Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… as Jame Gumb. Born in California, Jame was abandoned by his mother, an alcoholic prostitute, and spent time with an abusive foster family before his grandparents took him in. Unfortunately, the psychopathic Jame killed his grandparents at age twelve. He subsequently spent time in a psychiatric hospital, but he was not cured of his bloodlust. He continued to kill violently and coldly.
Living… in Mrs. Lippman’s house. Though Jame's hardly a welcome guest there – after killing Mrs. Lippman, he stashed her in a bathtub and took over the house. Among the renovations Jame's done, he's added a maze-like dungeon to the basement, where he keeps his victims: size 14 women whose skin Jame hopes to use for a body suit.
Profession… former tailor. Now, he uses his cutting and stitching skills to precisely cut and stitch the skin of his victims.
Interests… becoming a woman. Jame tried to apply for sex-reassignment surgery, but after being refused, he decided to take matters into his own hands – by creating suit made out of female skin. As a result of his desire for femininity, Jame's interested in similarly feminine things such as lotion, women's clothing, and his tiny white dog, Precious.
Relationship Status… single. Jame is attracted to men, but all his relationships have all ended in heartbreak, and his habit of exacting violent revenge on his exes means Jame’s probably not going to be getting into a relationship anytime soon.
Challenge… creating his suit of female skin without being caught. A man of high standards, Jame wants his skin in fine condition, and he tells his current victim to “rub the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.” Although Jame's orders are delivered with chilling detachment, his victim’s tears seem to elicit emotion in the killer.
Personality… sociopathic yet tortured. Deceptive and murderous, Jame might not seem to have a sense of remorse, but his fondness for Precious and occasional displays of emotion show he isn't a pure sociopath.
Get to Know them in...
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After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he is discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns back to America to once again make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI official/rival as well as the media.
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FBI trainee Clarice Starling ventures into a maximum-security asylum to pick the diseased brain of Hannibal Lecter, a psychiatrist turned homicidal cannibal. Starling needs clues to help her capture a serial killer. Unfortunately, her Faustian relationship with Lecter soon leads to his escape, and now two deranged killers are on the loose.
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A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname--Buffalo Bill--is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of the Bureau's Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter--Hannibal the Cannibal--who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs--and ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.
