Serial Killers

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 10th grade April 2001

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Two books that are perfect for analyzing are Hannibal by: Thomas Harris and I Have Lived in the Monster by: Robert K. Ressler. Hannibal is fiction and I Have Lived in the Monster is non-fiction. Throughout these books there are some key ideas that need to be analyzed. They are: the purpose, the accuracy and realism, and the effectiveness of each piece.

The purpose of Hannibal was to give the reader an image of a person who really is insane. It illustrates the madness inside of this serial killer, Hannibal Lecter. Another purpose of Hannibal was the fact that it is part of a trilogy that has yet to come to an end. The author wanted his readers to keep on reading and not bother to put the book down. This makes the reading easier and more enjoyable. When a book is full of gory details and other great descriptive features it is really hard to put down.

The author also wanted people to understand how serious this topic is and how it is dealed with by the law. An example of this is, "Honors again? Another chance to endure the archbishop's breath while the holy flints were struck to the rocket in the cloth dove's ass?"¦What was it worth to be known as the policeman who caught Dr. Hannibal Lecter? For a policeman, credit has a short half-life. Better to SELL HIM."(143) This shows how people are so greedy in this world and that instead of playing it safe and capturing a serial killer they will go and try to capture him themselves to get money for him. This is just one example of how corrupt society is today.

The purpose of I Have Lived in the Monster is to show the reader how to understand why the...