Why does Lecter help the Feds?
FBI agents approach Hannibal Lecter seeking his insight in tracking down killers but Lecter doesn't strike me as someone who'd help out of the goodness of his heart- what's in it for him?
Best Answer
Lecter doesn't strike me as someone who'd help out of the goodness of his heart- what's in it for him
Amusement and the chance to escape
In Silence of the Lambs, Lector isn't really trying to help the FBI, he doles out information, much of it false to amuse himself and perhaps improve his situation and, hopefully, escape.
When the information on Buffalo Bill is given to him he already KNOWS who the killer is and uses that knowledge to lead Clarice in one direction while extorting privileges from the Senator.
Once he is removed from his usual prison/hospital, he has abundant opportunities to escape, which he does.
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Why does Hannibal help the FBI?
Before his capture, he was a respected forensic psychiatrist; after his incarceration, he is consulted by FBI agents Will Graham and Clarice Starling to help them find other serial killers.Does Clarice Starling work for the FBI?
In Hannibal, Starling is in her early thirties and a full-fledged FBI agent, although her career has been held back by a vengeful superior, Paul Krendler, at the United States Department of Justice.Why is Hannibal obsessed with Clarice?
Hannibal's obsession with Clarice derives from parallels that he draws from both himself and his dead sister, Misha. Hannibal unexplainably gets it into his head that Clarice is the perfect vessel for Misha's conscious.Why did Hannibal Lecter become a cannibal?
Hannibal's sister is consumed, and much later, he learns he also ate part of her. This trauma is the beginning of his cannibalism. Hannibal was a killer long before he was a doctor, as the majority of his youth is spent hunting the Nazi collaborators who killed his sister.The Truth About Hannibal Lecter's Backstory Revealed
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Answer 2
As I mentioned in my answers here and here, Hannibal *sort of helps out the FBI, because he wants to help out newbie Agent Clarice Starling...(and, as Paulie_D mentioned), and escape!
One way to know this is that there is a CLEAR contrast to Hannibal's behavior in Silence of the Lambs vs his previous behavior in Red Dragon, where he seeks out Francis Dolorhyde and intentionally misleads former agent turned consultant Will Graham to almost deadly fate for incarcerating him.
In Red Dragon Hannibal is trying to get revenge. In Silence of Lambs Hannibal finds himself curious/attracted/in kinship with Clarice (which is also confirmed in Hannibal sequel film when Mason Verger is listening to Barney's tapes, hence why he uses her as bate), and he may still be trying to get back at the FBI internally by elevating Clarice's career, despite that he also has an agenda to escape.
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