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Importance of beauty and examples of the picture of dorian gray
Essay on the picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Importance of beauty and examples of the picture of dorian gray
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The satirical novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” written by Oscar Wilde depicts the detrimental effect of pure aestheticism that enacts upon people through the life of Dorian Gray. The beauty of art to Dorian has greater important than anything imaginable -- even his soul. I think the most intriguing element in this novel is how a pure aesthete can transform himself to a immortal narcissist. Dorian began as a very young, beautiful, and innocent man who attracts everyone with his looks. Everyone praised him for his good looks. The first signs of Dorian gaining or showing narcissist views is when he first saw the portrait that Basil the artist painted. Dorian is extremely jealous of the artwork’s ability to maintain its beauty for eternity while
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.
The young and stunning Dorian was always accompanied by stares as he entered a room. Women wanted to be with him and men wanted to be him. Basil described the experience he had in meeting Dorian for the first time: “When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale” (Wilde 16). The simple fact that a male was so taken aback exemplifies the fact that Dorian is visually stunning. However, the budding connection is anything but authentic. The nature of attraction that Basil feels toward Dorian lacks the fundamental structure of a true relationship. The truth is that Basil is attracted toward Dorian purely based on his appearance. He is the model from which Basil is able to create a magnificent painting but beyond that, he is just eye candy. These thoughts are brought to the attention of Dorian through Henry’s continued indoctrination of beliefs. As anguish creeps into the back of Dorian’s brain, he calls out Dorian for only liking him for his looks and questions what the future between them will hold when he begins to grow old: “How long will you like me? Till I have my first wrinkle, I suppose. I know, now. That when one loses one’s good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything” (Wilde 38). This is a driving theme behind that novel that Oscar Wilde consistently advances. It was quite clear that when Basil fist saw
In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian is a lot different from the innocent young man he was, he undoubtedly became hedonistic and selfish, but the question is why. For what reason did Dorian Gray decide to stray so far from his early years. Now, an obvious answer to that question is that Lord Henry was simply too much for Dorian, and he fell into his mind tricks. But if that’s the case Dorian shouldn’t have been able to resist it for as long as he did, even during the Sibyl “era”. To say it was just him being greedy, ignorant, or selfish is too shallow of an answer. When looking deeper into the subject it becomes clear that Dorian used hedonism as a way to escape from all his earthly issues and problems. This can be found from the source of his hedonism, and even within his hedonistic way of life all those years later.
Obsession in its nature is toxic; it turns people into gods, and leaves no room for their actual selves. Celebrities are the idols of the modern world, where ever they go, a fan follows them dying to get their attention. Dorian Gray, who was loved by nearly all of London for his charm and beauty, who’s biggest fan, Basil, worship of him lead to bitterness. The theme of obsession in The Picture of Dorian Gray is seen through both those who worship Dorian Gray, and the portrait, which is the object of Dorian's obsession. Although Wilde displays obsession through Basil's worship of Dorian, and even Dorian's obsession with himself and his youth, the modern day celebrity is a parallel to Dorian, who is worshipped by many at first for their beauty, wealth or fame, but the nature of the worship eventually leads to chaos.
Through the use of various literary devices in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde the main character, Dorian Gray, is eventually led to his inadvertent suicide because the portrait changes to show all of Dorian’s sins.
The consequences of selfishness are portrayed in Oscar Wilde 's, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The main character, Dorian, is characterized as a selfish and immature young man. He toys with the idea of eternal youth. In doing so, he curses his own fate by selfishly indulging in sensual pleasures. His fall into depravity is mirrored in a portrait of him. As the portrait ages, it mirrors the blackness of his soul. Dorian 's greed for beauty and his desire for gratification lead him to a place of no return. Wilde believes that overindulgence only serves to corrupt one 's own sense of moral well-being.
