The Talented Mr. Ripley

5 Pages 1258 Words

The Talented Mr. Ripley
By: Patricia Highsmith
Copyright © 1955

Setting:
The Talented Mr. Ripley takes place somewhere in the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. The year is never said in the book. When letters are written the people only use “19—”. The book is mainly set in and around Italy, but some parts of it are set in the United States. A lot of traveling and moving is done, so lots of cities are home to the main character, Tom, during the duration of the book However, Mongibello and Rome are two cities that he seems to stay in for a while.

Major Character Descriptions:
Tom Ripley is a twenty-five year old American sent to Italy by Herbert Greenleaf to bring his son, Dickie, home. But, unbeknownst to Mr.Greenleaf, Tom is a master of forgery. Shy, but easily angered, Tom befriends Dickie and stays with him in Italy. Everything goes along well until Dickie starts to push Tom out of his life. Tom ends up killing Dickie, and pretends to be him. To keep his secret Tom has to kill one of Dickie’s friends, and later reclaim his own life.

Dickie Greenleaf a young twenty-five year old American who lives in Mongibello, Italy. His parents send Tom Ripley to bring him home. Dickie takes an almost immediate liking to Tom, and they become good friends. They start doing many things together until it’s just too much. Dickie starts spending more of his time with his girl friend Marge, and Tom doesn’t like that. Dickie becomes bored with Tom, so one day Tom becomes enraged by this and decides to kill Dickie.

As the only other American in Mongibello, Marge Sherwood is a good friend with Dickie. She doesn’t like Tom as much as Dickie. She believes he is a fraud who is after Dickie’s money and love. These opinions arose from feeling abandoned by Dickie when Tom came to town. Tom hates her because of this, and they begin fighting for Dickie’s love. When Tom poses as Dickie he makes as if he wins. This Dickie moves away ...