Alex+B+and+Calean+H

 The poem “Richard Corey” shows the resulting effects of an overburden of stress in a pers on’s life. Edwin Arlington Robinson writes a cheerful and friendly sort of beginning stating, “He was a gentleman from sole to crown/Clean favored, and imperially slim” (Robinson). However, in the finale, Robinson has Richard committing suicide at his home stating, “So on we worked, and waited for the light/And went without the meat, and cursed the bread/And Richard Cory, one calm summer night/Went home and put a bullet through his head” (Robinson). This is a shocking turn of events within the poem, yet shows an example of what may happen if stress becomes to much with the committing of suicide in a seemingly perfect life. Robinson shows this perfect life with, "In fine, we thought that he was everything/To make us wish that we were in his place" (Robinson). The conclusion of the poem is an example of stress turning into a great burden in its own right when allowed to grow and fester, as shown in his life when stating that he was a gentleman entirely yet committing suicide in the end in."He was a gentleman form sole to crown,... Went home and but a bullet through his head" (Robinson). Richard acted like nothing was wrong at all the entire time, arousing no suspicion or concern from the community as shown in, " And admirably schooled in every grace (Robinson). This then became to much for him to continue to live with it, prompting him to commit suicide to escape the pressure as Robinson shows in, "And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,/Went home and put a bullet through his head (Robinson). In this, the stress that can gather and accumulate if not allowed to be expressed, results in a conclusion that can only be resolved through a termination. Stress creates disastrous results in this process for many individuals as circumstances arise to increase its production.

In this, a similarity between Richard Corey and Coach Gaines of “Friday Night Lights”, with the pressure that he receives from being the Coach of the Permian Panthers and during losses, creating a circumstance bordering the state of Richard Corey when his life finally ran its course. Gaines is one of the most important people to the town as his wife outlines with, " If you took a poll, few people in town could tell you who the mayor was, or the police chief, or the city manager. .... But just about everybody could tell you who the coach of Permian High School was, and that rubbed of on her"(Bissinger 236). From this it's understood that Gaines is not only important to the team he's important to the community. Kinda like the man in the poem, "Whenever RIchard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him" (Robinson), however this is goes both ways because if he doesn't do well people blame him. His priorities not only being the game but the people who play it. This is a fault that he learns. With Gaines on the border of losing his job. rather than being obsessed with winning he instead also tries to build character within the the players. A.G Wilkins introduces this idea by saying, "you don't keep your job on how many good guys you turn out... in this state, in this community, the bottom line is how many games you win" (Bissinger 243). As Gaines sees his end coming he anticipates it to happen soon and when it does he'll be ready to bite the bullet.