Max Rose
Dr. Finkelstein
ENG 205-16
Paper #2
The Corrupted Consumer The role of commodities and consumerism in The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith is paramount in the development of the protagonist, Tom Ripley. The novel begins with Ripley in New York struggling to make ends meet without a socially acceptable job but rather an illegitimate occupation in which he swindled people who had no withholding taxes (artists, writers and freelance workers). Although Ripley is undeniably skillful at social manipulation, he lacks self-confidence and an established identity as a man. As a result of his insufficient cash inflows, the offer from Herbert Greenleaf (an all-expense paid for vacation to Europe in the hope that he can persuade his former acquaintance Dickie Greenleaf to return to New York City) will provide an excellent opportunity for him to live the lavish lifestyle that seemed natural to him and establish his own masculinity through materialist possessions and behaviors. The exceedingly low self-esteem of Tom Ripley (at the beginning of the novel) stems from his Aunt Dottie who constantly berates him verbally by saying that he is a “Sissy! He’s a sissy from the ground up. Just like his father.” (p. 40) Ripley was brought up in an unpleasant environment without a supporting family and a lack of material wealth. These factors contribute significantly to the insecure and self-loathing nature Tom Ripley possesses prior to European excursion. The meetings and conversations with Dickie Greenleaf’s father and mother illustrate the perks of living a life of affluence and the desirability to make a respectable impression on people (whether it may be a true reflection of yourself or not). Ripley follows the request of Herbert Greenleaf and travels to Italy and encounters Dickie relaxing on the beach with Marge. The two (Tom and Dickie) quickly become friendly and as a result, Tom is impressively familiarized to the lifestyle and personality of Dickie. Ripley is captivated by the manner in which Dickie carries himself and is entranced by the material pleasures that he possesses such as his house, his appreciation for jazz and his clothes among other things. Throughout the novel, he develops a fixation with the idea that the commodities a man possesses are the highest measure of one’s masculinity. For instance, Highsmith writes “He loved possessions, not masses of them but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man self-respect,” (p. 236) and proceeds to write “Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that,” (p.236). Ripley encourages himself about his manhood by acquiring wealth and various goods on the behalf of the Greenleaf family. All seems to be well for Ripley until Dickie discovers him in his bedroom mimicking Dickie’s behavior in the mirror in his clothes. Tom’s dependence and constant presence was starting to become more and more nauseating to Dickie; therefore it was only a matter of time before he took his frustration out on him. Tom’s desire for material success and wealth led to his obsession with the idea of Dickie Greenleaf (a charming and enthusiastic playboy who takes advantage of his father’s wealth). Through his careful study of Dickie Greenleaf, Tom actually comes to believe that he could be a better Dickie and creates a dual identity of himself and Dickie. Tom Ripley’s continued aspiration to prove his masculinity shows when he moves into his new home in Venice. It pleases him that he is becoming renowned as “one of the young well-to-do American visitors in Italy” and that he “now lives in a palazzo overlooking San Marco in Venice” (p. 202). Throughout the novel, he grows envious of the possessions and lifestyle of Dickie Greenleaf and other classy citizens who are more affluent and manly than he is. As a result, his new Italian palazzo brings him self-importance because of its exclusivity from the rest of the society. His home is described as “a two story house of formal design more than two hundred years old, with a main entrance on the Grand Canal approachable only by gondola, with broad stone steps descending into the water” (p. 202) and the doors into the house require “an eight-inch-long key” (p. 202). This house embodies the belief that Ripley develops which is that the word is a commodity centric culture and as a result, men can only be measured by their success through the possessions that they flaunt to the public. In addition, according to Tom it isn’t necessarily the quantity of possessions one person owns but the grandeur of the belongings that make them relatively unobtainable to the rest of the people in society. The subsequent factor in this description of his house is the ‘enormous’ size of the keys that a person needs to enter through any of the doors. This is an indisputable phallic symbol because of his uncertainty of his own manhood. This is a reflection of his feelings of inadequacy as a man stemming back to his days of being called a sissy by his Aunt. Although it is not an accurate depiction of him, it is clear that his use of his home, other materialistic pleasures and his charming persona help shape his encounters and personal relationships in a manner that is naturally appropriate for the Italian culture and way of life. The male consumer dominated culture that Highsmith portrays is an interesting twist on modern expectations, whereby we generally associate materiality with feminism. The difference between the normal worldview that women are more conscious of consumerism and the amoral worldview of The Talented Mr. Ripley is that it doesn’t necessarily come natural for men but it suggests that commodities are major influencers in order to obtain power and respect in the mid-20th century European society and culture. Tom Ripley proves to not be a monotonous consumer in several situations including not indulging in food despite the fact that he was growing an appetite. Tom isn’t akin to the tendencies that would ordinarily be associated with materiality but rather is corrupted by the power of commodities and the effects that it has on society and the people around you. He doesn’t use possessions primarily to satisfy his own natural and physiological needs but rather to empower him over people around him and likewise fulfilling his psychological mantras. Tom’s obsession for upholding a powerful status was insufficient as him; therefore he thought it was necessary that he should murder Dickie Greenleaf and become him by means of his impeccable impersonation skills. This idea didn’t come immediately following the death of Dickie but as he began to ponder to the possibilities of what just occurred “Tom had an ecstatic moment when he thought of all of the pleasures that lay before him now with Dickie’s money, other beds, tables, seas, ships, suitcases, shirts, years of freedom, years of pleasure,. Then he turned the lights out and put his head down and almost at once fell asleep, happy, content, and utterly, utterly confident, as he had never been before in his life,” (p. 108). Dickie takes Tom in as a houseguest, befriends him and treats him to the luxurious life that Tom has never had; only to be beaten to death with an oar and have both your persona and wealth stolen. Tom is guilty of the crime regardless of the current identity in which he is engaged in, however in some way his perverse train of thought liberated him from the internal punishment of committing the murders of Dickie Greenleaf and Freddie Miles. Tom’s materiality not only corrupts him to an extremely high degree, but in fact warps his mind into believing that he is truthfully deserving of this newly acquired wealth and these possessions (because he is living a false life as Dickie Greenleaf). The rest of the novel is a roller coaster ride between the dual identities of Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf. The persona of Dickie is used by Ripley in order to acquire his wealth through the careful work of his forgery. He continues to utilize his masterful talents of falsifying signatures and impersonating Dickie in order to create a counterfeit but essentially flawless will that in effect will leave Greenleaf’s inheritance and belongings to Ripley. However, Tom returns to his original identity when faced with suspicion of the police, Marge and eventually Herbert Greenleaf. As a result of his desire for material wealth, his personal relationships with these characters become nothing but a string of lies in order to cover his tracks. Following the creation of the fake will and the ever-growing pressure of the Italian police and distrust of Marge, Tom dives further into the depths of these calculated fabrications by procuring a letter from Dickie suggesting that he has become overwhelmed with depression and has committed suicide. His deceitful behavior ultimately breaks him free from the ongoing police investigation and restores trust amongst himself and the Greenleaf family. The novel concludes with Tom travelling to Greece for a vacation with the newly received inheritance of Dickie Greenleaf via the approval of the Greenleaf family. The development of Tom Ripley illustrates how far some people will go to achieve material wealth and pleasure but the underlying question remains: Does the satisfaction outweigh the guilt and paranoia, Tom Ripley?