Dorian Gray’s characterization illustrates the theme throughout the story. At the beginning he is a charming, innocent young man who does not care so much about his looks. He then meets Lord Henry Wotton who severely influences his views and outlook on life. Lord Henry explains to Dorian that his looks are everything. Once he loses them, he will be and have nothing. Lord Henry tells him to live life to its fullest now and do things that pleasure him because once he has lost his looks, he will no longer have the opportunity. As Dorian examines the finished portrait of himself he realizes that Lord Henry is right about his looks and becomes resentful of the painting, angry that it will continue to look youthful while he slowly deteriorates. He pledges to sell his soul in order to stay beautiful while the painting takes on his altering features. Dorian then begins to…
The painting itself is an overarching, ever-present symbol in The Picture of Dorian Gray, not just in the text but to nearly all of its characters. Though physically it is nothing more than a two-dimensional object, it becomes the main antagonist of their lives and has such far-reaching and powerful influences that it seems almost to be more alive than Dorian himself. It represents beauty, mortality, time, and art, all the major themes of the book, and its degradation literally presents to us the dangers inherent in these…
He uncovers the portrait and shows it to Basil who clearly recognizes it as his own work despite the horrifying and cruel changes. Dorian watches Basil with a slightly triumphant look on his face. Basil asks Dorian how this horrible thing happened and Dorian tells him he pledged his soul to stay young and beautiful forever because of what Lord Henry told him about beauty when they first met. Basil curses the portrait and wants Dorian to kneel down and pray for his forgiveness. Dorian tells him that it is too late to ask for forgiveness and starts feeling hatred towards Basil.…
youthfulness, naivety, and lack of experience. Dorian Gray listens to Lord Henry due to the lack of a…
Throughout Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the sinful actions of Dorian cause Dorian himself as well as the portrait of Dorian to diminish. The portrait Basil paints of Dorian depicts an innocent, beautiful young boy who has yet to be corrupted by the influence of the world. However, as Dorian grows older he becomes debased by the thoughts of others and his own experiences. As the novel progresses, the reader loses sight of the innocent, pure Dorian and sees the cruel, corrupted Dorian. After Sibyl killed herself Dorian illustrates his corruption by claiming, “when she played so badly, and my heart almost broke. She explained it all to me. It was terribly pathetic. But I was not moved a bit. I thought her shallow” (96). Dorian no…
In Oscar Wilde’s novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” one of the main characters Lord Henry Wotton is portrayed, as morally ambiguous. Wilde reveals Lord Henry’s ambiguous character through the way he talks, he has a more charming tone to him, but he leads a conversation in such a seducing way Dorian falls under his spell so fast. Lord Henry’s ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole because without Henry would Dorian of taken the same path that he took? Yes, in a way a lot of Henry’s words are open for interpretation, but he is the one who provoked Dorian to even have those ideas.…
In this quote, Oscar Wilde is making an analysis about the cleverness Dorian’s character has, when he uses his eternal beauty and youth in his favour. This is clear when James Vane goes to Dorian and affirms he is going to kill him in revenge of what he did to his sister, Sybil, who committed suicide eighteen years ago; so if Dorian was the correct men to kill after all those years, he would appear older than forty years old, as James Vane expected it to be . But in that moment, Dorian remembers he has the face of a men with less than twenty years old, so he claims to James to put him under the light so he can see the appearance of his face, and make this rebellious brother to think he clearly didn’t cause Sybil Vane’s suicide, because of…
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. The book was written during the Victorian era, a period of time that brought Britain several changes concerning technology, science, culture, religion and others. The Picture of Dorian Gray talks about a character called Dorian Gray, who is a young and handsome man that owned a portrait of himself. An artist and friend called Basil Hallward painted it. The artwork was different from a normal painting. It showed Dorian’s physical changes through years while his physical aspects in real life were always the same without any change. Every time Dorian saw the painting, he saw his true self rather than the one he showed to society. Basil introduced Dorian to Lord Henry Wotton,…
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde constructs a tale in which Dorian Gray’s desire to stay young forever becomes a Faustian pact. His journey begins when Basil insists on painting him even though Dorian resists this. It is possible he protests too much, but it is also possible he feels a bit embarrassed as well as flattered with the attention. One might consider this the gate into the garden (of Eden) where Sir Henry plays the part of the devil tempting Dorian to take youth and beauty serious when he says:…
