The Silence of the Lambs

by

Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs Symbols

Lambs

The novel’s titular lambs symbolize innocence, which Starling believes must be protected at all costs. After Starling’s father died when she was a 10, she was sent to live with some relatives who owned a…

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Death’s Head Moths

The Death’s Head Moths in The Silence of the Lambs symbolize Jame Gumb’s perverted desire to transform himself into a woman via a horrifically violent path. Jame Gumb—also known as Buffalo Bill—is a serial…

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