In Tom Harris’
novel The Silence of the Lambs, as
well as in the movie adaptation, hubris is one of the most important motifs.
The term hubris is a Greek word referring to the importance of pride,
arrogance, and anger in one’s personality.
First, in this work,
hubris is considered as a monster and as well as an ancestral curse. Since it blinds
the mind of people who have hubris in their blood, it complicates and impairs
the well-being of the society.
For instance, Jame
Gumb is a great example to demonstrate how hubris leads to blindness. When
Clarice enters in his house at the end of the story to catch him, he thinks
that the only way to have control over her is to turn off the lights. Since he
has night-vision goggles, he thinks that he would certainly be able to escape
from Clarice without any consequences. Obviously, as ironic as it sounds, Jame is
totally blinded by his hubris. Indeed, Clarice still has control over him and
over the situation; that is, she is the only one who sees clearly.
This example
accurately shows how hubris can affect someone’s view of a situation compared
to what it really is.
Another example of
a character that has to face his hubris is Hannibal, the main character. Throughout
the entire novel and movie, Hannibal is trying to overcome his own hubris, as
well as his desire to transcend the classification of scientists. All of this
to say that hubris is clearly a gothic motif in Harris’ writings and that it is
mostly defined by blurring certain characters’ vision, making them act without
a proper consideration of the consequences beforehand.
Fun fact, I’m all about classics. And
I figured why not talk about another one: The
Lord of the Rings. I know many people who read the books and then saw the
movies and were disappointed, but I mean, obviously there are more details in a
book. We cannot ask for a copy-paste of a book into a film; it’s impossible,
even more impossible considering how humongous a novel it is. So, despite the
lack of some details in the movies compared to the novel, we must admit that The Lord of the Rings is a classic, and
everyone definitely watched it at some point or another. But what makes fantasy
so attractive to people? What made it a success? I mean, the trilogy earned a
total of 17 Academy Awards… who else could say the same?
Obviously, fantasy is one of the most
appreciated genres even though it cannot be considered as a “serious”
literature genre. However, that’s the good thing about it: it is NOT serious.
Everyday life sometimes gets a little bit overwhelming, and we need to find
some ways to escape for a certain time. Unlike documentaries or movies/books
inspired from actual events that happened in the past, fantasy allows us to
enjoy some free time without being reminded of the stress of the exterior
world. Even though those movies or books are not all about joy, we still enjoy
them.
Samwise Gamgee
If we take The Lord of the Rings, just think about Frodo’s companion, Samwise Gamgee; a light-hearted, generous, courageous and so valiant Hobbit. If you know who Sam is, just by being reminded of him kind of made you nostalgic right? And now you want to watch the movies just for him, yep.
Gimli
Now think about Gimli, the dwarf: he is a strong and loyal warrior who would certainly fight for Frodo to succeed in his quest until he dies.
Aragorn
No need to talk about Aragorn, but still I will do it: not only is he a good looking man, but he is also the rightful heir to the kingdom of Gondor, a man of honor and worthy of your trust (just for the sake of telling it, Arwen, an elf, and not just some kind of elf, but Elrond’s daughter – Elrond is a king elf – is in love with Aragorn, and that my friend, is something to be proud of).
Gollum
The last I will mention, but not the least is Gollum. This little creature that was once a Hobbit and that the Ring transformed into a kind of monster. He is a creature which we first hate, but then feel so much compassion for him and we finally love him for he is not fundamentally bad, but actually, fundamentally good.
Let’s only think about the fellowship
of the ring, which includes nine people: four Hobbits (Frodo Baggings, Samwise
Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took), two men (Aragorn and Boromir), a
Dwarf (Gimli), an Elf (Legolas) and a Magician (Gandalf). The Dwarves and the
Elves are not in good terms due to some old conflicts, and the men race is not
really respected anymore since their “weakness” is what caused the loss of many
(the man king did not destroy the Ring when he had the occasion). But still,
they work together, they help each other and learn to respect and even
appreciate one another. Important values such as mutual aid, courage, honesty,
friendship and many more are put forward in this trilogy. If this is not a life
lesson, I don’t know what it is.
We love fantasy, because it is a
loophole and it stimulates our imagination and our feelings.
I leave you on a fun meme I found on the Internet. If you understand it, you are part of the real ones!😉
R&D Gothic Discoveries 