A Look at Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs

In the book Silence of the Lambs (Harris, 1988) the whole plot is based around three main characters. Clarice Starling, a precociously self-disciplined FBI trainee who is put into the position of trying to unravel the mind of an evil genius, Hannibal the cannibal Lecter, in order to find the answers needed to capture the serial killer, Jame Gumb, also known as Buffalo Bill. Hannibal the Cannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist, is in a mental institute for his ferocious attacks. Hannibal is known as a monster by many who surround him. The final main character is James Gumb, also known as Buffalo Bill. Throughout the story he is committing horrible acts of murder and skinning of many females in pursuit of becoming a female himself. The psychological background is very strong in all of the characters, lending to their believability. The intrigue of Gumb with moths is particularly worth noting, since there is very little evidence of prior criminals being documented as having used this sort of post mortem decoration, yet the logic of the idea is impeccable. There is suspense and conflict throughout the story to keep the readers attention and to help show the relationships throughout the book.

Starling is the protagonist in the book, and the majority of the story line takes place from her point of view. She is driven by memories of her childhood, which is a recurring theme throughout the book. Most of these are in the form of flashbulb memories, a recollection of an event so powerful that the recollection is highly vivid and richly detailed, as if it were preserved on film. She draws upon these memories for courage, and they give her the strength of will to accomplish whatever task it is she is about to perform. Through the discussions with Lecter, she is finding out the truths of her own past. Also, by taking the step to move ahead of her past and talking to Lecter she is finding out how to solve the case with the evidence that is right in front of her.

Hannibal Lecter is neither an antagonist nor protagonist, but more like a middleman throughout the novel. He doles out parcels of knowledge to Clarice Starling in order to test her strength of mind, and to benefit himself by getting rewards for helping the FBI, such as a room with a window and unlimited access to books and any other sort of research material he might want, especially the criminal file on Buffalo Bill. He also wants to learn more about Starling, and the only way she usually got any information from him was through exchanging his knowledge for tidbits from her childhood.

James Gumb is a mystery during most of the book, and is an unseen antagonist except for brief periods when the author switches to his point of view to enlighten the reader to exactly what Gumb is thinking about before he commits his murders, and shed some light upon what sort of personality Gumb has. He is a white male in his mid thirties; most serial killers are white male, unemployed, intelligent and experience financial difficulty. Gumb is all of these things, he is unemployed but a very skilled seamstress, and using these skills is making him a second skin out of women who he is able to take control of and render them powerless. He is also very intelligent but is unable to interact with other people and therefore remains unemployed. James experienced financial difficulties until he was the recipient of a large sum of money from an inheritance.

The only true weak link in the author's psychological profile of the characters is exactly how Lecter knew of Gumb and how he relayed the information to Starling. Lecter prided himself on being able to figure things out on his own, yet the revelation of his knowing Jame Gumb came about through recalling a memory of one of his past patients, who was also a lover to Gumb and one of Lecter's final victims. The fact that Lecter did not use any of his ample critical thinking skills into coming up with a suspect for the Buffalo Bill murders seems very out of line with his nature. This is the only inconsistency the author makes; yet it plays an integral part in the book and its outcome.

There are no other discrepancies in the psychological backgrounds of the other characters, from Starlings sensible way of thinking, to James Gumb's inclination towards wearing the skin of another human being. Another aspect of the story is Gumb's fascination with the metamorphosis of moths, particularly the deaths head moth. After the killing of each victim, Gumb places a moth just coming out of its chrysalis into the back of the throat of the victim. The significance of this is that with each skin Gumb is becoming more and more of a woman, with larger breasts, and a more feminine