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The Talented Mr. Ripley (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)

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Highsmith's most famous work, The Talented Mr. Ripley, bears resemblance to Strangers on a Train. Tom Ripley's world is marked by alienation and oppressive social rules. Tom does not fit into “good” society, and consequently he “performs” various roles, mimicking not only conventions he sees as key to social acceptance but ultimately imitating his double, Dickie Greenleaf—the ultimate social “insider”—in order to gain access to the American Dream.

The novel opens with Tom Ripley being followed. Eventually, it is revealed that Tom's pursuer is not...

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