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@article{188397,
author = {Sumana Ghosh},
title = {The Journey From a Common Man To a Criminal: A Psychoanalytic Study Through John Fowles's The Collector},
journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
year = {2025},
volume = {12},
number = {7},
pages = {2463-2470},
issn = {2349-6002},
url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=188397},
abstract = {A common man is usually characterized as someone who lives a simple life with authenticity and prefers minimalist goals without wealth, big dreams or achievements. A common man's life is filled with monotonous cycle of events such as birth, growing up, sacrificing passions for family, running in a rat race and then dying but when a common man confronts with his own psychological traits and allow himself to be a little different by choosing violence over accepting reality he becomes a thread to the society. The paper is an analysis of the psychological traits which can trigger a common man and lead him to wrongdoings. A human behaviour and attitude is a reflection of the structure of their psyche. A criminal is someone who is completely detached from society rules and does not force himself to confront the casting structure of the society. He attacks anyone with or without any motif, causing them harm. A criminal's behaviour can be traced back to anyone's psychological characteristics and most importantly to the effect of the various events such as childhood trauma, problematic home atmosphere, toxic painting, societal pressures etc. Even a criminal can inherit a criminal psyche or mentality from his own upbringing or family roots but it is the study of how a common man can become a criminal without having any previous criminal records or any roots of the crime from the entire family. John Fowles was an English novelist, renowned for his intellectual rich narratives and Complex characteristics. John Fowles's works are infused with thrill, suspense and psychological elements. One of his most famous works is The Collector. It delves into the theme of psychology of the protagonist, a common man who has an addiction to collecting butterflies which gradually turns the habit from collecting butterflies to the collection of girls. The protagonist Frederick Clegg is a common man who comes from a working class family and is addicted to a simple girl Miranda Grey. He kidnaps and tortures her and leads her to death. The psychological traits of him are associated with criminology and psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud with which readers can trace the structure of his psyche and him becoming a criminal.},
keywords = {Common Man, Psychology, Criminology, Behaviour, Childhood Memories, Trauma, Psyche.},
month = {December},
}
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