Preview

Christopher Morley On Laziness

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
197 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Christopher Morley On Laziness
Laziness is usually said to be the root of failure, however this is not how society or Christopher Morley sees it. Within his essay, “On Laziness”, Morley describes laziness within society, and the success it can sometimes get you. The style of Morley’s essay helps him to convey the idea that the laziness of some people is turned into success by society. The form of satire used, the different forms of the word lazy, and the examples of the effects laziness can have, all help him to achieve him purpose.

Through his use of satire and the different forms of the word lazy, Morley critiques the laziness of society. According to Dictionary.com, satire is defined as the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Costica Bradatan, in his essay “Why Try Anything? A Meditation on Procrastination” (09.18.2016), suggests that procrastination is the result of “an anxiety of creation,” and that a procrastinator’s inaction is the result of being, “smitten by the perfect picture of that which is yet to be born.” Bradatan supports this claim by aligning the act of procrastination with a series of examples – historical (an anecdote about a mosque architect who, at thought of his design decaying with time, couldn’t bare to have his creation built), religious (early Gnostics who believed “the highest attribute of divinity is in its inexistence”), and philosophical (E.M. Cioran who believed “the catastrophe of birth” is worse than death). Bradatan’s purpose is…

    • 217 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    5. Satire is literary work where vices, follies, stupidities are ridiculed and mocked. Some important elements to include in a satirical piece of text include irony, hyperbole, wit, and humor.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift fits the satire definition because throughout the whole short story the man is proposing real life problems in society and turning them sarcastic. He uses sarcasm to emphasize how well he believes his ideas would benefit his country, Ireland. For example when he talks about the Irish eating their babies due to overpopulation. This wouldn't be an effective way to end the problem but instead people should stop having…

    • 76 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Christopher Morley, a well known satirist in the 1920s, successfully ridiculed the public once more in his article On Laziness. According to Dictionary.com, a successful satirist is “a person who mocks social conventions, other works of art, or anything else that one deems ridiculous”. Morley’s purpose of writing On Laziness, was to mock society for allowing lazy people to prosper and be praised more than the average hard-working human. In respect to Morley‘s reputation in satire, his diction, and tone, his audience can infer that his verbally ironic style was crucial to the overall purpose of the article. In consonance with literarydevices.net, the purpose of a verbally ironic article is to “convey exactly the opposite of what…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Exam 1 Study Guide

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Satire- a literacy text that uses comedy towards the end of derision (Pearson 546). The use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, ect (Class Discussion 9/3). In Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People, she uses irony to reveal faults in others when they fail to see the very faults they possess on their own. She used controversial subjects in the story such as blasphemy, hypocrisy, anger, and atheism. At the end of the story she throws the readers off guard when Joy/Hulga is left in the barn without her prosthetic leg. (Pearson 377, Good Country People).…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They used sarcasm, complicated words or words that appeared important, hyperbole, and poisoning the well. By using these rhetorical devices, they were able to accomplish satire, which was the primary way for getting their message across.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Satire is defined as a literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. Voltaire, George Orwell and Charles Dickens used satire to provide a humorous perspective to the social, political and ideological views of their times. Candide by Voltaire, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and Hard Times by Charles Dickens are very successful in using satire to show the flaws of each era 's current views. Voltaire, Orwell, and Dickens use different forms of satire to make their points. Voltaire and Dickens are very extreme with their depiction of satire, while Orwell uses a fable to soften his view. These three authors do a great job of using themes, characters, and style to satirically show the grey areas of their era.…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire is the use of humor or irony in order to raise critiques about people. Satire is found in many works of controversy or politics. Its uses are important because they point out the faults of a particular time and gives a voice to those who cannot openly express their views. Two works of literary merit which feature Satire are A Modest Proposal and The Rape of the Lock.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An example of satire is when Ja’mie King begs to have a year 11 formal (prom) after it is cut because the school doesn’t have enough money to fund it. She says that if some friends and herself can come up with the…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    criticizes some aspect of society through the use of humor. If your satirical essay isn’t trying to…

    • 1566 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Swift uses satire in many of his works such as “A Modest Proposal”. Satire is the use of humor, irony or ridicule human vice. “The true satirist is conscious of the frailty of institutions of man 's devising and attempts through laughter not so much to tear them down as to inspire a remodeling" (Thrall, et al 436). Although he was born in Ireland, Swift considered himself an Englishman first, and the English were his intended audience.…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is one of the most underrated troubles. For it causes many issues in the world, though the blame always seems to fall upon some other reason of cause. Laziness causes people to not want to fulfill their wildest dreams to refusing to do necessary duties. On the island of the lotus eaters, Odysseus faces laziness at its most extreme. The lotus flowers cause people to magically lose their longing for home. Sailors don’t have much control over their laziness, for it was forced upon them by way of magic lotus flowers from the natives. My troubles with laziness come from giving up because something is “too hard”, when really I just am being lazy. It causes me to not work as hard as I should to achieve my goal of having a happy and healthy lifestyle. Laziness in Odysseus’ story and mine are similar because we both lose the lust for our goal. Luckily we can both overcome laziness with hard work and determination, even if Pandora releases it from the box…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canterbury Tales Satire

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Satire is defined as the use of humor, exaggeration, or irony to describe someone. In “The Canterbury Tales” written by Geoffrey Chaucer, satire is used often. CHaucer uses satire to describe a Prioress (nun), a Cook, and a Friar. Compared to these people today, the features Chaucer gives them do not match up.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The definition of satire is "literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change." Satire is more commonly used in comedies, but another popular way in which satire could be used is in a tragic approach; satire is just a way to mock it 's topic, and the way in which it 's described can evoke any emotion, though comedy is a favourite to many as it is universal- everyone can relate to the comedy aspect of things. Satire in comedy uses jokes on stereotypes and people 's perceptions of others to challenge these ideas, they are put into a humorous context, but they are there to rouse feelings of unfairness or wrongful discrimination.…

    • 541 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire uses the techniques of parody for an agenda of social commentary. It “mocks some aspect of vice or frolly.” Throughout the course of the novel, satire has been represented in many situations. Three situations that have shown themselves as important representations of satire include Candide’s expulsion from the castle, the shipwreck and earthquake and finding Cunegonde.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays