In “Richard Cory” and “the Unknown Citizen,” the subjects of the poems are perceived through public view in a way that differs from their true internal state of being. “Richard Cory” follows a wealthy man through the streets. Cory is perceived by the townspeople as royalty, but he later commits suicide, despite his idealistic and successful life. Similarly, Auden’s Unknown Citizen has a has a fittingly unacknowledged death after living a life of conformity that appears to be perfectly normal and organized. The importance of appearance and reputation is challenged by the lives and deaths of Richard Cory and the Unknown Citizen through their seclusion and lack of meaningful relationships, their idealistic status held together by conformity, and the outcomes of their supposedly perfect lives.
Both poems challenge the importance of reputation brought their apparent lack of meaningful relationships. In Robinson’s poem, the persona makes it clear to the reader that most citizens view Richard Cory as imperial, despite that “he was quietly arrayed” and “he was always human when he talked.” Cory avoiding drawing such attention to himself through his words or actions, and Richard Cory clearly lacked something important in his life, yet the citizens seem to both love and envy him. What Richard Cory lacked was a healthy and meaningful relationship with the people around him, which would have been more beneficial to his happiness than any amount of gawking. Similarly, the Unknown Citizen lacked anything more than insignificant, expected relationships. He had the appropriate number of friends. “was popular with his mates and liked a drink,” and “was married and added five children to the population… the right number for a parent of his generation.” However, no data or statistics about the man could have truthfully determined if his friends really cared about his happiness and well-being. Both men would have benefited more from having a few meaningful, passionate friends than they did from letting everyone believe that their lives were perfect.
Richard Cory and the Unknown Citizen both held ideal statuses that were held together by conscious conformity. The idolization of their lives by others challenges the idea that keeping up with society’s definition of success is healthy. In “the Unknown Citizen,” the man purposefully conformed to his community’s standards of success and happiness. The Bureau of Statistics believes that “in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint.” Any other citizen surely would have loved to live the life that the Unknown Citizen did. Every statistic said he should be satisfied, but the poet mocks this idea through the naivete of his persona. Likewise, Richard Cory seemed to have what was an ideal life in other citizens’ perspectives: “He was rich- Yes, richer than a king… In fine, we thought that he was everything… To make us wish that we were in his place.” In reality, he only conformed to the standards of the highest levels of success. He had wealth, but people need more than materials for happiness. Similar to the Unknown Citizen, this might have occurred to the others if they would have considered to him to be real person rather than a god. The Unknown Citizen’s reputation and Richard Cory’s social rank led to idolization, but neither of the two were truly happy, which challenges the idea that appearance is important.
The outcomes of their supposedly perfect lives is the most ironic challenger of the importance of appearance. Richard Cory “went home and put a bullet through his head,” and the Unknown Citizen’s death made his life anonymous. No one remembers anything about him except that he had a pristine record. According to citizens and statistics, each man was said to lead an ideal life of success. But despite their perfect lifestyles, they each died either in anonymity or from suicide. The wealthy man that everyone envied was not truly happy, and the ‘perfect’ citizen will go unremembered.
The idea that appearances and reputation are important is challenged by the deaths of Richard Cory and the Unknown Citizen through their lack of meaningful relationships, their idealized lives of conformity, and the outcomes of their supposedly perfect lives. No statistics, data, or opinions can truly determine a person’s happiness, success, or worth. Even though a person may appear to have a perfectly normal and organized life, they could have a perfectly normal and organized life, they do have personal situations that no one else knows about. Everyone has issues that they must deal with, and truthfully, the most important aspect of life is not a lucrative job or a normal social life. What every person needs is another person’s support.