for complete, immovable and reckless indolence the world will leave you to your own thoughts, which are generally rather interesting.” (9) In this excerpt, Morley endorses laziness and shows an example as to how being lazy can benefit the reader’s life. He also states “It is the bustling man who always gets put on committees, who is asked to solve the problems of other people and to neglect his own.” (3) In this example, Morley makes a valid point. Those who take initiative and work hardest are usually given the most responsibility, and for those who don’t want to be preoccupied with the responsibilities of others, the idea of laziness is quite
Marks, L. (2006). The Loss of Leisure in a Culture of Overwork. Spirit of Change Magazine.
Samuelson’s writing style is very informative, but he delivers his information in a brusque, rough way that makes the facts difficult to absorb. Samuelson writes the way others argue or yell- practically shouting the information, as if
Time allocation, or time management, is a trait that everyone is capable of. However, there are people who tend to manage their time better than others. People often find themselves wasting time on unimportant activities. The time wasted can depend on the type of person they are, though. Say there is a successful businessman. That man is less likely to waste his time doing something unimportant than a teenager who doesn’t have their priorities straight. In the story, ‘Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket”, Tom Benecke struggles with balancing the time spent on his work and time spent with his wife. In our generation, technology is all around us. Whether it be phones, computers, or video games, people are wasting away their lives doing activities
In his letter dated January 30, 1801, Charles Lamb efficiently utilizes a variety of rhetorical techniques to eloquently and politely decline William Wordsworth’s invitation to visit him. Mr. Lamb is an especially well-equipped individual in the field of composition, as indicated by his efficient use of rhetorical devices (Latinate word choice, sentence structure, and other aspects of syntax). He is able to deliver his message of decline politely and eloquently while at the same time avoiding the offense of the reader, Mr. William Wordsworth. He is able to explain why he is unable to accept the offer without giving the impression of being off-put. And he does so with class, sophistication, and skill.
The “On Laziness” essay, written by Christopher Morley argues that philosophical laziness is a beneficial trait to possess. He illustrates this by using techniques such as humor, formal diction, and irony to convince his audience that is made up of lazy and industrious people.
Therefore, he explains how Americans of today’s society are stupid and sometimes this results in failures, because they believed facts and knowledge that others gave the people. The information is not always correct, but we as Americans believe all information that comes out of people’s mouth is always correct, but in reality it is not. This is what leads people to failure, but some of the others realize and continue their way to go about life which results in success as an American. This relates to David Foster Wallace argument about subjectivity and objectivity and its impact in our society and how the people of today world are rational and emotional when it comes down to what people know and what they want to learn; as a result, this is the way we think and it sometimes it is not a positive thing in our society because it’s somewhat misleading. The knowledge of Americans is very strong, but sometimes we listen to our subjectivity side when we should be more objective with the world
As the narrator starts, we are able to identify with the “poor young man’s” nervousness as it overcomes his body through hesitation and procrastination. Searching for answers to his thoughts, we are able to learn about the Oxford graduate and understand why he desires money. Though a bright man, Pemberton lets fear take over his body worrying that “his small scholar might prove cleverer than himself.” In many instances in life, we cannot bear being less than someone and are able to prove our strength through knowledge. Through Mrs. Moreen’s ambiguity and Pemberton’s apprehension, we can la...
An ordinary man may get depressed about being unemployed and automatically accept it as his own personal problem. He will be condemned as being ‘lazy’ or ‘work-shy’ and labelled simply as a. The ‘scrounger’. The ‘scrounger’. However, there are thousands of other individuals also. unemployed, Mills argues it should then be treated as a ‘public’.
On the first read-through of Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est it seems to just be a poem describing a soldiers experience in World War I, but there is much more to the story than that. Through the use of several literary techniques, Owen is able to vividly describe the speaker’s experiences and at the same time make them relatable to the people reading the poem. He also is able to criticize the people who he thinks are at least partly responsible for “tricking” a younger, more gullible him into the situation in the first place.
The vice that I have decided to examine further is that of spiritual apathy. According to DeYoung, spiritual apathy can be described as “comfortable indifference to duty and neglect of other human beings’ needs. If you won’t work hard, you don’t care enough.” (81). DeYoung goes on to say that it “becomes a sin not merely because it makes us lazy, but because of the lack of love that leis behind that laziness” (81). Essentially, spiritual apathy is not giving enough attention or effort to tasks that are pressing and important. This vice can be recognized in our daily lives with close examination. During my week examining this vice in relation to my own life, I became aware of how much time I actually spend doing things, that while important,
Written by Ezra Pound, A Few Don’ts by an Imagiste represents a whole new era evolving into a more simplistic style of literature. In this piece, Pound talks about what is necessary in your works in order to be considered a true imagist. For example, he says “Use no superfluous word, no adjective, which does not reveal something” (Pound). When Pound says this, he is talking about how when writing in the Imagist style, you don’t create a deeper meaning. You use the “exact word” to create the most simple and clear image as ...
During the March 1986 edition of the Journal of Modern Literature, Lee Clark Mitchell of Princeton University opens his article “‘Keeping His Head’: Repetition and Responsibility in London’s ‘To Build a Fire’” by critiquing naturalism’s style of storytelling. Mitchell claims naturalism as a slow, dull, and plain way of capturing an audience; and Jack London is the epitome of this description. Mitchell states, “[London’s] very methods of composition prompt a certain skepticism; the speed with which he wrote, his suspiciously childish plots…have all convinced readers to ignore the technical aspects of h...
The use of word choice, sentence length and structure, as well as many other factors set the tone of this paper. The final result is a paper that has a conciliatory tone. A paper written in this authoritative style is helpful in persuasion. It pulls the reader into the authors ideas, making them your own. The tone of the paper thus allows for metaphors to be extremely powerful in promoting Emerson’s ideas.
Aldous Huxley called the essay “a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.”
In conclusion, Leacock’s arguments are powerful through his use of rhetorical devices such as the anecdote which allows the readers to develop personal connections. Furthermore, the use of a sarcastic tone not only helps entertain the readers, but also helps expose the wrong of how the people within the society should not be overly obsessed about being healthy. Overall, in Leacock’s essay, by the use of rhetorical devices it allows him to establish a satirical tone which concedes his arguments to be influential within his essay.