During the course of this essay I aim to explain, analyse and interpret the fundamental, moral and philosophical differences in two seemingly similar characters. The main focus concentrates on three events. In "Silence O.T.L", Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist turned convicted mass murderer, is used by the FBI to assist in the apprehension of a multiple murderer and takes the opportunity to effect his own escape. In "American Psycho", Bateman vexes his frustration at society through violence and gradual self-destruction, taking out his anger on those he considers inferior or those who threaten his status. "SOTL" is written in the third-person perspective for the reason that it deals with a wider scope of story, i.e. there is more than one clearly defined main character, and there are more characters and plots that influence the storyline as it progresses. "AP" is written in the first person narrative perspective as it revolves around one main character and deals only with his opinions, flaws and actions, for instance the air of vanity and self-obsession asso

The third event arises in the book "Hannibal", where Dr. Hannibal Lecter murders an Italian detective who attempts to collect a bounty upon Lecter's head. The detective, Rinaldo Pazzi, is murdered out of necessity but the situation is perfect for Lecter in that it allows him to kill with reason, but to drastically and excessively violent measures. Lecter's sense of the dramatic, and his twisted sense of humour permit him to use the situation to firstly obtain the information that effects his escape, and secondly, to fully endorse his psychotic tendencies. Lecter's education comes into play when he realises the Pazzi is a direct descendant of a man who was disembowelled and hung as a traitor from the Palazzo balcony centuries before. Lecter proceeds to extract his information, cut open the gut of Rinaldo Pazzi and push him over the balcony attached to an electrical cord, a demise he deems ironic and almost artistic. During the time when he interrogates the bound and gagged detective, Lecter is constantly polite and dreadfully cheerful, yet efficient and purposeful. His enjoyment of the act itself does not influence the method or the execution, a calculated move by the author to emphasise the callous intelligence of the book's aristocratically conducted anti-hero.

These conclusions considered, the main difference between these two glamorously twisted characters is that one is raised in a world where money is the key to the best and the worst desires that the mind can create, and it is this upbringing that exchanges basic moral and social skills for the luxury of being able to conduct oneself in a manner that is chosen by a person rather than a society that needs no assistance in destroying itself. The other protagonist comes from a world he has created for himself, a world where he is the only conscious being, where only he can decide what will happen, what is right or wrong, and what is ultimately to become of this world. Either way, the outlook upon society itself is bleak, desolate, and pessimistic and exposes the eternal weakness of man, in other words the inability to be content. Therefore, in similarity lies detail, and it is this detail that separates one person from another. And yet, this is not a conclusion in itself. In difference,

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Approximate Word count = 1524
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)