An Analysis of the Short Essay On Lying in Bed by G. K. Chesterton Essay

In this short essay, G.K. Chesterton is able to display his absolute understanding of human nature. He explains this nature through humor and wit in this particular essay, On Lying in Bed. According to this essay, Chesterton has developed three parts to human nature. The first part is that items that are desired by humans can often be found in unusually normal places. The second part is that humans have begun to aggrandize trivial morals and to debase major morals. The final part to his outlook on human nature is that the lives of humans have become exceedingly mechanical. These are the topics explained by G.K. Chesterton in this essay.Chesterton begins his essay by discussing his idea that items longed for by humans can be found in normal places. He does this in the essay by describing his pursuit of a perfect space to paint. He states that he looks on walls, paper, and several other places. His search, however, comes to end in the most normal of places, the ceiling above his bed. In the essay he realizes that he has found his object of desire in a rather ordinary place.In a similar way, people in today's society can find their desires in places that are rather customary. We, however, are not looking for a place to paint. In the many items we covet, many can be found in regular locations. Frequently, we look in unusual places for these items, when they are actually located directly "under our nose." This shows the first part of the human nature presented by G.K. Chesterton.The second part of Chesterton's essay displays his next theory on human nature. This second theory, that humans promote unimportant values and cheapen important values, is shown by examples in the next part of the essay. He interweaves this theory into the essay again by using the example of lying in bed. He demonstrates that people have begun to believe that lying in...

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