Summary Of Christopher Morley On Laziness

In his essay, “On Laziness”, Christopher Morley persuades his audience that laziness is a virtuous trait rather than a shameful one through the use of irony, diction, historical allusions, and logical reasoning. Morley utilizes irony to describe the consequences of having a good work ethic. He states, “We have been hustling about for a number of years now, and it doesn’t seem to get us anything but tribulation…. It is the bustling man who always get put on committees, who is asked to solve the problems of other people and neglect his own.” The irony in this statement is that as people try hard to prove that they are responsible beings, they bury themselves in piles of responsibility even though they do not want it. As people work hard to

He uses the word “intended” repeatedly in the first two paragraph in order to emphasize his embracement of laziness. By showing that he supports laziness, he persuades the audience that he is not criticizing the trait of laziness and that the audience should not criticize it either. In addition, although he claims that he is lazy, he uses professional and complex words throughout the essay, such as “languid,” “demure,” “quibble,” rectilinear,” “nimbly,” and “seidel.” His professional diction supports his idea of “philosophical laziness, … the kind of that is based upon a carefully reasoned analysis of experience.” He implies that while laziness is frowned upon by society, it is beneficial to people as it allows for an opportunity to reflect on their actions and to contemplate. Because of his “philosophical laziness,” his diction becomes professional, and he is able to think in a way that would not have occurred if he were not lazy. Through the use of diction, Morley successfully establishes that laziness is a trait that should be considered and praised upon rather than a trait that is frowned