Characterization in “Miniver Cheevy”

Edwin Arlington Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show that people are always going to have challenges in their life, but the best way of handling these situations is to accept them, so we can receive positive results. He uses characterization to prove that issues in life should be embraced, and people should live in the present instead of dreaming about the past. Certain things cannot be controlled, and we should not try to change them. In the poem “Miniver Cheevy”, Edwin Arlington Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a child reminiscing about life in a different time period, to send his readers a message about living in the present and adjusting to situations we have no control over.

Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy as a character romanticizing about the past to prove that people should embrace their lives and challenges, as opposed to feeling sorry for themselves and trying to live in the past. “Miniver loved the Medici” (line 17). Instead of trying to make due with and accept the life that he has been given, he chooses to dream about the past and what it would be like to live during that time. He continues to think about people and events in the past, such as the Medici, and how he would like to be a part of something that, ideally, he cannot possibly ever be a part of. “He would have sin incessantly could he have been one” (line 19). Robinson uses this line of the poem to show to what extent Miniver would be willing to go to if he somehow had the opportunity to be a part of a different time period. Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to show us that it is better to accept and take advantage of what we have been given, instead of pitying ourselves and living through the past.

Robinson uses Miniver Cheevy to show that life is not always going to go accordingly, and there is no reason to try to change the things that we have no control over, such as when and in what time period a person is born. Robinson writes that Miniver Cheevy was “born too late” (line 30). He depicts Miniver as someone trying to control things that cannot be controlled, no matter what people say or do. Miniver is making himself miserable when he could make himself happy if he just accepts the circumstances that he is currently in. Robinson depicts Miniver Cheevy, in this way, to send a message about accepting the lives that we are given, instead of trying to change the unchangeable. Robinson explains that we can either make ourselves miserable or try to adapt to the circumstances and create a happier life for ourselves.

Robinson characterizes Miniver Cheevy in this way, to illustrate that certain things in life cannot be controlled, but people can create their own happiness by accepting the circumstances and finding a way to turn a tragic situation into a positive one. Miniver Cheevy “wept that he was ever born” (line 3). Robinson uses this line to show how much Miniver Cheevy wants to live in another time period; however, wishing never to be born is exaggerated considering the circumstances. Miniver Cheevy is making himself unhappy and does not have a genuine reason to wish that he were not born.  At the end of the poem, “Miniver coughed, and called it fate, and kept on drinking” (line 31-32).  Robinson is characterizing Miniver Cheevy as someone who does not appreciate the hand that he has been dealt. He has not been given the perfect life, but he has not been given any reason to pity life as much as he does. He prefers to feel sorry for himself, as opposed to, trying to turn the situation around in his favor, and in the end, he makes the choice to continue living a miserable life. Robinson characterizes Miniver Cheevy this way to show that not everything is always going to be perfect, but people control their own happiness based on whether they are or are not willing to try to make the best out of the situation.

Robinson’s depiction of Miniver Cheevy shows that it is okay to feel disappointed when we are let down or things do not go the way that we want them to, but it is unreasonable to pity the things that cannot be controlled regardless of anything we do. People have the right to be upset when they make mistakes that negatively affect a situation, but it is hard to understand why someone would be so upset, to the extent of wishing that they were not born, about a situation that will never be the way that they want it to. When there is a solution to the problem and things are not working out, it is understandable to be upset, but when there is not and never going to be a solution, people have no choice but to try to acclimate to the circumstances. Robinson uses the character Miniver Cheevy to send us an important message about living with what we are given and trying to live with the things that cannot be changed.