How Is Lord Henry In The Picture Of Dorian Gray Hedonism

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In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry has exhibited valid acts of someone who is hedonistic. Throughout the first few chapters in the text Lord Henry has displayed substantial liking to pleasure, dislike of philanthropism and the love of beauty and youth. First of all Lord Henry believes that it is a silly habit to lose one’s pleasure (page 4), this belief is a strong indication that he is hedonistic because it seems to be something that influences him to continue on living. The dictionary defines a hedonistic person as someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures and that’s exactly what Lord Henry believes in. Next, Lord Henry does not believe in philanthropy (page 39), he believes that “philanthropic people lose all

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