John Fowles’ The Collector

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The original key for the plotline of the tragic hero originates from Sophocles’ Oedipus. The unfortunate story of Oedipus’ life before his untimely demise expresses particular ideas of innocence. Oedipus, the tragic hero, tries his best to evade the sinful prophecy that the gods bestow upon him. He evades killing his “parents” to ultimately cause the prophecy to come true by killing and marrying his actual birth mother. The actual story only takes place in the timeframe of one day. Oedipus has multiple children with his mother. Throughout the day, the secrets of Oedipus’ past slowly arise to the point that he blinds himself and is dethroned. Up until the point of complete knowledge about his parents, Oedipus remains within the vale of innocence. This concept of innocence runs rampant throughout the play of Oedipus. History repeats innocence for things from entire countries to individual people just like Oedipus. Even novels, i.e. The Collector, of present day base their plotline on the tragedy of Oedipus’ innocence. Seen as the greatest of all evils, innocence is the saving grace of our civilization which Sophocles realizes in his play, Oedipus, since civilization reverberates this concept of innocence throughout history and novels.

Innocence plays the condemning factor in the play of Oedipus by Sophocles. The characters that are married, Oedipus and Jocasta, play the two sides of the coin of innocence. Oedipus plays the truly innocent character whom has no evil intentions or past wrongdoings. Jocasta plays the character whose innocence to her present atrocities help to convey her punishment for her past wrongdoings. Oedipus’ innocence ultimately leads to his moral and royal damnation. Without his innocence, Oedipus’ sins ...

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..., i.e. The Collector. Reverberating throughout time and appearing in out novels, such as The Collector, the concept of innocence, also known as the greatest of all evils by some people, plays a major role in the complete storyline of Oedipus Rex’s life in Oedipus by Sophocles.

Works Cited

Dilă, Georgiana-Elena. Butterflies and Voices in John Fowles’ The Collector. Rep. University of Craiova, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

Gould, Thomas. "The Innocence of Oedipus:The Philosophers on." Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: Oedipus Rex, Updated Version. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Infobase, 2007. 31-70. Print.

Hart, Megan. "Holocaust Survivor Tells Muskegon Crowd about 'miracles,' Loss of Innocence." Mlive Media Group, 30 Apr. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Oedipus Plays.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

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