124 pages • 4 hours read
Thomas HarrisA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Clarice Starling is the protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs. She is a student at the FBI Academy in Quantico who becomes a temporary agent in the investigation of Buffalo Bill. Clarice is a top student at the Academy—extremely adept in practical fields like forensics and gun firing—but her determination to solve the Buffalo Bill case threatens her status in the school. Clarice sacrifices her free time to work for Crawford and follow up on leads, and willingly accepts that she will be recycled through the Academy for her extracurricular efforts. One of Clarice’s biggest fears is being seen as tacky and useless; she puts in extra effort to prove to others that she deserves to be included. The fear that she won’t be able to help Buffalo Bill’s victims torments her through dreams of screaming lambs. Despite her fears, Lecter comments that Clarice has admirable mental strength.
Outwardly, Clarice tries to remain professional, even when belittled, harassed, or negatively stereotyped, but the narrative reveals that she is quick to anger. Harris shows Clarice curse at, threaten, and make up crude nicknames for those who upset her to relieve her temper, like when she calls Chilton “Dr.
Action & Adventure
View Collection
Beauty
View Collection
Books Made into Movies
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Horror, Thrillers, & Suspense
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Mystery & Crime
View Collection
Pride & Shame
View Collection
Psychological Fiction
View Collection
Safety & Danger
View Collection
Truth & Lies
View Collection