The Silence of the Lambs

• Genre: Fiction; social science/crime fiction
• Originally Published: 1988
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 770L; grades 9-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 61 chapters; approx. 384 pages; approx. 11 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: FBI trainee Clarice Starling enlists the help of convicted serial killer Hannibal Lecter to track down Buffalo Bill, a sadistic killer of women. Starling must think like Buffalo Bill and ingratiate herself to Lecter in the hopes of finding the most recent kidnapping victim.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Violent content; murder; violence and menace toward women; profanity; sexual content; graphic imagery  

Thomas Harris, Author

• Bio: b. 1940; American novelist; known for Hannibal series and adaptations
• Other Works: Black Sunday (1975); Red Dragon (1981); Hannibal (1999); Hannibal Rising (2006); Cari Mora (2019)
• Awards: The Silence of the Lambs won the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and the 1989 Anthony Award for Best Novel. It was nominated for the 1989 World Fantasy Award. The film adaptation won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture, along with three others.

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Gender Bias Against Women in Male-Dominated Fields
• Performing and Repressing Identity for Acceptance From Others
• The Manipulation of Others for Good and Evil

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will: