How One Takes Life for Granted Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How One Takes Life for Granted - Essay Example Both however, exposed an understanding of the truth and what lies beneath the surface. 'Richard Cory' had a universal speaker, using "we" throughout. This helped to set him apart from "we", the ordinary people who looked at him as "a gentleman from head to crown" (l. 3). The tone contains irony, awe and envy: "we thought that he was everything/To make us wish that we were in his place." (l. 11-12). The metaphor and visual imagery in "and he glittered when he walked" (l. 8) create pictures of somebody bedecked in gold and precious jewels, symbols of wealth. The envious tone changed later to bitterness with the words: "So on we worked.And went without the meat and cursed the bread." (l. 13-14), as if this was all life could be for them, the difference between rich and poor. The last line exposed how taking life for granted was a big mistake. This untouchable, aristocratic man who seemed to have it all, "Went home and put a bullet through his head." (l. 16). The poem had a lilting, easy, almost ballad type style, up until the shocking final line that was in stark contras t to how Richard Cory was perceived. The clear message was that people and life should never to be judged by outward appearances, or apparent circumstances. Though similarly like a song, in contrast, 'My Papa's Wa