Structural Opposition in The Talented Mr. Ripley - Essay Example

Structural Opposition in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” al Affiliation: Introduction In “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” Tom Ripley a very talented young man capable of manipulating a lot of people and situations in his life, is struggling with issue of abandoning his identity in search of a new one. From the beginning to the end of the film, he never fails coming up with a plan that does not just get the audience wondering for how long he was to do his tricks; he also brings a twist to the field of acting that emphasizes human deception. In this structural opposition essay, the topic under discussion is knowledge/ignorance. Many are the cases when the cast members are either in the dark or aware of the goings-in in the film. The question one could ask is; how anticipative are Ripley’s victims? Body The film commences with Ripley using his ‘talents’ to survive in 1950s New York City. His talents include, among many others, lying, impersonation, and forgery. His first victim is the wealthy shipbuilder Mr. Herbert Greenleaf. Believing that Ripley went to Princeton with his son, Greenleaf entices Ripley into traveling to Italy to persuade Dickie to return to the United States. The prize for the task is $1,000. Unknown to Mr. Greenleaf is the fact that Ripley never knew Dickie and had never been to Princeton. In this case, the structural opposition is the thought in Greenleaf eyes that he knew who Ripley was when he was actually in deep ignorance about his new acquaintance. The second victim of Ripley’s is Greenleafs son; Dickie. With Ripley on a mission created by the older Greenleaf, he pretends to know Dickie through jazz music of which the latter was knew. Dickie introduces Ripley to an affluent lifestyle to which the latter finds most adorable. While Dickie is very much ignorant of the fact that Ripley is an impersonator, he resents his constant presence and dependence upon his generosity. To deal with this, he invites Ripley for a last sail to San Remo. On this journey, Ripley kills his host and flees. In this case, it can be noted that Ripley’s victim was to the very least anticipatory of his motives. With Ripley in the know and Dickie in the dark, it was easy for the former to carry out his wishes. Like a ghost haunting an old church house, Ripley assumes Dickies identity and goes on living on the dead man’s provisions. This idea first comes to him when the hotel concierge mistakes him for Dickie. He thus realizes that people were ignorant of his identity. Always aware, Ripley forges Dickies signature and does several adjustments to his life to enable him live on Herbert Greenleaf’s allowance to his dead son. He succeeds overwhelmingly. Anyone can notice that it was not anticipatory of Herbert that his son’s identity could be taken up by the very person he had sent to bring him back. Once again, Ripley stays in the know while his victims stay in the dark. Accumulating more victims of his treachery, Ripley uses Dickies typewriter to lie to the dead man’s fiancée that Dickie had left her. This move, while giving the picture that Dickie was still alive, further allows Ripley to assume Dickies place with entry to hotels in the latter’s name. Another feature in Talented Mr. Ripley’s is the way Mr. Ripley perfected the skills of deception and impersonation which no one anticipated this of him. The tables turn and the first individual –and for the first time- notices that something is amiss. Having acquired a big amount of money, Ripley rents an expensive apartment in Rome. He spends the Christmas holiday alone. His only consolation is the expensive gifts he can now afford for himself. When Freddie, a mutual friend with the deceased, pays him a visit and expects to see Dickie, he notices something is not right. First, he notices that the apartment is not furnished in Dickies signature formula. With this incidence, Freddie and Marge both suspect Ripley to have had a hand in Dickie’s death. Things turn for the worse when Marge –Dickies fiancée- finds the deceased’s rings in Ripley’s apartment. Only the entry of Peter saves Marge’s life from being cut short by the deceptive Ripley. At this moment, Freddie and Marge have created half-truths in their minds about Dickie’s death. They cannot be said to be ignorant anymore. All other parties are still in the dark. Of note also is the fact that Marge never anticipated Ripley’s planned assault on her life. While in his apartment, Freddie noticed that the property-owner referred to Ripley as “Signor Greenleaf.” When he confronts him, Ripley murders him and disposes of the body. This act of violence further brings out the structural opposition in this film. The property owner was completely ignorant of Ripley’s real identity. Secondly, Ripley never anticipated that Freddie could learn of this deception from the property owner. For the very first time, Ripley finds himself on the wrong side of the structure and has to bring back order to his life by murdering Freddie. Having done all that, Ripley became a wanted person by both the Italian police and the friends of Dickie. Meredith Logue, a former friend of Dickies and an heiress in Italy, met Ripley who introduced himself as Dickie. When Meredith’s presence bothers Ripley in relation to his being wanted by the police, he uses one of his many ‘talents’ and forges a suicide note addressed to himself and from Dickie then flees to Venice. Slowly, every party in the film is becoming aware of the fact that Ripley is not Dickie and holding him responsible for the latter’s death. In the view of the structural opposition stated above, very few are on the side of ignorance concerning the goings-on. While still unaware of Ripley’s next move, they know what he is capable of doing. In the end, Ripley ends up evading jail and instead receiving a large portion of Dickie’s income to keep a part of Dickies past to himself. While Marge does not approve of this, it was Herbert’s wish that it happens so. When Peter is about to know that Ripley has been impersonating Dickie, Ripley murders him in his sleep. The issues still in the dark are Dickie’s hidden life and Ripley’s murder of Peter. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be safely deduced that the film “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is full of cases of structural opposition in the view of knowledge and ignorance. It is often said that ignorance is no defense and Ripley ensures the truth of this statement by the many activities he does to people who are ignorant of his intentions. One watching this film would assume that Ripley did all that to survive and that his actions were driven by the survival instinct telling him to murder and stay rich. The truth, however, is that Ripley, in some way, had sworn to do all that he could to acquire wealth and stay relevant in his circles. He was to take any chance he found to suit his position as a fortune seeker. Anyone being driven by the survival instinct would not kill in the name of staying relevant and covering their true identity. Such a person would run away and never bother with other people upon acquiring the wealth they sought. Ripley, on the other hand, goes ahead murdering more people all in the name of enjoying the deceased’s wealth; an endeavor in which he eventually succeeds. References Highsmith, P. (2008). The Talented Mr. Ripley. New York. W. W. Norton & Company. Read More