Isolation In Edwin Arlington Robinson's Richard Cory

Isolation is defined as the state of being in a place or position that is separated from people, place or things. Many people identify with a desire to be isolated, despite science saying that people’s natural instinct is to gravitate toward others. Studies have shown that isolation is not good psychologically. Isolation can be voluntary or involuntary; however, whether it is with a human or an animal species, physical touch, communication, and emotional connection is necessary to survive in everyday life. In a number of literary works, isolation is seen as a theme among characters who are sick, mentally ill and those who are incarcerated to name a few. In the literary works we have read in this unit, the isolation of the protagonist, whether voluntary or

involuntary, proves to either lead to or contribute to the demise of the character’s overall well being.
One’s decision to isolate themselves from the real world matters and contributes to his or her overall productivity. A person that thinks contrary to this statement lives in a false sense of reality. The term “hermit” is used to describe someone who may be seen as a loner and unsociable. People who fit into the category of being a “loner” have voluntarily disengaged with society just as Cheevy did in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s poem, Miniver Cheevy. Robinson writes, "Cheevy, born too late, scratched his head and kept on thinking; Miniver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking.” (Robinson). In this quote, Cheevy is blaming the time period he lives in for his discontentment with his life. When it is not the life one prefers, one tends to disconnect him or herself from authenticity and find something or someone else to put at fault for his or her situation. Furthermore, if they become accustomed to being alone because they are dissatisfied with the world around them, they oftentimes cease to put forth the effort of building relationships with others. This occurs in Katherine Mansfield’s poem Miss Brill. Mansfield writes, "They did not speak. This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation. She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn't listen, at sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked round her.” (Mansfield). Miss Brill was always alone so she became accustomed to not talking to anyone. While she was disappointed that the couple next to her did not choose to involve them in her conversation, it was something that she had become used to. Just as Cheevy, Miss Brill justified her self-imposed isolation to the idea that she was living in a world that she did not belong in.
In contrast, when isolation is involuntarily and caused by others, it usually becomes a problem that needs to be managed and monitored. In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, Faulkner writes, “We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.” (Faulkner) This quote shows how Emily’s isolation was not self imposed, but caused by another individual. Moving forward, this situation not only contributed to the person Emily became, but also her dependency on her father. Oftentimes, this type of isolation prevents anyone else from helping an individual. This can be seen in Stevie Smith’s poem Not Waving but Drowning. He writes, “Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning.” (Smith) In this quote, it is apparent how this man’s isolation has led to his demise when he receives no help in his most dire time of need.
One can be both voluntarily and involuntarily isolated as in the story of Richard Corey.

While people physically isolated him because of his elevated status, other issues that were ultimately the cause of a tragic situation also internally isolate him. In Edwin Arlington Robinson’s Richard Cory, Robinson writes, "And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head." (Robinson). Though Cory had been isolated both by himself and others, no one knows the effect of this isolation until it is too late. This is an example of how when people are isolated by others, they oftentimes isolate themselves. This can also be seen Katherine Anne Porter’s The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. Porter writes, "Get along and doctor your sick,” said Granny Weatherall. “Leave a well woman alone. I’ll call for you when I want you. Where were you forty years ago when I pulled through milk-leg and double pneumonia? You weren’t even born.” (Porter). This shows how Granny Weatherall further isolated herself because she had been isolated all her life. Both Cory and Granny Weatherall isolated themselves from society and were therefore unable to build a healthy relationship with others in their time of

need.
In conclusion, isolation is ultimately a choice. Even if it is involuntary, the way an individual chooses to react and allow isolation to affect them is his or her choice. Isolation is for the most part self-imposed, but it is up to ones self to correct the isolation. In all of the works that have been discussed, it is evident the role that isolation plays in the ultimate demise of each protagonist. A quote reads, “Unlike memory and decay, some details of the past may remain undiscovered, but they still exist.” (Binder) All in all, the causes of isolation may remain private, but the consequences can affect an individual for a lifetime.