Comparison of Road Not Taken and Richard Cory

Since ages past, a world of perfection has progressively given people an unrealistic view of life. People have lost track of what’s really important, being yourself and following your own path to success in life. Even in poetry, for example, Richard Cory by E.A. Robinson describes Richard as a fine gentleman that in most respects is viewed by others as some perfect being, one that many envy. In The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, the speaker states that they had chosen the path that very few had chosen before and that had made all the difference. The speaker in Richard Cory by Robinson, is in fact one of Richard’s admirers. The townspeople placed him on a pedestal which separates him from being just some type of role model. They describe his physical look, the aura he had when he walked through town, his finances, as being rich, richer than most, richer than a king, and well educated. These were the qualities that the townspeople saw as perfection and they believed it was achievable to be just like him, they would just have to work extra hard for it. This is where most are lost, even in today’s world, in order for one to be perfect one must have no flaws and that is clearly impossible, this is shown in the last two lines of the last stanza where Richard Cory is reported going home and killing himself. If perfection is kin to death than the townspeople should clearly see that Richard is just another person like them no better no worse and that the answer to living life is to just be you. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”…is the way Robert Frost starts one of his most famous poems, The Road Not Taken. Two roads meaning two ways a person can choose to lead their life. One road is one that many have gone down, a life that hasn’t yielded many results, while the other road is one that while there could be some doubt in starting down that path has yielded the most results and “…has made all the difference.” The speaker states that he chose the path he did out of