Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silence of the Lambs, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Sexism and Law Enforcement
The Nature of Evil
Class and Shame
Manipulation
Summary
Analysis
Back at Quantico, Starling attends a lecture on money laundering and does her best to pay attention. However, she can’t stop thinking about the various news broadcasts being run about her nationwide. She worries that the news footage of her fighting with the news crew overshadows any good she has done for her case and career. She even fears she might get kicked out of Quantico.
Although Starling attends lectures several times in the novel, the work she does for Crawford is always at the front of her mind. Here, she knows the FBI is under a lot of scrutiny at the moment and fears that her behavior in Baltimore made everything worse.
Themes
In the middle of the lecture, Brigham shows up and asks Starling to join him in the hallway. When she does, Brigham tells her to get her field gear because she is going on a trip with Crawford to West Virginia. Apparently, some hunters found a corpse that looked like it could be one of Buffalo Bill’s victims. Once Starling has her gear, Brigham drives her to the Quantico airstrip. On the way there, he compliments her on her excellent work in Baltimore. He also says that Crawford thinks she did solid work, too, though he would never say so out loud.
As it turns out, Starling’s fears are entirely unjustified. Not only is Starling not in trouble, but Crawford also rewards her by bringing her along. Although Starling’s presence in Baltimore may not help the FBI’s image, Crawford apparently thinks the work she did is more important than that. There are other characters who appear later in the novel that will think differently.
Themes
Brigham also tells Starling about Bella’s terminal illness. He thinks it is important for her to know, though he warns her never to bring it up around Crawford. Doing so will only make matters worse. After, Brigham gives Starling some advice about shooting her gun in the field. Though he hopes she will never do it, he urges her to remember her training. He says she is a talented shooter who is capable of using her weapon if necessary.
Here, Starling starts to understand Crawford on a deeper level. Before, she assumed his behavior and attitude all revolved around his position at the FBI. Now, she sees Crawford as a three-dimensional person whose struggles outside of work are more demanding than anything else.
Themes
Finally, Starling and Brigham pull up to the plane she and Crawford are taking to West Virginia. It is a small twin-engine plane that looks rather old. Brigham promises that, while it might look old, it is mechanically sound. Brigham and Starling say their goodbyes, and then Starling climbs into the plane where Crawford is waiting. Immediately, Crawford hands her a case file labeled “BUFFALO BILL” and orders her to start reading.
The size of the plane suggests that only Crawford and Starling will be going on this mission, which demonstrates the level of trust and importance Crawford places in Starling. Here, Starling finally gets her hands on the case file Lecter has been asking her about. This means she has information to trade him, should she and Crawford decide that is the right thing to do.
Themes
Get the entire The Silence of the Lambs LitChart as a printable PDF.
