Richard Cory Essay

Essay 1: “Richard Cory” In “Richard Cory,” by Edwin Arlington Robinson’s the main idea was that being rich or poor does not guarantee happiness. A great way of describing this is by the main character which is Richard Cory, who is a man who has everything: rich, perfect gentlemen, well dressed, and seemed to be enjoying all the advantages. However, Cory’s suicide made it seem that all the qualities he had did not make him happy as everyone thought. The gap between Cory and the people in the town who would always be jealous of him, Robinson surprises us by the suicide that is described in the last few lines of the poem. Richard Cory, the man who has everything that these hard working folk wanted to be this icon of success and happiness kills himself. The poet, Edwin Arlington Robinson, has composed a nearly perfect poem in its truth about life, its sense of the life of human personalities, its rhythm, its rime scheme, and it does all this while remaining quite accurate without one metaphor or simile. This poem focuses on the main character Richard Cory who is perceived by the people in the town who wish they were him as said in line 12. “Whenever Richard Cory went down town,” sets up the main focus that holds throughout the poem. If Richard Cory went down town, he must have formerly been up town, demonstrating a wealthy residential neighborhood. Whereas “down town” suggest the business district where apartment dwellers and the working class live in. The main force of this poem suggests the differences amid by the wealthy and the less-well-off. The speaker of the poem belongs to the latter class, and the poem clearly draws distinctions between “us” and “him” which is Richard Cory and the town’s people. By claiming that Cory confirmed this gentlemanly quality from “sole to crown,” the speaker is emphasizing how entirely kingly this Cory was. The poem contains many words that brilliantly describe Cory’s high status. Many of the words and phrases suggest royalty and nobility. It all begins with the title of the poem which is “Richard Cory.” His name and last name seem to sound as royalty as he is. There are so many other similar words throughout the poem for example; “gentlemen” refers to a polite, courteous, or honorable man. Another one has to be “Sole to crown,” the speaker is emphasizing how entirely kingly this Cory was. “Sole” simply refers to his shoes, but “crown,” meaning the top of his head, also produces a pun or a double meaning, as well as the kind of head gear a king would wear. This pun is one of the few actual figurative uses of languages used in this poem. The speaker of this poem is cautious to make sure his listeners recognize that Richard Cory was just a really kind guy. He did not look down on the ordinary folk, he did not behave arrogantly. He spoke to people the way the speaker would expect him to, “he was always human when he talked.” Cory would always seem very friendly, pleasant, happy, just like the common working class stiffs only better looking and richer. Although Cory was “quietly arrayed,” not arrogant and even though he chatted like any other regular guy, still he made people a little nervous when he talked to them, and he looked like gold as he passed by. In the third stanza “and he was rich yes, richer than a king, And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.” It describes the type of man Cory is and why the people who live in his town think so highly of him. Cory is: “richer than a king and admirably schooled in every grace.” (591) The people want to be in his place. And at this point, we can be sure the speaker is certainly referring to money, not character and a successful life. The town’s people think that he has everything, that nothing more would ever perhaps be obtained from his wonderful life. Then, a single bullet shook the town and ruined the mindsets of the townspeople forever. Their superman, who

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