The Talented Mr. Ripley Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Talented Mr. Ripley follows Tom Ripley, a young con man in New York who is paid by a rich shipbuilder to go to Italy and persuade his son Dickie Greenleaf to come home. Instead, Tom becomes obsessed with Dickie's carefree life, kills him and takes over his identity.
It is the first of Patricia Highsmith's five novels about Tom Ripley.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Tom Ripley | Clever, insecure con artist |
| Dickie Greenleaf | Rich young American living in Italy |
| Marge Sherwood | Dickie's American friend |
| Herbert Greenleaf | Dickie's father |
| Freddie Miles | Dickie's suspicious friend |
| Tenente Roverini | Italian police officer |
Why does Tom go to Italy?
Herbert Greenleaf believes Tom is a friend of his son and pays him to travel to Mongibello, a seaside village in Italy, to bring Dickie home. Tom has been living by small frauds. In Italy he wins Dickie's friendship and moves into his house. Marge, Dickie's friend, distrusts him.
↑ Back to the topHow does Tom's obsession grow?
Tom envies and admires Dickie, imitating his clothes, voice and manners. Dickie catches him dressed in his clothes and grows cold, and Tom senses he will soon be cast aside. On a trip to San Remo, they take a small boat out alone. Tom kills Dickie with an oar and sinks his body with a stone.
↑ Back to the topHow does Tom take over Dickie's life?
Tom becomes Dickie. He forges his signature, lives on his allowance in Rome and writes letters to Marge in Dickie's style. When Freddie Miles visits and grows suspicious, Tom kills him with an ashtray and leaves his body in a car. The police want to question Dickie about Freddie, and Tom has to switch back and forth between the two identities.
↑ Back to the topHow does Tom escape suspicion?
Tom stages Dickie's disappearance, so it appears Dickie killed Freddie and then took his own life. Back as himself, he moves to Venice. Marge visits and finds Dickie's rings in Tom's things. Tom nearly kills her, but she accepts his explanation that Dickie gave them to him. Mr. Greenleaf arrives with an American private detective.
↑ Back to the topHow does The Talented Mr. Ripley end?
Tom forges a will in Dickie's name leaving everything to himself. The Greenleafs accept it, believing their son unstable. Tom sails for Greece with his new fortune. He fears that police will be waiting at every port, but no one arrests him, and he realizes he has gotten away with it, though he imagines he will always be looking over his shoulder.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Talented Mr. Ripley
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.