RC

Thomas Harris' latest novel is being hailed as the long awaited sequel
to The Silence of the Lambs, but I
have never thought that novel actually needed one. It stood on its
own, finished and complete. After I put
that book down I did not think to ask what Hannibal was going to do
next. In my opinion he had done
enough. I've always preferred a novel that concludes with a few loose
ends because, in life, not all problems
get tied up nice and neat. There was something so frightening, so
giddily uncomfortable about knowing that
Hannibal "The Cannibal" was loose on an unsuspecting world. Author
Harris did readers a favor by letting us
all keep a little of that fear in our hearts and minds for the past 11 years.
But we became so intrigued by Hannibal, didn't we? And we wanted to
see more of him. When we first met
him in Harris's second novel Red Dragon, he was a small but important
player, giving reluctant but brilliant
insights into the mind of a serial killer to FBI agent Will Graham. In
The Silence of the Lambs it was FBI
cadet Clarice Starling looking for a multiple murderer and Lecter
became a major and integral part of the
story. And when we saw Hannibal brought to life by Anthony Hopkins in
the 1991 film, we became hooked.
Rarely before had we been drawn to such an evil character — one who
charmed and hypnotized us with his
combination of verbal gymnastics, Old World manners and awesome
intellectual abilities.




But now there is Hannibal, Harris's latest novel, and this time Dr.
Hannibal Lecter is the player. And like The
Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal is finished and complete and stands on
its own. Quite well in fact.
In Hannibal, Harris plumbs the shadowy depths of Lecter's mind and
throws us into the stinking oubliette
of his psyche, taking us through past — and possibly significant —
remembrances. When we re-ascend,
it is with a startling array of knowledge about the man. We find him
fascinating, sympathetic and — despite
his dietary habits and penchant for killing (and consuming) only the
"rude"— a likable character. I like the
well rounded character that Harris has created, even if he's somewhat
outlandish, flamboyant and deeply
disturbed. Hannibal loves the finer things in life: classical music,
ancient literature, fine art, a tidy evisceration...
The novel's title works, not only because it is about Hannibal; it is
Hannibal. And though the narration is in
the third person, it speaks with his voice. It's a voice of culture
and intelligence; of terror and menace. In
hushed conspiratorial tones, it politely invites us to witness acts of
inhuman horror and suffering. Almost —
almost — making them palatable. And if not palatable, then so
fascinating we find it hard to turn away.
Harris does not write of these atrocities from the moral standpoint of
someone who thinks the things
Hannibal does are wrong; we all know what he does is wrong. Even
Hannibal knows very well what he does
is wrong. He also believes he has the intellectual and moral
superiority to justify his actions, and this is
Harris's triumph in the narration. We are shown things in the way
Hannibal would see them through his
intellectually superior and amoral eyes, and it is up to us to decide
the right or wrongness of things. We
also see things with an almost clinically unprejudiced and sometimes
uncomfortably uncensored eye;
unwavering, unblinking. Harris's prose is elegant and economic.


33. Why does the writer think that the title of the novel Hannibal works?
(a) The title aptly captures the most important aspect of the book.
(b) The author's writing style embodies characteristics of Hannibal's
personality.
(c) The author's narrative is through the eyes of the protagonist
himself and leaves moralistic
judgement to the reader.
(d) The novel is as if it were though a narration by Hannibal himself
which enables the reader to
understand that Hannibal only attacks the rude.


34. Which of the following is admitted by the author in the passage?
(a) Hannibal's actions are morally wrong.
(b) Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal increased the popularity of
the series and compelled the
author to write another book.
(c) A character with intellectual superiority and old world manners
can be fascinating even if evil.
(d) Peeping into the mind of Hannibal makes the novel 'Hannibal' a
much more interesting read than
'Silence of the lambs'

.
35. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(a) The fact that readers find a dangerous character like Hannibal
fascinating reveals that morality is
no longer popular with people.
(b) Harris had revealed enough fascinating details about Hannibal's
past in the earlier novels prior to
warrant a third book on the same character.
(c) Hannibal's love for the finer things in life makes him a
fascinating character.
(d) Hannibal evokes sympathy from the readers due to his turbulent
past, which has made him
engage in horrific deeds.