The Silence Of The Lambs

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. How does Clarice’s attitude towards the FBI change throughout the text?

A) She grows more invested in saving Catherine than in performing well for her teachers.

B) She becomes openly rebellious and lies to her teachers.

C) She slowly learns to trust authority figures.

D) She does not mind being under surveillance when she is out in the field, but shuns being under surveillance when she is in he classroom.

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Crawford believes that Hannibal will be persuaded to talk to Clarice?

A) She has a strong background in psychology and criminology.

B) Hannibal has not interacted with a woman in a long time.

C) Crawford knows about Clarice’s childhood and thinks that Hannibal will find this interesting.

D) Crawford is impressed with her classroom performance.

3. What is the primary function of the motif of lambs in this text?

A) To tie the concept of conformity with Clarice’s FBI training

B) To symbolize innocent victims of violence

C) To symbolize Clarice’s preference for the urban life of her adulthood to the rural life of her childhood

D) To inspire delicious recipes that Hannibal uses to supplement his personal recipes

4. Hannibal tells Clarice, “Life’s too slippery for books, Clarice; anger appears as lust, lupus presents as hives.” Which of the following literary techniques is NOT used in this passage?

A) Metaphor

B) Hyperbole

C) Understatement

D) Parallelism

5. Which location best represents Clarice’s childhood fears?

A) The ranch where the lambs were slaughtered

B) The highway where her father was shot

C) The motel where her mother worked

D) The shop where she was first arrested

6. Which of the following parallels is absent from this text?

A) Jame hunting in night vision goggles/Moths hunting at night

B) Experts categorizing bugs based on appearance/FBI agents categorizing criminals based on behavior

C) Clarice is haunted by visions of victims that she cannot save/Clarice is haunted by nightmares of animals that she could not save.

D) Hannibal loses his credibility as a medical authority/Crawford loses his credibility as an investigative authority.

7. Which of the following statements about Clarice’s first impressions of Crawford and Chilton is accurate?

A) She thinks Crawford is off-putting and Chilton is respectable.

B) She thinks Crawford is pretentious and Chilton is humble.

C) She thinks Crawford is respectable and Chilton is off-putting.

D) She thinks Crawford is humble and Chilton is pretentious.

8. Which of the following is NOT something that Ardelia and Clarice have in common?

A) They both grew up in working-class families.

B) They both work hard to exceed expectations for women in a male-dominated field.

C) They are both described as “white trash.”

D) They are both supportive classmates and help one another study.

9. Why does Hannibal flee to the Marcus Hotel in St. Louis?

A) It is near the home of one of his enemies, whom he plans to eat before fleeing to Brazil.

B) It is across the street from a museum he would like to visit.

C) It is near a craniofacial surgery center and many people walk around with bandages covering their faces.

D) It is a few blocks away from a famous winery.

10. Which of the following people does NOT hinder Clarice’s ability to do her job?

A) Senator Martin

B) Paul Krendler

C) Chilton

D) Pilcher

11. Which of the following sets of places reflects where Clarice has lived?

A) West Virginia, California, Montana

B) West Virginia, Montana, Virginia

C) West Virginia, Montana, Tennessee

D) Montana, Virginia, Massachusetts

12. Which of the following is the least reasonable interpretation of the significance of the moth?

A) Jame is attracted to the idea of changing one’s appearance.

B) Jame aspires to be beautiful, and he associates moths with beauty.

C) Jame likes moths because they remind him of his grandfather, an entomologist.

D) Jame is drawn to beauty like a moth is drawn to light.

13. Which of the following aspects of Hannibal’s confinement contributes least to the novel’s atmosphere of danger?

A) Hannibal’s feelings toward Barney

B) The procedures required to clean Hannibal’s cell

C) Hannibal’s feelings toward Chilton

D) Hannibal’s status among the inmates

14. Why does Crawford recognize that Clarice is “heir to the granny women, the wise women, the herb healers”?

A) Clarice is the only FBI trainee who has any knowledge of nontraditional medicine.

B) Clarice is an old soul who prefers the company of people a few decades older than herself.

C) Clarice holds a position of authority in the West Virginia funeral home, and she reminds the men in the room of a respected caretaker.

D) Crawford visits Clarice’s hometown and sees the community that made her who she is.

15. Why is Dr. Danielson initially hesitant to help Crawford?

A) He worries that the investigation will stigmatize transgender people.

B) He wants to protect Jame, with whom he sympathizes.

C) He worries that the FBI will block some of his research from being published.

D) He was offended by Clarice’s request.

Long-Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. In the 1988 novel, Chilton says Hannibal is a “pure sociopath”; in the 1991 film adaptation, Chilton says Hannibal is a “pure psychopath.” What does this perceived interchangeability tell us about the pathologizing of antisocial personality disorder?

2. What is the symbolic difference in the text between butterflies and moths?

3. How does Clarice’s gender sometimes make her a more effective agent than her male counterparts?