The Talented Mr.Ripley

The Struggle of the Mind The Psychoanalytic Theory is a means of literary critique which provides a framework for insightful character analysis. Its tenet is based on Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche which identifies the id, the ego and the superego as the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described. According to such model, the irrational, instinctual trends of the mind are the id; the rational, realistic part of the psyche is the ego; and its critical and moralizing function is the superego. By applying such Freudian concepts to Tom Ripley, the protagonist in Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, the reader is better able to understand the forces that guide his actions and the inevitable repercussions he must face. It is clear that the uncoordinated and instinctual trends of Ripley’s id, ego and superego are the reason for his downfall into a life of crime and isolation. Tom Ripley’s id is the dark, inaccessible part of his personality which he cannot control and which urges him to consider murder as his only option to satisy his overriding desire to belong to a higher, richer social class. Although he has been hired by Herbert Greenleaf to travel to Italy to convince his son, Dickie, to return home, Tom murders Dickie in order that he may assume his identity and insinuate himself into Dickie’s enjoyable lifestyle. That Tom’s id is of a negative nature and in contrast to his ego is evident when Dickie “…knew that he was going to do it, that he would not stop himself now, maybe couldn’t stop himself…” (Highsmith 100) Tom’s id is subject to the observance of the pleasure principle and strives to bring about the satisfaction he craves to become someone like Dickie, making Tom feel entirely justified in adopting whatever means he deems necessary to pursue his goal. That Tom is unable to control his id is also apparent when he kills Freddie Miles, Dickie’s friend, for

Cited: "Gale - Enter Product Login." GaleNet. 17 Dec. 2009 . Highsmith, Patricia. The Talented Mr. Ripley. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008. "Whiting." Crimeculture.com. 17 Dec. 2009 .