Conceptualize a world in which you have no conscience, no feelings of guilt or remorse -no matter what actions you take- no sense of empathy or concern of the well being of friends, loved ones, or even family members. This is the world of a sociopath. This is the world of Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Tom develops into an intelligent young man who eventually conjures a crime spree in Europe. His driving force behind this spree, though the spree may be sporadic, is freedom. His ability to be independent from a guilty conscience and the pleasure from concealing a false identity (characteristics of a sociopath) are his motives behind his acquisition for freedom. We do not know much about Tom’s childhood; …show more content…
The Tom we see in New York is poor, intelligent, clever, and anti-social. He makes his keep by receiving monthly checks from his Aunt Dottie and gets his kick by acting as an income tax collector. The title he receives as "Collector of Internal Revenue" (18) is the first notion of Tom getting off on a false identity. While in New York he gets a break from the filthy lifestyle he's leading. The filth is compiled of the crummy community apartment building and the roommates and residents. "There they all were, mostly Bob's lousy friends, sprawled on his bed, on the floor, everywhere… The slobs he had thought he had left behind" (34). Out of serendipitous circumstances and Tom's clever, quick intelligence, he gains an opportunity to mold himself into a position to receive a free ride to Europe. He plays the part of the friend of Robert (Dickie) Greenleaf while Mr. Greenleaf (Dickie's father) becomes his audience. "Tom went on, getting into the spirit of it. 'Dickie showed me some ship models' … 'Did he ever show you his frame models?' Dickie hadn't, but Tom said brightly, 'yes!'" (14) Impersonations become a constant theme. Starting with the act as an income tax collector to the act as Roberts's friend, these impersonations escalate throughout. The attention seeking pleasure he receives from acting out a false identity ends up not being enough. The beginning of his crime spree and essentially his freedom can be seen in Mongibello, Italy. Not only does
One the biggest flaws of Tom’s is that he makes horrible decisions. At the beginning of the book he has borrowed many thousands of dollars from mob bosses around the New York area and now they are trying to kill him. "Of course they found you, you idiot! What do you think this is— Manila? You can't just walk away with $100,000 of the mob's money and expect to live happily ever after.” (Dekker 25). His life is quite messed up. He is an unsuccessful author and lives
Tom the old, ignorant man, who was born wealthy, with slave owners as his ancestors, he thinks he can do what he wants when he wants, just because he has money. for an example when him and Myrtle (Wilson's wife) whom Tom is having an affair with; She was saying "Daisy, Daisy, Daisy." Tom told her "Don't ever say that." Myrtle didn't listen, and Tom being the ignorant man he is, slapped her.
Our conscience is the indicator into what we think and the actions that follow our thinking process. It acts as a guide into different paths of behaviors, such as wrong and right. Sociopaths lack a conscience, have a personality disorder, and act uncontrollably in extreme, and violent behaviors when in encountered in unappealing situations. As “4% of people are sociopaths-1 in 25 people.”(10) Many sociopaths have the tendency to murder and harm others without feeling remorse for their actions. Martha Stout, the author of The Sociopath Next Door, really digs deep into the conscience of sociopaths and their cycle of thinking through many studies.
Tom is old money which means he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth meaning he has always had a lot of money and it affects how he sees others
The persona of a sociopath appears to be much like any human. In many cases, one would not be able to "pick him out of a crowd." Their minds, however, differ greatly from the average mind. A sociopath is extremely smart and methodical and most often is very meticulous in the way in which he acts. While many people are not thinking beyond the norm, a psychopath thinks about his every breath, step, and word. In the short story "Where are you going, Where have you been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, the depiction of a sociopath is apparent. Arnold’s mannerism, thoughts and tactics create the perfect portrayal of a truly sociopathic character.
He is an example of old money, and because he is so rich he decides that he can break all the rules and do whatever he pleases, like cheating on his wife. "'Why -' she said slowly, 'Tom's got some woman in New York.'" (19). (wanting, more than anything else, to buy and own lots of nice things) has gotten to Tom's head and he believes just because he has so much wealth he can buy happiness with anything that he pleases.
