Does Sibyl Vane Create An Allegory In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

The Picture Of Dorian Gray

In “The Picture Of Dorian Gray” , Oskar Wilde demonstrates that youth is something that everyone dreams of, but nobody attains. You should enjoy and appreciate youth while you have it – but just give it up when the time comes. He suggests it by using symbolism and allegory throughout the story, specifically the figure of the picture of Dorian Gray and his Yellow Book. Then Oskar Wilde constantly uses irony in the novel.
The author frequently employs symbolism and imagery in the story. The portrait is the main symbol at work here. The picture of Dorian Gray, “the most magical of mirrors" as
Dorian says shows him the physical anxieties of age and sin from which he has been provided. For a time,
His painted image, however, asserts itself as his conscience and hounds him with the knowledge of his crimes: there he sees the cruelty he showed to Sibyl Vane and the blood he spilled killing Basil Hallward. It's a kind of living allegory, a visible interpretation of Dorian's soul. Basically, the picture represents
Dorian's inner self, which becomes uglier with each passing hour and with every crime he commits. It is the image of Dorian's true nature and, as his soul becomes very corrupted, its evil shows up on the surface. It seems that Dorian is not completely free of the picture's influence: as it becomes uglier and uglier, Dorian pretty much loses it. It becomes a kind of conscience, and it reminds Dorian constantly of the evil at the heart of his nature. After eighteen long years of committing crimes, celebrating youth and selfishly pursuing pleasure, at some point, Dorian couldn't hide his sins on his portrait upstairs the loft anymore, he had to go there and realize the bad things he has done.

Realize that celebrating youth and the selfish pursuit of pleasure don’t last forever.

The Yellow Book that Lord Henry gives to Dorian is also symbolic. The personage of
Upon reading it, Dorian sees aspects of his own life reflected back at him in this character's life. Most importantly, the yellow book represents the
"poisonous" influence Lord Henry has on Dorian; Henry gives the book to Dorian as a kind of experiment, and it works horrifyingly well. Its hedonistic, decadent message makes it a kind of guide book for Dorian, who lives his whole life in pursuit of its ideals.
Ultimately, it's Lord Henry's fault for poisoning Dorian with the book, which comes to stand in for all of Henry's selfish, dangerously seductive philosophical ideas.
Another important literary device that Wilde incorporates in the story is irony. In The
Picture of Dorian Gray, the main character is inhabited by all things evil. It is ironic that he was first introduced as a fun, innocent and youthful gentlemen. However, influenced by another character , Dorian's character is slowly destroyed by his vanity and a crafty influence of Lord Henry. Wilde shows irony as a carry out themes of comparison between evil and human nature. In the case of Dorian Gray, Wilde employs situational irony to demonstrate the workings of evil that brings out the worst in a