Tom's salient characteristics in this film are social envy, opportunism, desire.
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led him into the apparently inescapable hole.... he dug himself in deeper and deeper, so it seemed probable that he would not escape justice for his crimes.
Tom's various jobs are chosen with possibilities of mingling among the rich and powerful; at the very least, observing them.
I absolutely agree with you on these points. He has such envy, such ambition, jealousy, I'm sure there are a million words you could put here. It was like a game: "Who can I meet?" "How do I act when I meet them??" etc.
Yet it was impossible to predict what *might* happen, who *might* Tom run into in such places - if he bided his time. In this case, as you say:
But if he hadn't met Herbert Greenleaf, what might his story have been?
This is a great question. When Mr. Greenleaf meets Tom, Tom is quick but NOT thought-out. He sees an opportunity, and he grabs it, impulsively - first, mistaken to being a Princeton alum, Tom jumps in and goes for it, and by the end of the conversation Herbert Greenleaf is certain he has met a well-heeled young man. 'Does Tom want to go to Europe?' YES. His every statement, reply, to Mr. Greenleaf does nothing but increase the man's estimation of Tom. (Remember, all the menial jobs that allowed for observation of 'rich folk' :)
He is impulsive throughout the film (except when working towards *hiding* his impulsive behavior, when he seems most linear and able to think things out.)
His behavior towards Mr. Greenleaf is a perfect example. There's a mistaken identity, Tom thinks in a flash, something like "hmm this could be something...and if it isn't, I won't be worse off"; so he proceeds, turning what you might call a "fib" into a situation where he's telling lie after lie, lies that build upon one another as the conversation is going - it seems like Tom is thinking, "What next?" as in, 'how can I improve my lot in life?' which has been his goal all along.
So, ok, he's all set with this. What he has been striving towards all along... if he had NOT met Mr. Greenleaf, well, as you point out:
he was young and relatively attractive, he was in NYC, and through his job, he had contact with wealthy connected people. He might have met someone
True. He would've met *someone*, is the point, doesn't much matter who - Tom can theoretically show deep love for just about anyone, but it is really himself that he loves. For example, he thinks he makes a better Dickie Greenleaf than Dickie himself did.
As mentioned, his menial jobs all provide him with the chance to observe how one is to act, and second, well, you hang around enough and you're on your toes... *something* will happen. Maybe 5 years later - though I highly doubt it would have taken so long.
The only thing I disagree with is your comment:
He might have met someone, perhaps an older gay man, who would have loved and helped him.
He would've met someone, yes, perhaps an older gay man but not necessarily. He could take ANYONE with the imitation of charisma that he developed (Can one imitate charisma without being truly charismatic? There is a question for the ages.) An older gay man could work, but there were plenty of older women who would have worked just as well. - Of course, the men's bathroom job he's gonna meet more men than women, but still, he is AT the event and could run into anyone.
He could've met a Meredith, for example; any moneyed young woman who could introduce Tom into her family (this would not gave worked with a moneyed young man, not in the 1950's, not if he stayed in New York).
He'd have found someone else, it doesn't even matter who. He'd meet someone and go with it.. That was his purpose and he would stay in wait, for the right time, the right person...and who knows, perhaps violence would not have entered his story at all. But things added up, he got stuck, etc etc. The rest, it's hard to say if he actually IS a violent person to begin with, or if he turns into one due to circumstance. It kinda doesn't matter, within the film. There are a million interesting stories Tom could have gotten into...but this is it for Tom Ripley. No going back.
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