Analysis Of 'Richard Cory And Pumped Up Kicks'

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Recommended: Interpret the poem richard cory

The seemingly-proud, handsome boy sits upright in his wooden desk chair. There is no noise only the sound of his rapidly beating heart pounding against his chest. The teenager clutches the metal barrel tightly and points the barrel of the gun at his head. He feels the chilling touch from the mouth of the gun on his warm flesh. Were there cruel judgements made about him from his so-called friends? Did he feel a great loneliness? Did his mind shout out that, Death will be my savior”? It is said that a person alone is in poor company. In the poem “Richard Cory” written by Edwin Arlington Richardson and in the song, “Pumped Up Kicks” by Mark Foster, both mention a gun being used by an isolated individual to deal with dark, hurtful thoughts and putting an end to them all by pulling the trigger. In both the “Richard Cory” poem and in the “Pumped Up Kicks” song there is a shared tone about isolated individuals feel lonesome and odd when one does not fit in with their community. Also, in the poem and in the song a revealing ironic message is revealed about a …show more content…

Poet Edwin Arlington Richardson writes, “And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—And admirably schooled in every grace”. The use of the repetition of the word “and” alludes to the many favorable characteristics of Richard Cory. The word “and” emphasises the irony in the poem with Richard, who has so much going for him, yet he ends up taking his own life. In the “Pumped Up Kicks” song the band Torches sings “You better run, better run, outrun my bullet”. The repetition of the use of word “run” illustrates the idea of flight, Are you faster than a speeding bullet with those fancy shoes of yours? You can almost imagine a few kids with expensive sneakers trying to outrun the speed of the bullets coming out from the barrel of a gun. In a way, the use of and and and in the poem along with run run run in the song is like the rat tat tat sound of a gun

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