Brilliant Highsmith (the Author) Succeeded Essay

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" In all actuality, Tom's criminal activities are certainly more perverse than Greenleaf's father is, and this bit of irony and misplacement of morality comes to typify much of Ripley's characterization -- which is why it is difficult for readers to side against him. After all, this is a man who "had just bought a two-volume edition of Malraux's Psychologic de I'art which he was now reading, with great pleasure, in French with the aid of a dictionary" (Highsmith). Such pursuits are not those of a typical criminal, which is why readers don not consider Ripley as such and which is a testament to Highsmith's skill as an author.

Ripley's motivation for crime, murder and deception are portrayed by Highsmith in a sophisticated manner in which the reader can appreciate why the young man turns to crime. In this respect, "Highsmith…gets inside the heads of her characters and depicts…the things that makes them tick" (Kimbofo). For example, Ripley is motivated in no small amount to live his life illegally in order to satisfy a desire for material items, which the following quote proves.

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"He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man self-respect" (Highsmith). Ultimately, it is Ripley's desire for "self-respect" that he believes other people's clothes give him that leads him to deceive people -- yet this explanation for those actions is understandable to readers because of the conflicted morality portrayed throughout this novel and throughout Ripley's characterization.

Because of the complicated characterization of Ripley, which is fueled by an unconventional sense of morality that justifies or at least attempts to justify Ripley's criminal behavior, the reader ultimately champions Ripley's cause. This fact is no mean feat, and demonstrates how effectively the author has portrayed the reality of motivations, intentions, and the blurry line between good and evil intentions.

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