Class Significance
How Status Affects Behavior
In “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” Tom Ripley wishes for nothing more than to be considered part of the higher class. Never having been incredibly wealthy, Tom’s ultimate goal was to live the high life no matter what it took to get there, including stealing the identities of innocent civilians by praying on their bank accounts.
Tom’s need for wealth stems from the class difference that shadowed the decade of the 1950’s. To live in a big city, like New York City, you are either very rich, or very poor, there was no gap in between, and unfortunately this meant that the rich only get richer. Despite this fact, the idea of vertical mobility was still encouraging many to enter the country. The American Dream was still a very prevalent use of advertisement in the 1950’s, to encourage immigration into the land of the free. The American Dream’s foundation comes from a system known as meritocracy. Meritocracy encourages all people to follow their dreams in the sense of having the ability to move up or down in whatever career you chose. Blue collar workers were encouraged to pursue a white collar job, if they so wished.
However, the 1950’s was a time where racial prejudices still thrived throughout America, as well as differences in nationality and religion. These prejudices prevented the actual goal of meritocracy, practically rendering the whole purpose of the American Dream useless. It was a common belief that once you were at a job earning a lower income, you would not be able to advance past that. People who wanted to move up in the world were not considered capable of growing past their blue collar jobs, or extending past the stereotypes that prevented them from getting employed. An example of this mindset is portrayed perfectly in this McGraw Hill video discussing the differences in class in the 1950’s. The video follows three children from birth, showing how unlikely it is for a child to progress farther past what their predecessors have accomplished before them.
Despite this mentality of being stuck in whatever class you are born into, the growth of technology inflated exponentially during this decade. This increase in new technology caused an expansion in consumer spending. Seeing all of this take place around him in the heart of the city, encouraged Tom Ripley to get rich quick, taking whatever measures necessary to get there. All of the new products being introduced into homes became status symbols, defining what class you were in. Tom Ripley desired these items, as represented when he begins to dawn the persona of Dickie Greenleaf. This desire for shiny new things, just as proof of wealth, was a common aspiration of the people of the 1950’s.
Class was defined in the 1950’s by who you were, where you were, and what you had. Class became a materialized during this era. Though great strides were being made racially, many problems still plagued the nation, stopping many from doing what they came to America to do: pursue their dreams.
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