Dorian Gray/Bible Literary Comparison Essay
The Picture of Dorian Gray Literary Essay
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field. Yea, hath god said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?”… “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”… “And the serpent said, ye shall not die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”… “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
This was an edited conversation from “Genesis” 3:1-20, in which the serpent, or Satan, has corrupted Adam and Eve into taking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge after God told them not to, marking the first sin of humanity. Surprisingly, the Garden of Eden storyline following is mirrored in Chapter 1, 2, 9, and 13 of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Pg. 15-17). In this case however, Dorian portrays Adam and Eve, Basil is God, and Satan is Henry.
Chapters 1 and 2 of The Picture of Dorian Gray begin just like The Garden of Eden story, with Basil (God) and Henry (The serpent) having a conversation in a garden, with God (Basil) talking about his latest creation in his artistic world. The serpent (Henry) is immensely interested in the new creation of his counterpart, and wants to bring the creation to his side. God, whose creation was Adam and Eve, gives them immense freedom to do whatever they want except for 1 thing: Do not take fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. From what you read above, they disregarded their creator, and took the fruit from the tree, because of the temptations of the serpent, and Adam and Eve become ashamed of themselves. This is almost replicated exactly in the first two chapters
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field. Yea, hath god said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?”… “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”… “And the serpent said, ye shall not die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”… “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
This was an edited conversation from “Genesis” 3:1-20, in which the serpent, or Satan, has corrupted Adam and Eve into taking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge after God told them not to, marking the first sin of humanity. Surprisingly, the Garden of Eden storyline following is mirrored in Chapter 1, 2, 9, and 13 of The Picture of Dorian Gray (Pg. 15-17). In this case however, Dorian portrays Adam and Eve, Basil is God, and Satan is Henry.
Chapters 1 and 2 of The Picture of Dorian Gray begin just like The Garden of Eden story, with Basil (God) and Henry (The serpent) having a conversation in a garden, with God (Basil) talking about his latest creation in his artistic world. The serpent (Henry) is immensely interested in the new creation of his counterpart, and wants to bring the creation to his side. God, whose creation was Adam and Eve, gives them immense freedom to do whatever they want except for 1 thing: Do not take fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. From what you read above, they disregarded their creator, and took the fruit from the tree, because of the temptations of the serpent, and Adam and Eve become ashamed of themselves. This is almost replicated exactly in the first two chapters