Dorian Gray Essay
Evil Prevails Over All
Throughout life, there are developing stages that people experience, allowing for a balance of maturity and knowledge to be passed down from each generation. The harsh realization of reality and truth force people to leave their innocence behind and develop moral responsibility. As innocence becomes a rare quality, emerging as a more attractive force, it ignites an obsession. However, innocence can be tampered with by dark forces. People are easily influenced by others’ ideas rather than their own, therefore transforming them into different people. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian’s innocence causes controversy in the process of self-discovery, due to unhealthy and unpromising relationships. Eventually evil engulfs Dorian and creates a monster within. The songs “Empty Garden” by Elton John, “Innocent” by Taylor Swift, and “Sorrowing Man” by City and Coulor display a similar message that controlling relationships corrupt innocent minds. Eventually Dorian is left to bask in the horror of his disfigured soul due to the influence of outside characters. The soundtrack with these songs helps to track Dorian’s struggle to overcome the darkness in his mind and displays that once a dark influence is introduced, its power cannot be reversed.
The song “Empty Garden” by Elton John demonstrates the damaging impact negative influences can have and in this case it epitomizes the influence Lord Henry has on Dorian Gray. In the beginning, Dorian Gray is described as “wonderfully handsome”(Wilde 18) and he also contains “all the candour of youth, as well as youth’s passionate purity”(18). He is idolized by many especially because of his “passionate purity”(18) which makes him so innocent and almost dreamlike. Dorian Gray does not know about the world as his innocence takes over his life since he has not been exposed to true reality. Although Dorian knows he is beautiful and that people are mesmerized by his beauty, he never
Throughout life, there are developing stages that people experience, allowing for a balance of maturity and knowledge to be passed down from each generation. The harsh realization of reality and truth force people to leave their innocence behind and develop moral responsibility. As innocence becomes a rare quality, emerging as a more attractive force, it ignites an obsession. However, innocence can be tampered with by dark forces. People are easily influenced by others’ ideas rather than their own, therefore transforming them into different people. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian’s innocence causes controversy in the process of self-discovery, due to unhealthy and unpromising relationships. Eventually evil engulfs Dorian and creates a monster within. The songs “Empty Garden” by Elton John, “Innocent” by Taylor Swift, and “Sorrowing Man” by City and Coulor display a similar message that controlling relationships corrupt innocent minds. Eventually Dorian is left to bask in the horror of his disfigured soul due to the influence of outside characters. The soundtrack with these songs helps to track Dorian’s struggle to overcome the darkness in his mind and displays that once a dark influence is introduced, its power cannot be reversed.
The song “Empty Garden” by Elton John demonstrates the damaging impact negative influences can have and in this case it epitomizes the influence Lord Henry has on Dorian Gray. In the beginning, Dorian Gray is described as “wonderfully handsome”(Wilde 18) and he also contains “all the candour of youth, as well as youth’s passionate purity”(18). He is idolized by many especially because of his “passionate purity”(18) which makes him so innocent and almost dreamlike. Dorian Gray does not know about the world as his innocence takes over his life since he has not been exposed to true reality. Although Dorian knows he is beautiful and that people are mesmerized by his beauty, he never