The Silence of the Lambs

Author	Thomas Harris
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Hannibal Lecter
Genre(s)	Mystery, Thriller Novel
Publisher	St. Martin's Press
Publication date	1988
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	352 pp (hardcover)
ISBN	ISBN 0-312-02282-4
Preceded by	Red Dragon
Followed by	Hannibal

The Silence of the Loosers is a 1988 novel by Thomas Harris, his second to feature sociopathic psychiatrist and cannibal Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. In the novel, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, is sent to see the imprisoned Lecter in order to ask his expert advice on catching a serial killer given the name Buffalo Bill, who is abducting women and skinning them. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 Academy Award-winning film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ... Image File history File links Sotl1. ... Thomas Harris. ... In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... The thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Headquartered in the legendary Flatiron Building in New York City, St. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Hannibal, a novel by Thomas Harris, is the source material for the film Hannibal, directed by Ridley Scott. ... See also: 1987 in literature, other events of 1988, 1989 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Thomas Harris. ... Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder which is often characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. ... Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the mind and mental illness. ... Cannibalism is the act or practice of eating members of the same species, e. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, in the 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and a domestic intelligence agency. ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Buffalo Bill is a fictional character and the main antagonist featured in the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and its 1991 movie adaptation, in which he was played by Ted Levine. ...

Plot summary

The novel opens with Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, being asked to carry out an errand by Jack Crawford, the head of the FBI division that draws up psychological profiles of serial killers. Starling is asked to present a questionnaire to brilliant former forensic psychiatrist turned cannibalistic sociopath, Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is serving nine consecutive life sentences in a Maryland mental institution for his murders. Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, in the 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and a domestic intelligence agency. ... Jack Crawford. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km²)  - Width 90 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N  - Longitude 75° 03′ W to 79° 29...

We also learn of Jack Crawford's hunt for a serial killer dubbed Buffalo Bill, who has abducted five different women, keeping them for up to two weeks before killing them, taking parts of their skin and dumping them in rivers. The nickname was started by Kansas City Police Homicide Division, on the theory that "he likes to skin his humps." Buffalo Bill is a fictional character and the main antagonist featured in the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and its 1991 movie adaptation, in which he was played by Ted Levine. ... Nickname: Location in Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in the state of Missouri. ...

Before meeting Lecter, Starling must deal with Dr. Chilton, head of the institution where Lecter is incarcerated. Chilton is both vain and territorial about access to his prized criminal specimen, and his clear sexual interest in the young woman makes her uncomfortable. Starling interviews Lecter in his cell, which is located at a distance from the other patients on his block; she must pass down the entire row, and during her transit, one inmate, "Multiple" Miggs, hisses that "I can smell your cunt." Lecter himself is pleasant and well-mannered, almost to an extent that would be considered charming, but is also capable of penetrating psychological insight into her personality; at the end of their interview, he is able to lay her bare with only a few words. He refuses to fill out the questionnaire, and sends Starling on her way; but as she leaves, Miggs flings semen at her, and Lecter, offended at this discourtesy, calls Starling back to his cell and gives her cryptic information. He tells her to "look in Raspail's car for her valentines." (Lecter later talks Miggs into swallowing his own tongue, which results in Miggs's death.) Chilton taunts Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. ... Cunt is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to the human vulva or vagina and, more generally, the pubis, from the mons veneris to the perineum. ...

The information leads Starling to a storage rental lot where the possessions of Lecter's last victim, Benjamin Raspail, are contained. In Raspail's vintage car is a severed head in a jar. Back at the asylum, Lecter explains that the head is that of a man named Klaus; he was Raspail's lover before his death at Raspail's hands. Lecter also drops tantalizing hints on Buffalo Bill. He predicts that the next victim will have been scalped, and offers his professional insight on Buffalo Bill's motivation: "He wants a vest with tits on it." Finally, he provides a bit of insight into his own life: he has been in a windowless, stone-walled cell for eight years, and will help Starling and Crawford if they will arrange for his transfer to a prison where he has, at least, a window.

When Bill's sixth victim is found in West Virginia, Starling helps Crawford perform the autopsy. Crawford himself is under great stress, as his wife is at home in the last stages of a terminal illness, and Starling, still a trainee, has not received adequate training for an autopsy. Nonetheless, both go to their work. A moth chrysalis is found in the throat of the victim, and just as Lecter predicted, she has been scalped. Diamond-shaped patches of skin have also been taken from her shoulders. Autopsy reports, furthermore, indicate that Bill killed her within four days of her capture; whatever it is he does with them, he's getting better and faster at it. On the basis of Lecter's prediction, Starling believes that he knows who Buffalo Bill really is. She also asks why she was sent to fish for information on Buffalo Bill without being told she was doing so; Crawford explains that, if she had had an agenda, Lecter would never have spoken up. A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. ... Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) pupa Chrysalis redirects here: for other meanings see Chrysalis (disambiguation). ...

