In "Richard Cory," compare between the life of Richard Cory and the lives of the townspeople.

The
lowly townspeople viewas a distinguished gentleman, who has a regal appearance and is always
outgoing when he passes by them on the street. Richard Cory is a wealthy man who is described as
being "clean favored" and "quietly arrayed." The townspeople perceive him to
be richer than a king and wish to trade places with him. The townspeople occupy a lower social
class than Richard Cory and must work hard to earn a living. They toil all day and cannot even
afford to eat meat. However, they fail to realize that Richard Cory's life is not as glamorous
or joyful as it seems. Richard Cory's outward appearance and upper-class status conceal his
emotional and psychological distress. The poor townspeople, who seem to have close, meaningful
relationships with each other, fail to notice that Richard Cory is an extremely lonely,
depressed man. Despite their lower-class status and difficult lives, they are more emotionally
healthy and stable than Richard Cory.