Afternoon Pages (21.11.2008)

What would you say about Tom Ripley, judging by his behavior, in view of the fact that he haskilled two people several days ago? Would you consider him as a mentally ill person or anabsolutely sane, cruel and calculating man?

I, personally, consider him to be absolutely mentally ill, cruel, immoral person, because normally, we don't kill our friends just because of unrequited love. Moreover, I think he was in fever while killing his friend in a boat, judging by his behavior, his eyes and cold mind at that moment. On the other hand, you should be very clever, very calculating person in order to hide the death of two people and pretend to be one of them for such a long period of time. I can describe him as a very confident person, that he was able to come through unscathed, calculating, calm, cruel, suffering from a mental disease that could be very dangerous for the society, as you never know what to expect from him. I think it's unsafe to live with such a person, however, it's hard to tell that he has mental problems, judging by short-lasting conversation with him.