The famous psychotherapist Alfred Adler once said: “Man knows much more than he understands. » This means that even though we are rich in education, we do not understand much of what we know. The Silence of the Lambs brings insight into this quote on a much deeper level. In the novel, Clarice Starling, an FBI intern, is given the opportunity to work on the high-profile case of a serial killer named Buffalo Bill. During her journey, she befriends cannibal and serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who gives her clues leading to Buffalo Bill's capture. Lecter leaves Clarice with a lot of knowledge, but it's up to her to figure out what that knowledge really means. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Between interviewing Hannibal Lecter and examining the bodies, Clarice Starling experiments with many of Alfred Adler's theories. In The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, the female protagonist Clarice Starling embodies Adler's theories of social interest and compensation, as well as the use of defense mechanisms, created by Alfred Adler. Clarice Starling demonstrates social interest theory by cooperating with others and valuing the common good above one's own interests. While examining the body of one of Buffalo Bill's victims, Jack Crawford, the agent in charge of the behavioral science unit at Quantico, made the following observation about Clarice Starling: "Wherever she came from come, whatever it was, the river had carried it into the country, Clarice Starling had a special relationship with it” (Harris 75). Crawford can sense that Clarice has a social interest through her automatic connection to the victim. He sees that Clarice is able to form a connection with her even though she is dead, and through this "special relationship" Clarice can learn new things about the victim that will help the case. Through her ability to relate to victims in a way that her colleagues cannot, Clarice demonstrates social concern as she uses these connections and relationships to contribute to the common good of her work. This concept is further demonstrated when Clarice convinces Crawford to let her and the others search for Buffalo Bill. Clarice explains to Jack: “The victims are all women and no women work on this. I can walk into a woman’s room and know three times as much about her as a man, and you know that’s a fact” (Harris 274). Clarice explains to Crawford how being a woman working on the case gives their team an advantage because she is able to get more information than a man. As she would be the only woman working on the case, Clarice would feel some discomfort being surrounded by men all the time. However, her social interest allows her to put this discomfort aside in order to use her feminine brain to help save Catherine from Buffalo Bill. Starling's social interest allows her to use all of her skills to work with others to achieve the goal of the common good. Starling demonstrates Alfred's theory of compensation by attempting to overcome an inferiority complex resulting from his upbringing. Visiting the home of the wealthy Catherina Martin, the narrator explains: “Starling had done her time in boarding schools, living on scholarships, her grades were much better than her clothes” (Harris 191). The author describes how Starling had to compensate for her poor upbringing with her grades and schooling. Since Clarice grew up with "grades way better than her clothes," she's always had to compensate for financial background.