Dick is a Hypocrite

Dick under pressure, and slightly afraid of what will come becomes a hypocrite, and shows us that he is not as tough as he tries to portray himself as. Dick starts out being strong and clever at the beginning of the book but he is now slowly letting his tough outer shell peel off. Now, even Perry is sensing this and is scared he might brake under the questions. Perry thinks to himself, “Dick was smart, a convincing performer, but his ‘guts’ were unreliable, he panicked too easily” (227). Perry would never have doubted Dick for a second before, but now there is uncertainty. The uncertainty hits both almost simultaneously, because in the other cell Dick is thinking almost the exact same thing about Perry. Dick agonizes over the fact that Perry might already have left it out. Then he becomes angry and says, “Perry, if he lost his nerve and let fly, could put them both in The Corner. And suddenly he saw the truth: It was Perry he ought to have silenced.” (228). He seriously considers, however late, that he left a loose end and Perry would give them both up. He thought of him as a friend and partner now his fear leads to paranoia and then his judgment on what to do becomes murky with other thoughts. Dick is a hypocrite that tries to justify his situation with blaming someone else.