Analysis of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon

Thomas Harris and the Red Dragon

Thomas Harris uses will Graham as the main character of the story. Graham retired from the FBI to pay close attention to his stepson and new wife, but this does not happen because the mysterious serial killer strikes again. The FBI seeks his services because he was one of the most qualified officers in the agency. Graham utilizes his skills in conducting investigations as well as the US government power to produce forensic evidence to be used to track this anonymous foe. At the back of his mind, Graham knew that the dragon would strike again because there was no shred of evidence. Francis Dolarhyde was the man behind the killings. He believed that his body received mystical powers from the Red Dragon to enhance the murders he committed. Graham used his intelligence to identify Dolarhyde as the killer. When other authorities knew who the killer was, they rushed to his house only to find it in flames. They assumed that Dolarhyde died in the fire and ceased the investigation. On the contrary, Dolarhyde survived, and he attempted to murder Graham but is then shot dead.

Thematic Connections

Harris used the red dragon to depict how abuse manifests into diabolical incidences as well as the toll it takes on individuals who attempt to combat the evil. Dolarhyde was not born a murderer, but with time he developed into one. Harris described the torment Dolarhyde faced since childhood and the manner in which he developed to a psych killer, somewhat due to his past. Both physical and psychological torture inflicted on Dolarhyde by his grandmother affects him throughout his entire life. The dragon speaks to him in the same manner that his grandmother did, which is proof that his childhood life caught up with him in his adulthood. Dolarhyde could not have developed into a serial killer if he had a good childhood and parenting. The lesson learned is that children should be treated with respect and be provided with much care to ensure their better future. Both physical and mental torture can interfere with the development of the young ones. Grieve punishment should be accorded to those who mistreat the children.

On the flip side, the novel demonstrates how Graham sacrifices himself and leave his family to join the FBI to fight the evil for the common good. Graham made a tough choice because he knew that he was risking his life by getting involved in the investigation. He left his new family without any assurance that he was to return. Therefore, people should make sacrifices to help others in the field they are good like Graham did. Dolarhyde could have continued killing people if Graham had refused to offer his services to the FBI.

Style Analysis

Throughout the entire novel, Harris consistently utilized mature yet somehow sarcastic tone. The tone facilitates him to incorporate dark humor to a dire plot, but adequately keep it subtle to prevent the novel from becoming a comedy. The characters’ emotions are demonstrated using the curse words that are found in most parts of the book. Harris used imagery well because all the scenes in the story are very vivid. He managed to describe the dark events in the story exceptionally well, such as the killing of Freddy Lounds. The book also contains a lot of dialogue between the characters which adds more dimension in addition to the formal language used to narrate the story. Harris capitalizes the words spoken by the dragon as evidence that it speaks in a higher voice. The author of the book also utilizes broken sentences when Dolarhyde is speaking to demonstrate that he had an issue with his speech or rather he could not talk coherently. This style also confirmed that Dolarhyde had low self-esteem. The descriptive language used in the novel is full of metaphors and other figurative stylistic devices.

Critique

People who fancy reading and watching thriller movies can enjoy reading the book Red Dragon. Books like this are hard to come by because it is not easy to mix commedy and scary scenes and still pass the intended message. One aspect that makes the book interesting is the ability of Harris to depict the numerous different sides of the characters. This makes the book seem realistic and exciting to read. The readers of the book can see the characters as ideal individuals with weakness, strength, flaws, and emotions. The amount of fiction used is very minimal such that the vividness of every scene remains intact throughout the entire book. Everyone can create the picture from the descriptive language used by Harris. Oddly enough, Dolarhyde was well depicted by the author, and hence every reader of the book can judge his character and motive. Dolarhyde (the villain) was given many dimensions by the Harris to make the story more interesting. Most authors usually make their villain appear as flat-out monsters who only seek to do evil without rationale. Harris, on the contrary, showed both excellent and primitive side of Dolarhyde. However, Harris was keen not to excuse the evil actions committed by Dolarhyde- a consideration that was very vital to the plot of the story.

On the other hand, the book contains some inappropriate scenes that do not originate from the plot. Although Harris might have a rationale for this scenes, from my point of view, they are not significant to the book. That said, this book is appropriate for individuals who are looking for a good scare and can handle mature content.