Tom fears that his own kind will be overrun by others, such as dreamers like Gatsby. Tom hides “behind his wealth” (Pidgeon 179) and “leave others to clean up [his] messes” (Pidgeon 180). Tom’s arrogance and racism help create his character and establish his place in the society. Tom’s personality depicts his cruel ways of protecting the old money’s ways of life from the new money people. He considers himself above of everyone else.
Tom continues his disloyal acts throughout the novel. Tom admits his own disloyalty when he confesses “Once in awhile I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself” (Fitzgerald 119). Tom acknowledges his disloyalty to his marriage by openly saying to all that he goes off and does what he wants despite his vows. Now that his affair is known by others, they understand that Tom’s lies and affairs are a direct effect of his immorality. Tom’s pride contributes to his imminent loss of morality. He displays his pride when he suspects that Gatsby is a “newly rich… bootlegger” (Fitzgerald 107). When Tom discovers the fact that Gatsby used to be poor and acquired his fortune by bootlegging, he becomes furious that Daisy would leave him for someone that at a time was penniless. Tom’s pride makes him see himself as a superior being because he is rich and always has been, seeing those who are poor, or used to be, as inferior scum. Tom’s ideology and belief that how much money one has is what defines them as a person is leading him on a path that will
Lambert at this point in the movie has completely lost her composer and is lost in fear and clouded with terror which is why Ripley is such a complex character she too is a women but doesn’t let her fear control her. She on the contrary is in charge, she is the one who overlooks everything and takes the initiative to be the leader of her crew. When it comes to taking charge she falls in comfortably and went from following protocol to fight or flight. In the face of danger people all react differently and in this case Ripley turned into a leader who is noble and gives clear messages and commands.
There is no remorse in a wild animal. A sociopath is defined as someone antisocial and with no moral conscience (Dictionary.com). Sociopaths are found commonly amongst politicians and businessmen. In the film "Window of Opportunity", we are introduced to Roger, a sociopath businessman. This paper will examine the character from the film, Roger, along with two other sociopaths, Marge Schott and Vince McMahon (Joeseph 2015).
In today’s society, sociopaths frequently play a big role in the business/political world. Sociopaths are people with personality disorders, who are usually charming, and have poor judgment (M. E. Thomas). Sociopaths usually are not able to tell right from wrong (LoveToKnow Corp). The film Window Of Opportunity, written and directed by Samuel Joseph, had a great example of what a sociopath would be like. The character Roger Sizemore in this film is a sociopath who believes he is the greatest due to the amount of money he has. This paper will describe the film and why the character Roger has sociopathic behaviors, and compare him to Bernie Madoff and Fred Goodwin.
Tom first introduces himself as Dickie when he arrives at the airport in Italy and runs into another American named Meredith. While Meredith knows of Dickie, she does not know him so this is an opportunity for Tom to strike up a relationship with her. Upon meeting Dickie, Tom tries to get close to him. He studies Dickie, his mannerisms, his handwriting, his interests, and the way he speaks. All, so he could pretend to be him.
The themes of desire and identity are commonly seen throughout films and novels through different storylines. However in some stories these themes have a particular significance in the texts influencing the way the story is portrayed, and the way the audience understands the messages trying to come across. Some of the films that hold these themes of desire and identity are The Talented Mr Ripley, Mean Girls, Wolf of Wall Street, and Catch me if you can.
Individuals with psychopathic personality are characterized by a constellation of traits, including interpersonal-affective features such as superficial charm, manipulation, lack of affect and emotion, and antisocial features such as impulsivity and aggression. (Gao, 2011). These traits in turn have been linked to a disregard for laws and social mores, a disregard for the right of others, a failure to feel remorse or guilt and a tendency to display violent behavior (Kennedy, 1954). Furthermore, their interpersonal behavior has been described as selfish, dominant, manipulative, and superficial; showing a lack of responsibility within relationships; and inability to form long-lasting bonds. Psychopaths are described
Psychopaths are identified as people who are emotionally lacking in psychological terms. They lack empathy based upon emotions with their victims. Although they have verbal abilities, they lack complete understanding, which is a capacity to appreciate moral rules responding to their choice of actions. These people are not serialized criminals, as their offenses are usually not significant and are rather considered to be social than legal. A psychopath is one who can get away with illegal behavior in his own interest. A psychopath suffers from an antisocial personality disorder.