The Silence Of The Lambs

Consider the roles of nature versus nurture in the text. How do upbringing and environment influence one’s abilities and sense of morality? What do the novel’s events and character actions suggest about the impact of upbringing and environment on one’s moral compass? For example, would Clarice be as good at her job if she had not experienced considerable childhood trauma? Is the state of evil something that can be treated—could Jame Gumb or Hannibal ever have a chance at true rehabilitation? What does the text suggest about our ability to actively Perform And Repress Identity For Acceptance from Others or Manipulate Others for Good and Evil?

Teaching suggestion: You might follow up after this prompt by connecting it to the earlier discussion of monsters and villains since both discussions invoke the question of agency. You might ask students to offer opinions about the extent of agency demonstrated by Clarice, Hannibal, and Jame – did they accept their positions in life, or did they actively work to change them?

Differentiation Suggestion: English learners, those with attentional or executive function differences, or others who benefit from strategies for whole-text tasks might complete a graphic organizer before responding to this prompt. Students can create a three-column graphic organizer (“Clarice,” “Hannibal,” “Jame”) with three rows (“what we know about this person’s backstory,” “examples of this character thinking on their own,” and “examples of this character manipulating someone”).