Tom Ripley Irrationality

In our society, whether it be modern or past times, Insanity has always been a behavior that has been looked upon in a negative light. If a person behaves in a way that does not follow what society considers normal, usually, they are ostracized. However, we cannot confuse insanity with irrationality. Throughout this film, Tom engages in many immoral acts that can be perceived as acts of insanity: Murder, fraud, and deception, all on a grand scale. But, when taking into consideration how calculated the motives are behind these acts, rather than insanity, it is clear that Tom’s acts are those of an irrationally thinking person. Tom Ripley’s irrational, yet shrewd (in every sense of that word) mind, enables him to achieve his ultimate goal, becoming …show more content…
Ripley, it is important to examine the roots of his irrationality. It appears that he is either envious or intimidated by those that are wealthier than he is. Tom desires to leave behind his current life… "to leave New York”, fit into society better than currently does. When Mr.Greenleaf proposes for Tom to go to Italy to persuade his son to come home, he sees this as a window of opportunity for a “clean slate” and accepts his proposal, “Goodbye to all the second-rate people he had hung around and had let hang around him in the past three years.” Dickey Greenleaf and Italy gives Tom the opportunity to escape from his lonely life, and live the life he’s always wanted to …show more content…
Just like Tom, Dickie uses people. Once he uses them for what he wants, he throws them away. Tom's “try-hard” attitude rubs Dickie the wrong way and he tries to throw him away but is suddenly introduced to another version of Tom Ripley that he did not know. One wielding a paddle at him. Tom kills Dickie in a fit of rage, yet the audience feels compelled to sympathize with him. Tom Ripley is presented as an irrational man with a reason behind all of his actions. He's not insane but determined. He's determined to belong, to be cool, hip and rich, to basically be everything that he is not. If he sees murder as being the only way to achieving this goal, then maybe it is justified? Tom’s 2nd murder, that of Freddie Miles, is a little more irrational than the first murder, but again purposeful. Freddie is seen as a threat to his plan, so Tom sees it necessary to eliminate the problem. He does this in a way that the murder would remain a mystery to everyone. The fact that Tom regrets his actions after the fact indicates that he is a sane man. He feels remorse for taking the life of an innocent man, whom at the same time isn’t so innocent, because he interferes with Tom’s plan of living lavishly as Dickie