Edgar Arlington Robinson

Edgar Arlington Robinson questioned his survival since he was six years old (Meet). He grew up in Gardiner, Maine. He started writing because he felt like it was his "destiny" to write (Meet). He felt like he was put on the earth to write and to share his feelings with the world. He also felt like he was enslaved to write poetry for the world (Meet). He went to Harvard and he also wrote for two years there (Meet). The struggles in his life led him to become a realism author. His father died in 1892 and his mother in 1896 from a disease (Meet). His brothers also became a drug dealer and an alocholic and they both died early (Meet). Since he went through so much turmoil, he wrote about sad and real things. The characters in his poems go through the same problems that people in real life go through. He makes the characters frustrated and have the feeling of defeat in his writings (Meet). This is realism because he went through these feelings when he lost his family and when he started to question his existence in the world and his purpose. He has always felt like he did not belong in the world and he should not be here. He tried to make up these real feelings by writing them down for others to share the feelings. He also had more struggle when he moved to Ney York City in 1896 (Meet). He could not find many jobs and he was not making much money (Meet). He was not able to get his poetry published (Meet). He had a life changing moment when President Theodore Roosevelt rescued him (Meet). Roosevelt loved his poetry and gave him a job that he would be able to write as he pleased without worrying about money (Meet). That was a big turning point in his life.
The poem Richard Cory is a huge example of realist writing. I could not find a bigger example if I looked for it. The poem is about a rich man named Richard Cory (Robinson, Richard). He talks about how the guy is always dressed nicely and has "More money than a king" (Robinson, Richard). He also said that he was very well respected and polite to everyone in town (Robinson, Richard). Robinson also stated that the people in town wanted to be like him (Robinson, Richard). This shows realism because people always want what they can not have. Realism is a form of writing that depicts real situations and feelings in real life (Werlock). What the townspeople did not know was that Mr. Cory was not all that satisfied with his life. He went back to his house and he killed himself (Robinson, Richard). That shows realism because everyday we see people who look happy on the outside.
The poem, Miniver Cheevy reflected the views of Robinson. Cheevy questions his purpose in life (Robinson, Miniver). He talks about the questions he has faced his life upon in the poem and they problems he has himself (Robinson, Cheevy). Robinson uses a lot of true realism in his writings by writing basically memoirs of his life.

Robinson, Edgar Arlington "Richard Cory." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 575. Print.

Robinson, Edgar Arlington "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 576. Print.

"Meet Edgar Arlington Robinson." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 573. Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/