Materialism In The Collector By John Fowles

The Collector by John Fowles is a tale expressing the dark side of what could occur when someone not used to the power that comes with money suddenly falls into large sums of it. The book takes the most dark possible view and shows a man from the lower class known as Clegg taking advantage of his newfound power to kidnap and hold a member of the educated middle class named Miranda captive. When discussing the class relations he references the ideology of the two classes, Aristoi or the educated and Hoi Polloi or the masses, created by greek philosopher Heraclitus, Fowles states that “the dividing line must run through individuals, not between them” Fowles clearly means to speak to the animosity in the modern class system, he seems to believe …show more content…
Fowles appears to be stating that what divides us should not be materialistic items around us, but instead the thoughts and beliefs which come from within. This idea which Fowles seems to be so fully against is what is known as materialism. It is at its core is a focus on material items or objects as opposed to that which is spiritual or intellectual. Without the intelectual factor which harbors personal opinions and feelings towards ideas we can not make as well informed decisions. Materialism is an extremely black and white subject. In the case of the character Clegg, shown in the story “The Collector”, he can not see that what he is doing is wrong because he believes that he has moved up the social ladder and as such can take what he wants. He believes that having money means that he is better than others and is no longer bound by the rules applying to all. Fowles expresses his own feelings and sentiments on the issue through the use of the utter disgust displayed by Miranda towards Cleggs actions. He clearly shows that he is against the idea of class level being so apparent and consequential in