Chris Porter's Essay 'Moving Beyond Stereotypes'

The speaker of the poem recounts that Richard Cory was a “gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim” and that he was “richer than a king”. The words “crown”, “imperially”, and “king” hints that people viewed Richard Cory as a man of high status and royalty. Even though he was a man who was unlike any other, “he was always human when

Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy, both are shunned from society neither having any real friends. Richard Cory is admired by his peers, whereas, Miniver Cheevy is different; people did not look up on him. One man giving the impression to have everything takes his own life, while the other had nothing accepts his misery. For Richard Cory, the saying money cannot buy happiness, could not be more appropriate. He is, according to the people of the town, the man with everything. “Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

Richard Cory written by Edwin Robinson was taken from the point of view of the townspeople around him. They make him out to be this rich, happy, and admirable man. “In fine, we thought that he was everything. To make us wish that we were in his place.” To everyone in the town, he seemed like a great guy; someone everyone wanted to be. They distanced themselves from him though, put him on a pedestal. The town says

“Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Robinson is about a man who appears to be admirable on the exterior but no one is familiar with his interior, which is suffering badly. The narrator talks Richard Cory up by stating, he was "richer than a king,"(line 9) "admirably schooled,"(line 10) "we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place."(lines 11-12) Until an abrupt ending to the poem, "one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head."(lines 15-16) This poem makes one think about true happiness and what it entails. From the outside one may appear to have everything but happiness does not come from wealth, it comes from within ones self and the narrator didn't take the time to really get to

With Richard Corey, nothing is known about him. All we know is his reception from his fellow citizens. In the third stanza the narrator says “In fine we thought that he was everything, to make us wish we were in his place” (PG 456). Richard Cory is a greatly admired figure. He is viewed very strongly by many; and a lot of people wish they were in his position.

Authors often use fictional stories to explain situations in the real world. As a result, citizens are able to better understand the problems of society, and they are more likely to fix them. This is evident in Edwin Robinson’s poem, “Richard Cory.” Due to the author’s use of literary devices and details in this piece of literature, he portrays Richard Cory as a successful man. By the end of the poem, he becomes depressed and commits suicide. This expresses the idea that looks, money, and intelligence might seem to create happiness, but these things do not always allow individuals to enjoy life.

It is ironic how the people of down-town portrayed Richard Cory. They presumed, “he was everything/ To make us wish that we were in his place.” (Line 11-12). This great example of alliteration helps explain the fact he was viewed as the luckiest guy around. His life ended suddenly from a gun trigger pulled by himself. The way Cory’s death is described is situationally ironic. “One calm summer night” (15) is the day Cory chose to end his life. There is nothing calm about a suicide, and summer nights are generally known to be the best times of the year. The people of down town “worked, and waited for the light,” (13) waiting for their lives to get better. This great use of metaphor and alliteration helps convey the idea the people supposed they were enduring difficult times when in fact, Cory was dying from the inside out. They believed, “he glittered when he walked.” (8) and viewed him as if he were a sunshine hovering below the sun, when in reality, inside he felt like a cloudy storm. Happiness does not have a price tag and the people of down-town now understand that.

Robinson gives a physical description of Richard Cory as "Clean favored, and imperially slim." While this seems to be physical, many symbolic issues of wealth are expressed through this line. Cory is once again given a description of royalty by being called "imperially slim" and by also being "clean favored" he seems he may be above all else or at least that aura was personified. In Simon's poem, rather than royal traits, Cory is given characteristics of being "everything a man could want: power, grace, and style." These traits move from a regal standpoint, to one usually associated with famous, sophisticated people. This repositioning of the American Dream is apparent after evaluating the way wealth transformed the way the public viewed Richard Cory.

In Richard Corey, by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the narrator observes and contrast themself with the seemingly perfect Richard Corey. In We Wear The Mask, by Paul Laurence Dunbar, the narrator describes people struggling to keep up a happy appearance, despite their inner turmoil. Both of these works present the theme of a misconnection with one's private self and social self; however, they present them from different perspectives.

A person who is hurting may not let others see his/her hurt, in order to protect themselves from false sympathies from others. After

To the people of low income Richard Cory Was One of the most Richest person he was a Gentelman and treated everyone with decent pleasure .to the people they thought that he had it all and he had nothing to want for.

While some people might start to degrade themselves because of rejection, one can also take the opportunity to fight against the stereotype which makes him or her more confident in his or her identity. Wright was an African women who faced stereotypes in her childhood and developed the ability to stand ‘against’ stereotypes of her heritage and herself as an individual. Wright defends, “I was African. A defiant pride became my shield. The more I was called an African in epithet, the more obligated I felt to excel and contradict the notions of what an African was supposed to be” (32). She used her background as her pride to excel and to prove her identity of being an African. Not being an American or white doesn’t make one less of who they really

He tried to speak to the people on the pavement however “he fluttered pulses when he said ‘Good Morning”. The people on the pavement put Richard Cory on a pedestal and therefore could not speak to him. They envied him and hated him they wanted his life so easy, so simple, and so happy. They continued to work and hope that one day they too could be as rich and as happy as Richard Cory, hating him even more everyday they “went without meat”. Then “Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head”. One calm summer night implies there was nothing special or unusual about that particular night, it was the same as any other and yet the town’s god/outcast, commits suicide, for apparently no reason. Robinson gives no insight into Cory’s mind, we can only assume he was so miserable that he could not bear to go another day, with the people on the pavement looking at him and hating him more and more.

The poems "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson and "Glass Ceiling" by T.R. Hummer, both share similar theme of people masking their own identities to separate themselves from reality. People hiding themselves from their true qualities whether intentionally or hidden behind one's culture, it occurs too frequent. If one's identity is unintentionally shielded, in most cases it is done by the society's views. The poem "Richard Cory" by the author Edwin Robinson, reveals a story of a seemingly perfect man but his life suddenly ends. In the poem, it says "And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything.

Throughout the story, the community in completely oblivious to Cory’s decision until it’s too late, “Went home and put a bullet through his head.” (P670 L16) The readers also meet this action with confusion, considering the kind words Robison had used to describe him prior. The reader’s mind was given the image of a person who was picture perfect. Creating those assumptions based on Cory being “ a gentleman” and “admirably schooled in every grace”.