Analysis of "On Laziness" by Christopher Morley

“On Laziness” Analysis

“On Laziness” is an essay written by Christopher Morley during the 1920s. This essay uses sufficient evidence to embody the thesis that indolence has contributed to man as a whole. He argues that laziness is not always unfavorable in the sense that it can benefit mankind by preventing undesirable events from occurring, such as World War II. In other words, the author’s purpose is to prove that laziness is beneficial, as opposed to the general consensus that it is not. Through this essay, Morley is generalizing the readers of this work of literature to anyone who is interested in the topic.

Morley’s argument is that laziness is not necessarily detrimental and that it does have benefits. He uses sufficient evidence and examples to support this thesis. Although is language and diction is colloquial and somewhat comical, there are many examples of academic vocabulary, as well as satire throughout the essay. For example, he uses the word “tribulation” and “languid”. The essay’s jargon as well as the addition of descriptive words such as “slothful” that trigger an image in one’s mind. Morley includes these words in a combination of short and long sentences that are mostly declarative. These features all effectively support Morley’s thesis. He includes a reference to a great philosopher named Doctor Johnson who “was lazy”. Morley must have included this example to further emphasize his point that laziness is not utterly useless. This writing is a combination of a thesis, advanced vocabulary, and relevant evidence in a compelling essay.