The Silence of the Lambs | Teaching Key Figures

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Clarice Starling - This character is the protagonist, hailing from a poverty-ridden rural small town and growing up in an orphanage.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter - This character is a serial killer who is brilliant, suave, courteous to a fault, and yet also a vicious killer who enjoys feeding off the pain of fellow human beings.

Jack Crawford - Section Chief of Behavioral Sciences Department at Quantico who is responsible for recruiting Clarice Starling into the FBI.

Jame Gumb, A.K.A. Buffalo Bill - Described by intimate associates as a human void, this character has...
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