Open AccessSerial Killing as a Defence Mechanism: A Study of Thomas Harris’s “The Silence of the Lambs”
Author(s) -
Jerrin Aleyamma John
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
smart moves journal ijellh
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2582-4406
pISSN - 2582-3574
DOI - 10.24113/ijellh.v7i11.10123
Subject(s) - silence , plot (graphics) , surprise , pleasure , context (archaeology) , existentialism , psychic , literature , reading (process) , psychoanalysis , aesthetics , art , psychology , philosophy , history , epistemology , social psychology , medicine , statistics , linguistics , alternative medicine , mathematics , archaeology , pathology , neuroscience
The literary canon carries with it a huge array of possible writings exploring the various contours of fiction, the genre of Detective fiction is one such umbrella term. The effect of mystery and suspense and the surprise factors being hidden away in the pages, keeps the readers glued to detective fiction. This paper explores the plot line of one of the prominent detective stories, Thomas Harris’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ in search of certain existential questions regarding the named serial killer in the plot. The social evil of killing the lives of many for the purely pleasure aspect is viewed from multiple viewpoints and a new reading of the plot by placing it within relevant contextual framework is carried out. A traversal through the psychological, behavioural and social norms of the context is explores within the paper.