So I was asked to make a paper for my American Literature class, based on a class question of my choice. Heres my paper. Question: After his gruesome escape from the mental institution, do I still like or respect Hannibal Lecter? My answer is yes; I do respect him. Though I wouldn’t say I necessarily like him as a person or agree with his actions, I will admit that I respect his brilliance as a character. To begin with, it took a great deal of careful planning to accomplish what he did, not to mention a willingness to do things that nearly anyone else would deem disgusting or horrifying (such as wearing a man’s face as a disguise, for instance). His escape was not a result of mindless violence, and he was not blindly hurting people just for the sake of hurting them; each and every decision he made was calculated, precise, and necessary for his benefit. His plan was complex, diabolical, and a work of sheer unquestionable genius. And by the end of it all, he got precisely what he wanted: the freedom to live as he pleased. And the fact that he went to such lengths in order to reach that goal is something to be respected. And furthermore, Hannibal is not the only serial killer in fiction that I’ve found myself respecting, in spite of the terrible things he did. Take, for instance, The Joker from the Batman franchise. Specifically, let’s take a look at his adaptation in Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knight. The Joker a man whose sole reason for existing is to upset societal rules and murder people seemingly at random. He unapologetically kills government officials, judges, police officers, criminals, and even his own henchmen just because he can. He works by the sweat of his brow to plunge Gotham into anarchy and overthrow the established order. And yet, there is something to admire in him despite his gruesome antics, because it all serves to drive home a point. The point being, as Joker so aptly states, “… When the chips are down, these, uh, these ‘civilized’ people? They’ll eat each other”. And despite the often grisly means he takes to drive home this point that deep down, all people are just as bad as he is, there’s a strange sort of truth in it all; for example, there’s a scene where a man claims to have deduced Batman’s identity, and wants to tell it on live TV. The Joker, not wanting to have some jerk get in the way of his fun, threatens to blow up a hospital of the man isn’t killed by a specific time. As a result, some of Gotham’s residents (even including a police officer) attempt to murder the man themselves, thus exposing their willingness to commit cold-blooded murder and helping prove the Joker right. But despite their genius, both Hannibal Lecter and The Joker are equally horrible people, committing murder when they feel it is necessary and not feeling an ounce of remorse for their actions. They also possess some similar qualities to one another; both operate outside of the law, both feel strongly about their lifestyles, and they both offer unique perspectives on whether or not they’re really ‘evil’. Both are highly intelligent masters of their twisted art, and have proven to be more than capable of outsmarting the authorities. Yet as a reader and filmgoer, there’s something about these characters that makes them very engaging; after all, these are people unlike what we consider to be normal members of society. Therefore, naturally I find them fascinating – and even find myself respecting some part of them, if perhaps in a reluctant sense. That is to say, I’m well aware that what they’re doing is morally wrong, and though I wouldn’t be caught dead doing half of what they do, I still sit in awe of how they thought through their plans and how the plans were so successfully carried out. In conclusion, though characters such as Hannibal Lecter do indeed commit unspeakably violent and detestable acts, often times I find there’s something so brilliant about them that it’s difficult not to respect some part of them. They’re not stupid about what they do, but rather they’re diabolically smart and even ingenious sometimes. So yes, I do very much respect Hannibal Lecter even after what he did, if only as both a brilliantly-written character and a deviously clever villain.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:29:55 +0000
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