Dorian Gray: Static on the Surface, Dynamic underneath

Dorian Gray: Static on the Surface, Dynamic Underneath In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray is an extremely dynamic character, and who he is differs phenomenally from the beginning of the story to its end. Dorian changes from an innocent youth, completely impressionable, to a terrible man who indulges his every wish in secret. There are many events that show how Dorian’s character transform, but I picked three that display it at its three main points- little strong character at all, some bad characteristics and little prudence, and complete awfulness behind good civil standing. In chapter two, when we first meet Dorian, he is posing for Basil’s painting, and it’s is at this point where he is at his most innocent and uninfluenced, and this is evident specifically in his reaction to Lord Henry’s comments as his portrait is painted. As Lord Henry talks about youth being the only good thing in life and curing the soul through the senses, Dorian is intrigued, and strikes up a friendship with Lord Henry. It is Dorian’s acceptance of these to subjects (prized youth and sensual indulgence) that set up the rest of the story, but also reveal Dorian’s character at this time- he’s willing to listen to anything, literally a blank slate with no strong predispositions. It’s these first impressions that Lord Henry makes on Dorian that defines his character for the rest of the novel.
The next important incident that displays Dorian’s character is his reaction to hearing about Sybil’s death. He certainly is shocked at first, and appears sad, although he tells Lord Henry that he is surprised he is only as saddened as he is- apparently not very much. Lord Henry is not much help to this situation, and takes Sybil’s death very matter-of-factly. This is the first glimpse we get at Dorian’s new, colder, character. It is this first lack of remorse that leads to many subsequent lacks of remorse at future actions. In fact, this lack of showing remorse, at least not artificial