NC- XIII- fascination for Anton Chigurh and Hannibal Lecter?

Ophelia

Hannibal Lecter, the genius monster from Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs has fascinated millions of readers and film viewers.

Do you think Anton Chirgurgh has the same power of attraction?

If you remember the reviewer who wrote "America sure loves its mass murderers" , can we compare the fascination the two killers may have on readers?

http://www.amazon.com/Silence-Lambs-Thomas-Harris/dp/B0006HQIR6/ref=sr _1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207384154&sr=1-1

jcdietrich · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject:

My thoughts may be influenced by having seen both characters in the movie versions however I was really curious about Anton Chigurh's need to involve fate (the coin toss) and his seeming unwillingness to watch the victims die.

Hannibal Lecter on the other hand seems pretty gleeful and present during the process, somehow.

Anton Chigurh doesn't have the egoic charisma of Hannibal Lecter and in some way as powerful as he is, seems like a victim himself. Anton is a more mythical character to me somehow.
jcd

Ophelia · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject:

Hello jcd,

Thanks for your input.

jcdietrich · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject:

Hi Ophelia,

Thanks for the welcome!

I think women would write to Lecter but would leave Chigurh very much alone. Men would probably admire Chigurh more, but would be afraid to write. No one wants to risk being on Chigurh's radar!

I don't think Lecter is more fascinating, but more human. Chigurh is scary on a level that makes people avoid talking about him.

We can recognize ordinary human motives in Lecter's behavior, more like a normal guy with faulty wiring. Chigurh is something scarier altogether - nothing human about him.

In the film, when Chigurh kills someone, he often looks away and seems almost resigned and distant. He seems like a machine, beyond death and trapped in his unending role. More like the mythical grim reaper than a man with a job.

Ophelia · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 4:04 pm Post subject:

jcd about Chigurh:

Kenneth · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject:

Lecter savors his victims (sorry). Chigurh uses a slaughterhouse cattle-stun-gun most of the time which is to say his victims are less than human. He would never have a friend for dinner (sorry again).

WildCityWoman · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:14 am Post subject:

I don't see Chigurgh as being supernatural . . . he's just a very very dangerous man with a very ugly mind.

But at the end of the book we don't really know if he's been stopped . . . he could be dead somewhere, or about to die. Then again, he could be planning on a comeback . . . I wonder if the author will make a sequel?

I was glad that Bell decided to quit - he needs something more peaceful to do.


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