Greener on the other side
Jennifer DeMaar
Professor Payne
English 211
October 22, 2013
“Greener on the other side”
In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory”, the reader is compelled to think about what makes life worth living. The men who admire Richard Cory so greatly “cursed the bread” that they eat for dinner, grumbling because they have no meat. The men who have to work hard for their food covet the life of a man who appears to possess all of the niceties life can offer. The men are bitter about their lives because they think the grass is greener on Richard’s side of the fence.
Robinson leaves no room for the men to think ill of Richard Cory. He doesn’t gloat about his wealth. He isn’t proud or snooty. I have met and seen films about wealthy people, from which I know that when people have a lot of money the humanness about them can be altered and there is a distinct element when they speak that sets them apart from commoners. That Richard Cory is “human when he talks” tells of his character and blameless nature.
Human enough, he is, to recognize that his life is unfulfilling. While the men in town desire to be Richard Cory, he himself longs to lead a life that is simple and true. He is “quietly arrayed” because he doesn’t know how to be like the other men. The same way that a foreign exchange student doesn’t know what to say to his new classmates, so Richard Cory doesn’t know how to connect with any of the green painted faces that stare at him as he passes. Cut off from the rest of the world by the stigma that he carries and the money that follows him, the pain of loneliness convinces him that life is greener on the other side of death.
Paul Simon’s version of “Richard Cory” is slightly more modern. Richard Cory is placed on an unreasonably high pedestal in both poems. In Robinson’s version Richard “glittered when he walked”, in Simon’s version Richard “must be happy with everything he’s got”. These absurd notions echo with the tendency people have to build up to
Professor Payne
English 211
October 22, 2013
“Greener on the other side”
In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory”, the reader is compelled to think about what makes life worth living. The men who admire Richard Cory so greatly “cursed the bread” that they eat for dinner, grumbling because they have no meat. The men who have to work hard for their food covet the life of a man who appears to possess all of the niceties life can offer. The men are bitter about their lives because they think the grass is greener on Richard’s side of the fence.
Robinson leaves no room for the men to think ill of Richard Cory. He doesn’t gloat about his wealth. He isn’t proud or snooty. I have met and seen films about wealthy people, from which I know that when people have a lot of money the humanness about them can be altered and there is a distinct element when they speak that sets them apart from commoners. That Richard Cory is “human when he talks” tells of his character and blameless nature.
Human enough, he is, to recognize that his life is unfulfilling. While the men in town desire to be Richard Cory, he himself longs to lead a life that is simple and true. He is “quietly arrayed” because he doesn’t know how to be like the other men. The same way that a foreign exchange student doesn’t know what to say to his new classmates, so Richard Cory doesn’t know how to connect with any of the green painted faces that stare at him as he passes. Cut off from the rest of the world by the stigma that he carries and the money that follows him, the pain of loneliness convinces him that life is greener on the other side of death.
Paul Simon’s version of “Richard Cory” is slightly more modern. Richard Cory is placed on an unreasonably high pedestal in both poems. In Robinson’s version Richard “glittered when he walked”, in Simon’s version Richard “must be happy with everything he’s got”. These absurd notions echo with the tendency people have to build up to