Street Cries and Stretching the Law
Street Cries and Stretching the Law is a collection of essays by G.K. Chesterton that explores various aspects of life in London during the early 20th century. The book includes humorous observations about street vendors, law enforcement, and other topics related to urban life.
By G.K. Chesterton · First published 1923 · Genre: Essay, Social Commentary, Satire · 1,838 words
First lines
About a hundred years ago some enemy sowed among our people the heresy that it is more practical to use a corkscrew to open a sardine-tin, or to employ a door-scraper as a paperweight. Practical politics came to mean the habit of using everything for some other purpose than its own; of snatching up anything as a substitute for something else. A law that had been meant to do one thing, and had conspicuously failed to do it, was always excused because it might do something totally different and perhaps directly contrary. A custom that was supposed to keep everything white was allowed to survive on condition that it made everything black. In reality this is so far from being practical that it does not even rise to the dignity of being lazy. At the best it can only claim to save trouble, and it does not even do that. What it really means is that some people will take every other kind of trouble in the world, if they are saved the trouble of thinking.
What this Textopian page supports
Street Cries and Stretching the Law is listed on Textopian as an essay by G.K. Chesterton, dated 1923 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Essay
- Author: G.K. Chesterton
- Date: 1923 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Essay, Social Commentary, Satire, Philosophy, Cultural Criticism
- Length: 1,838 words
- Structure: 1 section, 12 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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Similar titles
- The Defendant by G. K. Chesterton
- Some Policemen And A Moral by G. K. Chesterton
- The Innocence Of The Criminal by G. K. Chesterton
- The Man On Top by G. K. Chesterton
- Tods Amendment by Rudyard Kipling
- The Red Town by G. K. Chesterton
Genres
- Essay — The work is a reflective and argumentative piece discussing societal norms and legal practices.
- Social Commentary — It critiques societal attitudes towards laws and social practices, particularly concerning beggars and street musicians.
- Satire — The text uses irony and exaggeration to criticize the illogical application of laws and societal norms.
- Philosophy — It explores philosophical ideas about logic, reason, and the nature of laws.
Tags
crime · law · justice · society · urban · philosophy · morality · narrative · short stories · satire · human nature · social commentary