Similarities Between Richard Cory And Jay Gatsby

“Richard Cory” by Edwin Robinson was published in 1897. Richard is described as a classy, well liked, and rich gentleman. His surroundings is that of poverty and envy for him, yet he doesn’t get put himself above his fellow citizens. However; this is all we know of Mr. Richard Cory. “Richard Cory” is an outside look into an unknown, but interesting life. Unfortunately in the end, Richard decides to take his life. Similar traits are also found in the fictional character named Jay Gatsby. “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published twenty eight years after the poem “Richard Cory”. Despite the difference in death, surroundings, and lack of background information of Richard, could Jay Gatsby be based off of Richard Cory? Envy is a huge factor in the story and poem. Although Richard and Jay live in a different environment, the people who see them, want to be them. Throughout “Richard Cory”, the characters look at him like he’s living the dream. “In fine, we thought that he was everything, to make us wish that we were in his place”. Jay is envied by his neighbor Nick who, in a twist, is a middle class man surrounded by rich people. Although the people envy Richard and Jay, when they pass away, no one pays much attention to it. “And Richard Cory, one calm Summer night, went home and put a bullet

Robinson never states whether Cory is married, has family, if he suffers from anything, or had a traumatizing experience. Just like the characters who knew of Gatsby, all we can do is speculate about his life. The people know of Richard and Jay, but don’t know them beyond their public display. Gatsby throws parties for anyone and Cory makes appearances “downtown” (line 1) Other than these brief appearances, the citizens base the characters personalities on their wealth. What we do know about the inside life of Cory is he was stated to be “admirably schooled in every grace”.