Note book/ Poetry/description/theme/Idea

Student’s Name
Professor
Course
Date
Notebook
Description
In “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robison, the speaker narrates the story of a man who looks perfect from the outside. The man is rich and has good looks which make the town envious at him. The girls want to be associated with him, but one knows about the troubles he is experiencing in his life. Eventually, Richard commits suicide in the last lines of the poem.
Theme
Edwin depicts the theme of diverse versions of reality and isolation. Every individual view the world from diverse perspectives. The town people claim that Richard has all the elements one would want in life. This is because he is rich, friendly and has good looks. Edwin says, “In life, we thought that he was everything…” (Schwiebert 672). Additionally, he states that Richard was “clean and imperially slim” (Schwiebert 672). This statement indicates that people would want their life to resemble that of Richard. However, Richard has a different view on reality to the extent that he commits suicide at the end of the poem. Furthermore, the narrator of the poem lets us know that Richard had all things. Nevertheless, he does not tell us if Richard had family members. Probably, if Richard had family members, he would not have killed himself.
Idea
The main idea of the poem is that the inner lives of people are critical. Despite having everything in life, the inner life can result in unhappiness and isolation which in turn leads to committing suicide. Despite the town people envying money owned by Richard, his inner life was not good.

Thus, individuals should strive to achieve happiness in life rather than material possession. This is because wealth cannot satisfy the inner self. Also, Edwin shows there is a need for interaction with other people in the society.
Work Cited
Schwiebert, John E. Reading and writing from literature. Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Pp. 671- 672.