Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington

¶ … Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Specifically, it will compare and contrast Abraham Lincoln with Richard Cory in the poem. These are two very different men, but they do share some common elements. They are powerful, and they both die violent deaths. The poem is sad, and Lincoln's life was sad, as well.

For some reason, this poem seems to bring up a picture of Abraham Lincoln. Both of these men are powerful, but in different ways. Cory has money, which gives him power, and he still has the power to "flutter hearts" and make women look at him. The poet is saying that appearances can be deceiving, and that money does not make men happy. He contrasts Cory's elegance with the hunger of the people who "went without the meat and cursed the bread" (Robinson). He shows that the poor people keep working but the rich are not always happy and content, and that Richard Cory was weak, because he gave up on life.

There are many similarities between Abraham Lincoln and Richard Cory. They are both powerful men. Robinson says Cory "was always quietly arrayed, / and he was always human when he talked;" (Robinson), and this is very much like Lincoln. He always wore dark suits and is often pictured in an elegant top hat that made him seem even taller than he really was. He was slim, just like Cory, as well. They both commanded respect. The poem says Cory "was a gentleman from sole to crown," (Robinson), and Lincoln had the respect of most of the nation and the world for the way he ran the country and handled the Civil War. He was a man of principles and believed the slaves needed to be free, and he was respected and well liked by many. So was Cory, and so the men were both respected and admired by other people.

Walt Whitman wrote a poem about Lincoln's death that it a lot like Richard Cory. Another author quotes Whitman, "My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; / My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; / the ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; / From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won: / Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! / but I, with mournful tread, / Walk the deck my Captain lies, / Fallen cold and dead" (Browne 719). The country mourned Lincoln, and both these men died violent deaths. Cory killed himself, and Lincoln was assassinated, so one died by choice, and the other died by someone else's choice. They both seemed to have everything, but they died tragically, and that is another bond the two men share.

Why did Richard Cory kill himself? The poem does not really answer this, but the poet insinuates that Cory seems to have everything, but it is not enough to make him happy. He is "rich as a king," but that is not the only thing that matters in life, as this poem shows. Happiness comes from contentment and satisfaction with your life and what you do. It seems that Lincoln was probably happy. He was doing an important job, and he had a family that loved him. He never had a lot of money, but he seems as if he was content with his life. In this, he was different than Cory. He would not have chosen to end his life the way Cory did, because he was content, and because he had important responsibilities. Maybe Cory was unhappy because his life was empty, and he did not have important responsibilities, and that would be a big difference between Cory and Lincoln. Lincoln was a success and he worked hard. Cory did not have to work, and he did not seem to have anything to motivate him or make him proud. Lincoln did, and so he had a reason for living, while Cory did not.

Lincoln worked hard his entire life, and never made a lot of money, even when he was the president. That is another difference between Lincoln and Cory. Lincoln always had to work, and he knew what it was like to be poor. He probably would have stopped and talked to the poor people who watched him walk by, while Cory walked by without really understanding them or their lives. Cory would say "good morning," but Lincoln was one of them, a "common" man who had worked hard to attain greatness. He wanted to lead them, while Cory did not have those ambitions. He could have helped them, but he chose not to. Lincoln became president because he wanted to help the people, but Cory seems not to have cared. Instead of killing himself, he could have created places for the people to eat and get shelter. He could have done a lot of things with his life and money, but he did not.