Comparison of the Book and the Movie in Regards to Symbolism the Talented Mr. Ripley

¶ … Talented Mr. Ripley

The story of Patricia Highsmith's Mr. Ripley is one about a man who is very adept at pretending to be something that he is not. The original novel of The Talented Mr. Ripley tells the story of a man who is on the outside of the upper class system. More than anything, he wants to become part of the elite and is able to do so through manipulation and deception. When this proves fruitless, Mr. Ripley resorts to multiple homicides in order to achieve his financial goal. Much of the potency of the story comes from the symbolism that is present throughout the tale. In both the original novel and the later film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, there are several very important symbols which are used to illustrate the character of Tom Ripley and his true nature. One particular symbol that echoes throughout both the novel and the film of The Talented Mr. Ripley is the color green. This color is found throughout both texts in numerous occasions, each time illustrating a portion of Ripley's character as well as the truth of the supporting characters around him.

The very first line of the book shows the importance of the color green and foreshadows how the color will act in the rest of the tale. When Dickie Greenleaf's father is trying to approach Tom Ripley for the first time, it is while the latter is exiting an establishment called the Green Cage (Highsmith 9). It is also by using the name of the Green Cage that Tom is later able to convince Dickie that the two had a past acquaintanceship. Being that the color imagery is used so frequently, it is evident that Highsmith wants the reader to be aware of its presence and to take particular notice whenever it is mentioned. The color green is a clue that the item or the person will be intricately connected to the plot. It is a clue to the reader to watch for the reappearance of that subject throughout the narrative.

The color green is synonymous with money and with covetousness. A person can be green with envy. They can pay for material possessions with greenbacks. In the United States at least, green is the color of money. Also money is referred to in terms of vegetation, such as being called "cabbage." The most obvious example of the color green is in the characters of the wealthy father who hires Tom and in his wealthy and unreliable son Dickie. Both men are extremely entitled and have the personality which is often found in the very wealthy. They both have large amounts of wealth and thus expect to get what they want out of life. Money has allowed the men to create the existences that they desire.

Very rare is the occasion that money has not been able to get them the things they want, whether those things be material objects, experiences, adventures, or even people. Their last name is Greenleaf. This name shows that Highsmith intends for these characters to be literally associated with money. This is evident in the fact that much of the things the men talk about are money or acquisition of money and property. One pertinent example is early in the film when Herbert Greenleaf sees a street musician and says, "I'd pay that fellow a hundred dollars right now to shut up." The man has nothing to do with Mr. Greenleaf. He is simply a street musician trying to make a living. His presence causes some distress to Greenleaf and his suggestion for removing this distress is to apply money to it.

One of the most important symbols in both the book and movie version of The Talented Mr. Ripley is Dickie's ring. He wears two rings constantly, a signet ring and the ring that Marge gave him and made him swear on his life never to take off. This ring is described as having "a large rectangular green stone set in gold" (Highsmith 51). By this point the color green has been designated a focal point and making the stone in the ring green should telegraph to the reader that the ring will become very important later on. This proves true as the ring becomes the focus of Marge's suspicions in the film but the source of her belief that Dickie has either committed suicide or has killed Freddie in the novel. Relinquishing the ring to Tom is indicative that he has lost interest in his life one way or the other.

The next most obvious symbolic usage of the color green is in the water that surrounds the characters as they vacation in Europe. Characters are more on the water than they are on the land. When Tom Ripley finally becomes enraged and kills Dickie Greenleaf, it occurs while on the boat. The water, Highsmith states, is green in color as opposed to the traditional blue. He is not the only person to die on the water. In the film version of the story, where the homosexuality and homoeroticism are made more palpable, Tom's new love Peter also finds his death on the water. Both of these men's lives are ended on the water and it is presumed that both are buried at sea. Since both of the murder victims are wealthy, it makes sense that they would meet their ends on green water.

As stated earlier, Highsmith uses the color green to illustrate wealth and the perks that go with it. Both men die on green water because it is their wealth that invariably leads to their deaths. Dickie is murdered because the wealthy and unfeeling young man intended to break off his friendship with Tom Ripley, preventing Tom from his continued association with the higher class people. He symbolically drowns in his own wealth. In the film version, Ripley goes on to commit a second murder, that of Marge's friend Peter. Peter too is extremely wealthy and this is one of the reasons, if not the reason, that Tom begins a relationship with him. It becomes evident that Peter is a danger to Tom and will potentially reveal his "true" identity and unmask him as he pretends to be Dickie Greenleaf. The possibility of exposure is enough to make Tom fear for his safety and he disposes of Peter in the green water as well.