character analysis

In Class Assignment: Character/Literary Analysis

            The poem “Richard Cory,” by E.A. Robinson harbors in depth characterization of the main character, Richard Cory. Richard Cory is an exceptional man on the outside that every one in the town aspires to be because of the qualities that he possesses. However on the inside, he experiences emotional suffering, which is revealed in the final stanza. The traits that he has not only inspires others, but instills tinges of jealousy with in some people as well when ironically they have no reason to be jealous because of what he feels internally.

            Physically, Mr. Cory is a clean-cut man with a skinny physique that not everyone is able to have. He is a “gentlemen from sole to crown,” which gives him the ability to be approachable and liked by all. The people in Tilbury have given him this god-like status because of all the qualities that he shows to others, when their perception of him is portrayed when Robinson writes, “…and he glittered when he walked.” In reality, the people of Tilbury do not even know him because of his hidden emotions. In Tilbury Town, all people have the same status and no one is better than another. When this status of perfection was placed upon Mr. Cory, he felt alone and did not like the attention of being placed in a different league than the others. He wanted to be considered normal and when he was not, he buried his thoughts and ultimately decided to cope with his problems when he, “…put a bullet in his head.”

            In Tilbury, the people look at others and judge them based on one’s outward displays, which occurs everywhere. A theme that arises not only in the poem but also in life, is that when one is marked with a certain reputation, it cannot be easily forgotten. Mr. Cory has the reputation of being perfect and when he feels that he can no longer live up to what others think of him, he does what no person in Tilbury would have ever thought. Reputations can either be true or false and in this case it is false. He appears to have everything that anyone would want out of life, but on the inside he had nothing and no one to turn to. Mr. Cory is still a good man, however he was not able to exist under the pressure to be perfect or live under his emotional conditions any longer.