Compare And Contrast Im Nobody And Richard Cory

Emily Dickinson’s poem “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” and Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory,” both address a simple, and very human drive: the desire to be “somebody”. Though both poets are, in essence, talking about the same thing, they do so in very different ways. Dickinson addresses the issue more directly, describing how much more favorable it is to be a nobody; while Robinson attacks this issue from the side, by describing the life of a somebody (Richard Cory). However, both poets come down on the same side of the issue, that is, that being a “somebody” is rife with problems and is likely more trouble that it is worth.
In “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” Dickinson looks at the issue from the point of view of a nobody, and describes

their desire to stay a nobody. As she says, “How dreary to be a somebody! .... To tell you name the livelong day / To an admiring bog!” (Dickinson 5-8). This sentiment is something that Richard Cory, in Robinson’s poem, could likely relate to from the other direction. Richard is described as a rich, educated, gentlemanly man who is adored by the people of his town, therefore, he probably finds it a bore to be constantly approached by “admiring bogs.” Robinson never describes any specific problems or troubles that Richard has, however it is clear that his life is not the bed of roses that the admiring townsfolk believe that it is.
Robinson shows the extent of the townsfolk’s admiration for Richard by voicing their “wish that we were in his place” (Robinson 12). The desire of the townsfolk to be Richard Cory, that is, the desire of nobodies to become somebodies, is something that Dickinson’s poem does not directly address. She treats the discussion as if it was settled, that is, it is better to be a nobody, and therefore no right thinking person could ever want to be a somebody. Indeed, Dickinson even seems to be saying that “nobodies” should hide, because if they are found they might be “banished” from being “nobodies” (Dickinson 4).
Oddly enough, Richard Cory probably wished to be “banished” from being a somebody, and one could argue that in the last line of the poem, Robinson shows Richard successfully banishing himself, by “put[ting] a bullet through his head” (Robinson 16). Perhaps that is the only way that Richard could think of to get out of the trap of being a somebody, to completely remove himself from public scrutiny and avoid the “admiring bogs” for good.
The desire of average people, aka nobodies, to become a somebody is a powerful drive that affects large swaths of the population. Today, it can be seen in the widespread use of Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc…everyone trying to get followers and become famous, believing that that will make their life “matter.” Dickinson and Robinson lived in a simpler time, where it was probably harder to become a “somebody,” however, humans have not changed that much in the past hundred years. Therefore, that drive must have still be strong in their fellow citizens, and they both, in their own way, attempted to point out that the drive leads to a dead end.