Analyzing Edwin Arlington Robinson's Poem 'Richard Cory'

Muslim. Transgender. Donald Trump. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear those words? We all have preconceived notions about the world, its individuals, and groups of people. Some of these thoughts are grounded in fact while other are gross overgeneralization that we have been conditioned to believe. Often, our ideas about the world come from perceived authority figures in our lives such as our parents or the media. This can be dangerous because these sources are often bias and believing in these biases often causes us to judge people without really knowing them. All throughout history and literature we see examples of how preconceived notions have done more harm than good. Take Executive Order 9066 for example. On February

Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” is an example of this. Richard Cory was well dressed, well admired, and well off man but sadly that could not save his life. While the towns people idolized him, they never got to really know him. “In fine, we thought he was everything / To make us wish that we were in his place” (11-12). If they had truly know Richard Cory, they would not wish to be in his place. This poem shows us that people often assume that just because someone is rich, that they are happy. Often prejudice cause people to assume the worst about someone, but in this case it caused the people of the town to assume the best, which was just as

“He wore brown slacks, brown shows, a light-brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy…But he didn 't use a cane and he didn 't wear dark glasses. I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind” (30). While the man still possess biases about blind people, he is learning to appreciate the friend for who he is, instead of what the media told him blind people are like. The next observation the narrator makes is when they are sitting down to eat dinner. “The blind man had right away located his food, he knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat” (44). What began as absolute disdain had now transformed into admiration. The story ends when the speaker not only aspects the man’s disability but embraces it. “So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now” (131). This is a truly powerful story about a man overcoming his prejudice that should serve as a lesson to us