Richard Cory And The American Dream - 973 Words

Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson represents a life we all strive to achieve. The narrator describes Cory as, â€Å"Richer than a King†, â€Å"gentleman from sole to crown†. Richard Cory not only possess the wealth, his characteristic of being a gentleman makes him even more admirable. The narrator also views Richard Cory’s life as exemplary and states, â€Å"In, fine we thought that he was everything to make us wish that we were in his place†. However, as the poem comes to an end Cory commits suicide showcasing the irony that wealth does not bring happiness as so many of us often believe it will. This story relates to the American dream because we constantly strive to achieve a better life with a career, jobs, good finance and happiness. To†¦show more content†¦They arrive at the store and realize the price of objects there are really high for example the paperweight for four hundred eighty dollars. While, Junebug states, â€Å"I don†™t even have a desk, â€Å"I don’t even have a desk†. Later in the story Sylvia talks about a toy that she describes as, â€Å"tricky toy† and it costs thirty-five dollars. However, she thinks about what her mother would say as she states, â€Å"Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could visit Granddaddy. Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too.† From this statement it is clear that there is a financial disparity between Sylvia and people who are able (financially) to afford thirty-five dollar toys. Even though, initially Sylvia was opposed to anything that Ms. Moore was trying to teach towards the end of story Sylvia states, â€Å"Miss Moore looks at me sorrowfully, I’m thinkin. And something weird is going on, I can feel it in my chest† This statement shows that Sylvia understood what Ms. Moore was try ing to teach all along this trip that there is a disparity in finance between her and people who buy toys worth thousands dollars. This story shows the economic inequality that exists between the poor and the rich, which can be bridged with the education that is provided in America. The American dream gives an equal chance to have a better life. A and P by John Updike isShow MoreRelatedThe Reality of the American Dream: The Poem Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson999 Words   |  4 Pages As Americans, many of us believe in this principle of the American Dream. The American Dream, in its simplicity, is the notion that anything, especially career wise, is achievable. We usually associate this concept with obtaining material things, such as cars or a fancy house. But, even if you achieve your American Dream, complete with a car and fancy house, does that really mean you achieved happiness? The poem â€Å"Richard Cory† by Edwin Arlington Robinson is a testament to this idea that althoughRead MoreEssay about Richard Cory: Comparing Paul Simon and Edwin Robinson623 Words   |  3 Pages Richard Cory poems are a traditional type of poetry found all throughout different time periods. The poems range from the original to song variations, all contributing their own perspectives on what Richard Cory symbolized, and each takes their own distinct form. Richard Cory poetry usual contains the distinct ending of Richard Cory taking his own life, but each poem adds its own variations to this repetitive theme. Throughout the poems, there are also many similar themes, which portray a consistentRead MoreThe Dysfunctional American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller1231 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dysfunctional American Dream in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller In the American society, it is thought that if you work hard, no matter what circumstances, you can become rich and powerful. You can overcome deep poverty to become the richest man alive. This superhuman absurdity is what is referred to as the American Dream. Day after day, Americans struggle to achieve fame and prosperity, only to find failure and heartbreak. The American Dream in todays society is dead and isRead MoreCritical Analysis Of Richard Cory820 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"Richard Cory† is Robinson’s famous poem about a man named Richard Cory who was outwardly wealthy and admirable to many. The poem adopts an overly narrative style. Through this style, the poet is able to detail of the life and timesof Robinson Cory as a loner of the upper social class in America. It is a tale of internal conflict and dissatisfaction experienced by a man who everybody admired. The personadescribes him using finest terms such as ‘gentleman’ to denote of how people of the lowerRead MoreGreat Gatsby Compared to Richard Cory794 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"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)Read MoreCritical Analysis Of Richard Cory By Edwin Arlington Robinson1069 Words   |  5 PagesRichard Cory I chose to write about the poem Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson. I chose to write about this poem because it interested me, the way the setting and the personality of the protagonist lured me into writing about it. What I liked about this poem was its mysterious ending. This poem relates to our world today because many people are seen as perfect or nearly as perfect, but in their own eyes, theyre in reality, miserable. The poem Richard Cory is about a rich man thatRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s Poem Barbie Doll 871 Words   |  4 PagesIn Marge Piercy’s poem â€Å"Barbie Doll,† the protagonist, a young girl, has all of her imperfections pointed out, while in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem â€Å"Richard Cory,† the protagonist, a successful man named Richard Cory, has his seemingly perfect life set as the main focus. However, in both poems the protagonist quite apparently and shockingly commits suicide. Piercy and Robinson also utilize diction and literary elements in different ways to convey a similar feeling for the reader. The subjectRead MoreDreams Deferred And Pleas For Help Unheard : The Effects Of Racism991 Words   |  4 Pages Dreams Deferred and Pleas for Help Unheard: The Effects of Racism Langston Hughes’s poem â€Å"Harlem† and William Faulkner’s â€Å"That Evening Sun† both provide unique and impactful takes on systematic racism in the post-slavery United States. Neither piece explicitly confronts or names the racism depicted in them, illustrating how casual racial prejudice and its effects on its victims are often viewed as inconsequential or innocent – and therefore are dangerously insidious. Both â€Å"Harlem† and â€Å"That EveningRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1182 Words   |  5 Pagesworks The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, â€Å"Money† by William Henry Davies, and â€Å"Richard Cory† by Edwin Arlington Robinson, the mutual theme is that greed for money corrupts the general person and tears out all slivers of morality. We see in â€Å"Money† and The Great Gatsby the indication that money brings fair-weather friends, and also that poor people are more jubilant than rich people. Complementary, in â€Å"Richard Cory† and The Great Gatsby, it is suggested that outsiders view the rich as having noRead MoreEssay on Reaching for a Dream in Literature1381 Words   |  6 PagesSelfish Dream Everyone has their dreams and whoever puts all his or her efforts and determination in pursuing that goal is the one who will succeed. However, there are dreamers who have misconceptions about the art of dreaming. In three pieces of literature I have encountered: â€Å"The Achievement of Desire† by Richard Rodriguez, â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† by Lorraine Hansberry and â€Å"Fences† by August Wilson, its characters fight for their dreams regardless obstacles in their life. Nevertheless, they expose