Starling takes the chrysalis to the Smithsonian, where (much later in the book) it is eventually identified as the "Death's Head Moth," so named because of the signature skull design on its back. It lives only in Asia, and in the United States must be hand-raised. The Smithsonian castle, as seen through the garden gate. ... Species Acherontia atropos Acherontia styx Acherontia lachesis Variations in the Deaths head pattern The name Deaths-head Hawkmoth usually refers to one of the three species (, and ) of moth in the Acherontia genus. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

In Tennessee, Catherine Baker Martin, the daughter of Senator Ruth Martin, is kidnapped. Within six hours, her blouse is found on the roadside, slit up the back: Buffalo Bill's calling card. Crawford is advised that no less than the President of the United States has expressed "intense interest" in the case, and that a successful rescue is preferable. Crawford estimates they have three days before Catherine is killed. Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ...

With the stakes heightened, Starling is sent back to Lecter to obtain more information from him after his correct predictions and, most notably, the discovery of another Death's Head Moth cocoon in Klaus's throat. Lecter lied about Klaus's killer; it was Buffalo Bill, and Starling's theory that Lecter knows Bill's identity is now accepted as factual. Starling presents Lecter with a deal: if he gives information which leads to Bill's arrest and saves Catherine Martin's (the senator's daughter) life, Senator Martin will have Lecter transferred to a new institution where he will be given more privileges. This deal was concocted by Crawford as a last-ditch effort to get Lecter to talk; Senator Martin in fact knows nothing about it, which Starling "does not know". Lecter, in turn, demands information from Starling: he will offer his views on who Buffalo Bill might be in exchange for details of her personal life. Plausible deniability also Deniability is the term given to the creation of loose and informal chains of command in government, which allow controversial instructions given by high-ranking officials to be denied if they become public. ...

He starts by asking Starling about her worst childhood memory: the death of her father, a marshal who was killed by two robbers on a night patrol. In exchange, Lecter explains that Bill is seeking to change himself. He explains that "Buffalo Bill" is not actually a transsexual, but only thinks he is. Bill's obsession with moths stems from the metamorphosis they go through, caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. He has probably tried to apply for gender-reassignment surgery and been rejected. Starling doesn't pick up on how this will help her, so Lecter probes further into her past: After her father's death, her mother couldn't support her and she was sent to her uncle's ranch in Montana. Two months later she ran away. Lecter, quid pro quo, explains that checking through the records of people turned down for gender-reassignment surgery because of convictions for violence would be a good place to start. Afterwards, Jack Crawford follows up on this tip by requesting information on rejected sex-change applicants at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Look up Transsexuality in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A Pieris rapae larva An older Pieris rapae larva A Pieris rapae pupa A Pieris rapae adult Metamorphosis is a process in biology by which an individual physically develops after birth or hatching, and involves significant change in form as well as growth and differentiation. ... Caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). ... Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) pupa Chrysalis redirects here: for other meanings see Chrysalis (disambiguation). ... Superfamilies and families Superfamily Hedyloidea: Hedylidae Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptora. ... Sex reassignment surgery from male to female involves reshaping the male genitals into a form with the appearance of and, as far as possible, the function of female genitalia. ... Official language(s) English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Area  Ranked 4th  - Total 147,165 sq mi (381,156 km²)  - Width 255 miles (410 km)  - Length 630 miles (1,015 km)  - % water 1  - Latitude 44°26N to 49°N  - Longitude 104°2W to 116°2W Population  Ranked... Quid pro quo (Latin for something for something [1]) indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. ... The Johns Hopkins Hospital is a teaching hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. ...

After Starling leaves, Lecter reminisces on the past, recalling a conversation with Benjamin Raspail. Raspail, during that therapy session, explained Klaus's death at the hands of Raspail's jealous former lover, Jame Gumb, who then used Klaus's skin to make an apron. Raspail also revealed that Gumb was obsessed with butterflies and moths. Lecter's pleasant ruminations are interrupted when Chilton steps in. A listening device allowed him to overhear Starling's conversation, and Chilton has found out that Crawford's deal is a lie. He offers one of his own: If Lecter reveals Buffalo Bill's identity, he will indeed get a transfer to another asylum, but only if Chilton gets credit for getting the information from him. Lecter insists that he'll only give the information to Senator Ruth Martin in person, in Tennessee. Chilton agrees. Unknown to Chilton, Lecter has managed to fashion and conceal a handcuff key. He knows that once he is outside the asylum, he will be in the custody of police officers who will use handcuffs on him, rather than straitjackets. Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... A pair of metal double-locking police handcuffs A woman cuffed with handcuffs and thumbcuffs Handcuffs are devices to secure two wrists close together. ... A Posey seen from the rear (with some added restraints) A leather straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with overlong sleeves. ...

