Richard Corey

Richard Corey is an example of dissillussionment. When you read you can tell that the author Edwin Robinson wanted you to feel good about the working class. In the poem Edwin sees this super rich guy every day named Richard Corey, and when he sees him he thinks he wants to be just like him.
"And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place."
So Edwin starts to work real hard so he can be rich one day. Cuts back on what he wants "And went without the meat, and cursed the bread" in hopes of getting the American Dream. When in the end Richard Corey shoots himself in the head. What Edwin wanted to say by Richard Corey killing himself was that even though rich people may seem like they have it all, they don't and probably aren't happy.