Mr. John Clay not only has an aristocratic background as a foundation for being a criminal, but he also has the experience to draw on and improve his skills to become the brilliant criminal that he is. “He’s going to break a nursery in Scotland one week and raise money to build an orphanage in Cornwall the next. I've been following him for years and I've never seen him before” (49), says Mr. Jones. One might think that since John Clay can appear to do good and evil in a short period of time, he is a master in the art of disguise. Behind the scenes, no one can see the crimes he commits, but they outwardly see the good deeds. Other people may see kind gestures like raising money for an orphanage and never expect him to be the type to commit crimes. Ultimately, he created this illusion of living a good life so that no one would suspect that he would do anything other than benevolent acts. Through experience, he improved his skills to become almost a perfect criminal. Committing crimes allowed him to improve his skills and each time gain knowledge on how to commit a crime better than the last.