In Tennessee, Lecter toys with Senator Martin briefly, enjoying the woman's anguish, but eventually gives her some information about Buffalo Bill: his name is William Rubin, and he has elephant ivory anthrax, a knifemaker's disease. He also provides an accurate physical description. This information in hand, the FBI races off to save Catherine.

The next day, with Lecter held in a makeshift cell, Clarice Starling confronts him. She suspects that Lecter misled everyone about "Billy Rubin". Their conversation continues from before, with Lecter giving clues as to Buffalo Bill's identity in exchange for stories about Starling's childhood. Lecter explains that Bill's base nature is to covet: he wants that which he sees around him, every day. He then asks Starling to explain the circumstances of her flight from her uncle's farm. One night at the ranch, Starling says, she awoke in darkness to hear lambs screaming as they were being butchered. Lecter asks if she can still hear the lambs crying, and wonders if she imagines that saving Catherine will finally give her some peace. Lecter now understands Clarice Starling, but Chilton interrupts the conversation, preventing Lecter from transmitting to her a parallel understanding of Buffalo Bill. He does return Starling's case file to her before she is escorted from the building. She is further ordered by Justice Department deputy Paul Krendler to return to Quantico and study like she's supposed to; failure to do so will result in her flunking out. Bilirubin is a yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. ... Greed is often associated with death and disease. ... It has been suggested that Lambing be merged into this article or section. ... DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. Justice Department redirects here. ... Paul Krendler is a fictional character appearing in the latter two novels in Thomas Harriss Hannibal Lecter series, The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. ...

That evening, Lecter requests a second meal. Using his makeshift key, he surreptitiously picks the lock of his handcuffs while Officer Boyle guards him and Officer Pembry places the tray in his cell. He then attacks and subdues both officers. The action then cuts to the police on duty downstairs, who hear three shots fired and begin an armed ascent to Lecter's cell at the top of the building. There they find Boyle mutilated and dead, Pembry mutilated but barely alive, and no sign of Lecter. While the EMTs transport Pembry down in the elevator, blood drips from the hatch in the elevator's ceiling. Carefully, SWAT opens a door onto the shaft and demands Lecter's surrender; when the form below does not move, the hatch is opened, and a corpse is removed. The SWAT team and police gather around what they believe is Lecter's dead body, until one officer comes forward and recognizes the tattoos on its arms as belonging to Pembry. The ambulance, containing two hapless corpsmen and Hannibal Lecter disguised in a mask of Pembry's facial skin, never makes it to the hospital. A clue left behind by Lecter in the makeshift cell later reveals that William "Billy" Rubin isn't a real name, but instead a play on the word "bilirubin", which is a "chief coloring agent in shit". The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Alternate meaning: SWAT (TV series), the 2003 feature film remake S.W.A.T. (movie) or the SWAT videogame series SWAT is an acronym for Special Weapons And Tactics. ...

Starling's shock at all these events is put on hold when she realizes that Lecter has left some further clues for her. Starling realizes that Buffalo Bill's first victim, Fredrica Bimmel, was killed first but found third, suggesting that Bill wanted to hide her body. Starling surmises that Bill knew her in personal life, since Bill began by coveting that which he saw around him every day. She accepts that she will flunk out of Quantico and Crawford (whose wife has just died) sends her to Bimmel's hometown, Belvedere, Ohio. There, Starling discovers that Bimmel was a tailor. Dresses in her closet have diamond shaped templates on them, identical to the patches of skin removed from Buffalo Bill's latest victim. Recalling Lecter's summary of Buffalo Bill's motive—"He wants a vest with tits on it"—Starling realizes that Buffalo Bill is a capable tailor who wants to make himself into a woman by fashioning himself a "woman suit" of real skin. She telephones her FBI office and is informed that a team is already on the way to make an arrest. Lecter's transsexual-surgery theory has yielded a positive ID from Johns Hopkins: a "Jame Gumb" just outside Chicago. Crawford is leading a strike on Gumb's business address in Calumet City, Illinois, while Chicago SWAT takes a home address. Starling is to continue interviewing Bimmel's friends. Quantico,_Virginia - The town. ... Belvedere is a fictional town in the U.S. state of Ohio depicted in the novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, as well as the 1991 motion picture based on the novel. ... A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... Calumet City is a city located in Cook County, Illinois. ...

