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Who are the people on the pavement? We certainly know what kind of person
Richard Cory was. Richard Cory was a true gentleman from head to toe, the
epitome of an aristocrat. The people on the pavement were a stark contradiction
to Richard Cory. They were not schooled, far from rich, and drudged tediously in
search of an unfulfilled hope that life would get better. There is a fine line
between being schooled and being educated. One can be educated, yet not be
schooled. For the most part, being schooled usually requires a certain amount of
wealth. The people on the pavement were far from wealthy, therefore not many, if
any, were schooled. The people on the pavement wished they could be this work of
art known as Richard Cory. The commoners were infatuated with Richard Cory. They
admired everything about this modern aristocrat. Richard Cory was like a king
who condescended from his dais to walk among the commoners. What these so called
people on the pavement failed to realize was that Richard Cory was a great actor
too. Richard Cory’s life was all superficial. It was a disguise to hide the real
Richard Cory, thus leading us to believe that the people on the pavement are
ignorant.
It is ignorance that ignites the flame of desire within that sometimes
makes all of us wish that we could be a Richard Cory. What everyone, not just
the people on the pavement, fail to realize is that Richard Cory is a morose and
deprived person within. These so called people on the pavement toiled rigorously
from dusk till dawn. You ask why they labored so tediously? They may work so
hard in order to survive. If they didn’t, they would surely die due to the lack
of the bare necessities. That sounds logical, they work in order to survive, but
there is probably a deeper answer as well. Line one, in the fourth stanza
recites, So on we worked, and waited for the light. The commoners drudged their
entire lives, just so they could one day live like Richard Cory. They were in
search of an empty promise. The people on the pavement dwindled their lives away
looking for this false hope. They cursed their own lives, and craved Richard
Cory’s. The people on the pavement were too ignorant to appreciate and value
what little they had, and that is probably why they are just the people on the
pavement. In conclusion, we have deduced a lot about the people on the pavement.
The people on the pavement are not schooled, certainly not wealthy, eminently
ignorant, and are lost in their fascination with Richard Cory.
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