Richard Cory

3 Pages 791 Words

Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, Richard Cory, is a modern day Aesop fable. It educates us about the things that we think we should have, but truly do not want. The story starts off by saying, “Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him.” The people on the pavement were people who looked up to Richard Cory. This is because Richard Cory was a well-distinguished businessman. This can be seen from the fact that Richard Cory continually “went down town”. I know that he went down town on business because of the way the speaker says that he was dressed. The author makes it appear that the people on the pavement had low-income jobs, while the poem says that Richard Cory was rich. The people on the pavement therefore wanted to be like him.
It seems that the people did not truly know every thing that went on in the life of Richard Cory. The man Richard Cory had a good bit of money, was schooled in every grace, and was a gentleman from sole to crown. Yet, Richard Cory one calm summer night took his own life by shooting himself in the head. The type of death that Richard Cory suffered is usually the result of someone who was not very stable. Cory is considered, however, to be very financially stable. He is also considered to be very stable all the way around. This cannot be true, however, because he committed suicide and stable people do not do that sort of thing. The physical appearance of Richard Cory’s life may have been very stable, yet the mental outlook of his life was most likely in shambles. While the people on the pavement only saw the outward manifestation of Cory’s wealth, they did not stop to consider what the contents were of his inward treasure. It is in this area of his life that I believe Richard Cory was poor. The people on the pavement did not consider this. Many times we as humans hastily make assumptions that are based on incomplete information. The peopl...