“It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” This proclamation was made by Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, tells the story of Dorian Gray’s corruption. Change means to become different. While some can argue that Gray does not change, it is evident that Gray does change because his hobbies and interests change, he changes to become like his influences, and his portrait changes.…
Throughout the novel, the characters, specifically, Basil, utilize moral ambiguity in order to deceive themselves and others. By doing so, the characters allow themselves to live guilt-free and unaware of their actions, and subsequently, the consequences. Throughout the novel, Basil repeatedly claims that he cares deeply for Dorian, and that Dorian is the best friend that he has ever had; therefore, his actions are well-intentioned. While it is true that Basil cares deeply for Dorian, he does not care for him in the way that he claims; thus, his motives are selfish. However, Basil disguises his selfishness in the flourishes of artistic brilliance, true friendship, and the love of Dorian’s ‘personality’.…
Artist Basil Hallward sees Dorian and decides he wants to paint a portrait of this stunning example of a man, and Dorian consents. While sitting for the portrait at Basil’s studio, Dorian meets Basil’s dear friend, the socialite/philosopher Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry is an aesthete who whiles away his time by attending parties, going to the Club, supping and other such frivolities. He is a man of charisma, intelligence, sharp wit and “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (Wilde 56). Lord Henry is immediately taken with Dorian and quickly becomes infatuated. Over the course of time, Lord Henry begins to play a very sinister game with Dorian’s life—he seduces Dorian into leading the life of an aesthete, like himself. A life of debauchery and evil where the pursuit of happiness is paramount and comes at the expense of everything and everyone else—morality be damned. Lord Henry has no particular motive for doing this except to amuse himself and to play the game of creation. Dorian slowly begins to change; Dorian, the beauty on the outside becomes Dorian, the monster on the inside. He transforms into a selfish, hedonist. His disregard for others directly causes the suicide of his fiancée. He participates in immoral acts. He seeks personal gratification with abandon. His creator, Lord Henry, does nothing to intervene and stop Dorian’s progression from young, naïve man to loathsome monster. In…
In Albert Camus’ novel, The Fall, he portrays the character of Jean-Baptiste Clamence as a depressed, narcissistic recluse who, in his “past-life,” had a noble career at one point, but due to his complete nonexistence of any morals, lost it all and ended up in the shadiest section of Amsterdam: a part of town that shortly became his own personal hell. In the regards to human life and the value of humans, Clamence simply does not feel the necessity to care for anyone or anything more than himself. Despite the way he presents himself to his listener (or the reader), he leads an absurdist lifestyle, only caring for his day to day needs and giving no…
Dorian Gray becomes a monster because of the negative philosophical teachings of Lord Henry and because “Lord Henry had tempted him with the false belief that he could be the master of his own sins; in reality, the reverse turns out to be true” (Buma 5). Lord Henry is initially the most monstrous being; however, through Lord Henry, Dorian Gray becomes even more of a monster than Lord Henry. For instance, in a relationship both parties should have and show equal amounts of love and affection towards the other party. However, Dorian looks at Sybil as an item, for he uses her while she is perfect in his opinion, but when she loses her ability to act because of her overwhelming love expressed towards Dorian, Dorian ends the relationship because he selfishly was only looking after himself. As a result of his cruel behavior, Sybil commits suicide. Sybil’s suicide is not a suicide at all, for Dorian, with his cruel words, forced Sybil into such a depressed state to which she had to kill herself. Dorian was clearly acting in his own self-interest and not even taking into account the feelings of his fiancé. After she has died, Dorian selfishly tries to feel sorry for what he did, and not because he actually feels sorry, but because he wants his painting to look youthful once more. Likewise, his portrait always takes first priority in his thoughts which…
Innocence is ignorant, until it gets tainted with the sweet bitter taste of reality. An extraordinary young, handsome gentleman that goes by the name of Dorian Gray will soon taste reality under a new perspective. Oscar Wilde, who is the author of “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” shows us how certain people can influence us to think and ct differently. After a brief summary of the novel will reveal that the theme mainly used is two faced. Dorian has to balance between good and bad and can’t seem to get the hang of it. You’ll see that characters are there to represent good and evil in Dorian’s life. While we analyze the author's intent of the book we will dive deeper into this spiral of uncertainty.…