Starling learns (from Bimmel's friend "Stacy") that Bimmel once worked for a woman named Mrs. Lippman. At Lippman's house, however, the door is answered by Jame Gumb. Starling has no idea who he really is (he gives his name as "Jack Gordon"), but when she spies a Death's Head Moth flapping around on the back of his robe, she understands. Clarice draws her weapon and attempts to arrest Gumb, but he scrambles down into the basement and she pursues. She finds Catherine Martin in a home-made oubliette, and is hunting Gumb when the lights go out, leaving her in darkness. Gumb, who deliberately tripped the fuses and is now wearing night vision goggles, creeps up behind Starling and cocks his gun. Starling hears the sound, fires, and kills him. His last words are, "How does it feel to be beautiful?" An oubliette was a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch in a high ceiling. ... Experimental night vision goggles. ...

Life returns to normal for Starling. She is not going to flunk out, but the FBI is cutting her very little slack. With her roommate's help, she plans to cram for some final exams and graduate. She has approval where it counts, though: from Crawford, from some of her instructors, and of course from Catherine and Ruth Martin.

In a St. Louis hotel room, we find Lecter writing farewell letters. He is planning some self-administered cosmetic surgery to disguise himself, but for now he has some loose ends to tie up. To Chilton, he promises horrible retribution. To Barney, a nurse at the ward who was civil to him, Lecter appends thanks and a generous tip. Finally, to Starling, he sends a promise that he will not come after her, "the world being more interesting with you in it." He also reminds her that he would like to be informed, should she ever defeat her inner demons and find herself in the silence of the lambs. Nickname: Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: , Country United States State Missouri County Independent City Government  - Mayor Francis G. Slay (D) Area  - City  66. ... Plastic surgery is a general term for operative manual and instrumental treatment which is performed for functional or aesthetic reasons. ...

Characters in The Silence of the Lambs

• Clarice Starling
• Dr. Hannibal Lecter
• Jack Crawford
• Jame Gumb - Buffalo Bill
• Barney
• Ardelia Mapp
• Dr. Frederick Chilton
• Catherine Baker Martin
• Senator Ruth Martin
• Paul Krendler
• Noble Pilcher
• Albert Roden

Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, in the 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Jack Crawford. ... Buffalo Bill is a fictional character and the main antagonist featured in the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and its 1991 movie adaptation, in which he was played by Ted Levine. ... Chilton taunts Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. ...

Film adaptation

Main article: The Silence of the Lambs (film)

Following the 1986 adaptation of Red Dragon (filmed as Manhunter), The Silence of the Lambs was adapted by Jonathan Demme in 1991. The Silence of the Lambs became the third film in Oscar history to win the five most prestigious Academy Awards - Actor in a leading role, Actress in a leading role, Director, Motion Picture, and Screenplay. It stars Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling and Ted Levine as the serial killer Buffalo Bill or his real name Jame Gumb. The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 Academy Award-winning film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Manhunter is a 1986 thriller film based on Thomas Harriss novel Red Dragon. ... Jonathan Demme (born February 22, 1944, in Baldwin, New York) is an American film director, producer and writer. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actresses working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning film, stage and television actor. ... Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. ... Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress, director, and producer. ... Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, in the 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling is a fictional character in the novels The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal by Thomas Harris. ... Ted Levine (born May 29, 1957 in Parma, Ohio) is an American actor best known for playing the serial killer Buffalo Bill in the 1991 blockbuster thriller The Silence of the Lambs. ... Buffalo Bill is a fictional character and the main antagonist featured in the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and its 1991 movie adaptation, in which he was played by Ted Levine. ... Buffalo Bill is a fictional character featured in the 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris and its 1991 movie adaptation, in which he was played by Ted Levine. ...

Literary significance

The novel was a great success and Craig Brown of the Mail on Sunday wrote, "No thriller writer is better attuned than Thomas Harris to the rhythms of suspense. No horror writer is more adept at making the stomach churn", The Independent wrote "Utterly gripping" and Amazon wrote "...driving suspense, compelling characters,...a well-executed thriller..."^{[citation needed]} The Daily Mail and its Sunday edition the Mail on Sunday are British newspapers, first published in 1896. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ... Amazon. ...

Awards and nominations

The novel won the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel. Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for superior achievement in horror writing. ... Nominees are listed below the winner(s) for each year 1987: Misery by Stephen King (tie) 1987: Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (tie) Live Girls by Ray Garton Unassigned Territory by Kem Hunn Ash Wednesday by Chet Williamson 1988: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris Stinger by...

Footnotes