The thought of Dorian being infatuated with a girl being an effect of “certain words of his” brings “a gleam of pleasure to his eyes”, showing how he does not truly care about Dorian, but only about the impact he has had on him and his beliefs and worldviews (Wilde 53). He talks about his friend as if he were just an experiment, saying that Dorian “was a subject made to his hand” that “promise[s] rich and fruitful results” (Wilde 54). Lord Henry never gets to see these “fruitful” results of his experiment. The portrait of Dorian Gray is the one thing that can show him how badly he has marred the soul of the younger man, but before his eyes are opened to the horrors of the painting, Dorian ends his life, leaving the painting to change back to appear “as [everyone] had last seen him” (Wilde 194). The portrait, back in its original state, can no longer portray the corruption Lord Henry had done to the soul of Dorian
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde explores the character of evil through the characterization of Dorian Gray. In the beginning of the story, Basil begs Henry to stay away from Dorian saying, “don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (16). The character of evil exposes itself through the power of influence. Basil believes Henry’s behavior around Dorian will corrupt the young man. Corruption is a powerful tool that evil can be expressed with. Additionally, the presence of evil is symbolized through the picture of Dorian Gray. Displayed in the portrait is Dorian’s battle with mortality and corruption throughout his life. Dorian believe that “…who, that knew anything about life, would surrender the chance
In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray slowly becomes more influenced by things and people around him. Eventually, Lord Henry gifts him with a book describing a wealthy man’s pursuit of aesthetically and sensually pleasing items. “The yellow book” has a much stronger effect on Dorian Gray’s perception of beauty than Lord Henry Wotton does. Although it can be argued that Lord Henry introduced Dorian to the idea of aestheticism, the “yellow book” drives Dorian to live a life full of it, and changes his focus. Dorian shows the fact that he is not strongly influenced by Lord Henry through his interactions with Sibyl. Contrary to this, Oscar Wilde illustrates the substantial influence the yellow book has on Dorian by one, the
Dorian Gray is a grand Gothic experiment from the moment in Basil Hallward’s studio when he desperately swears that he “would give [his] soul” if only he “was to be always young, and the picture … was to grow old” in his stead (Wilde 28). Even before this moment, Dorian was a test subject of Lord Henry’s, who wanted to see how many of his own ideas he could inject into the boy. This influence rapidly planted in Dorian the ideas of eternal youth and beauty and led to the encasement of his soul in the portrait. After the switch, Dorian not only is under Lord Henry’s influence, but he is also Oscar Wilde’s subject. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde manipulates Dorian, his surroundings, and his circumstances to capture a realistic portrayal of the character’s downfall by depicting the nature of the body, mind, and soul, and the relationship they share.
Oscar Wilde’s novel, Picture of Dorian Gray, portrays the dichotomy of the double life led by Dorian Gray.1 The contrast between the portrait and Dorian personifies the universal battle of sin versus morale and ultimately serves as a moral compass for society.2 Dorian’s development of a double life identifies with the results of sociological oppression leading to confinement.3 The development of this contrasting lifestyle inevitably influences a fatal deterioration of his soul and heart.4 Oscar Wilde’s exaggeration of the effects of the double life of Dorian Gray within his novel Picture of Dorian Gray ultimately conveys the degradation due to a confinement of the soul, and personifies the dualism between private and public lives.5
Dorian Gray's life is dictated by his physical appeal. His beauty lies within his youth. Dorian's perception of beauty allows him to love. He is convinced that his beauty allows him to accomplish anything he desires regardless of the consequences and still be loved by his friends. He uses his beauty to mitigate his evil actions. Dorian says, “I don't wish to know anything about them. I love scandals about other people, but scandals about myself don't interest me. They have not got the charm of novelty.” Youth and beauty are the most precious things to Dorian. In his life, beauty is of utmost importance. Then he sees the picture of himself, painted by Basil, absorb his sins and this changed his view. “I hope it is not about myself. I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else,” Dorian said. He aspired to have had a good life rather than one filled with artificial meaning and beauty. The moral beauty of Doran lies within the portrait of himself. The portrait imitated his life. He finally realized that beauty cannot help him escape his evil actions. He deeply lamemted his wish that the portrait bore the burden of his age an...
The notion of inner and outer beauty is perfectly presented in the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde. The story described in this book shows how the external attractiveness influences people’s behavior and corrupts the inner beauty. The plot situated in the XIX England perfectly describes the higher class of this period. Shallow and two-faced society is concentrated only on the esthetical values of the surrounding. Youth and beauty are the most precious and cultivated things. Even the worst deeds are forgotten if your beauty is extraordinary. The main character, Dorian Gray is an example of a person from a higher class. This twenty-year old and extremely handsome young man is regarded among society as an ideal of beauty. His Physical attractiveness draws the attention of a very talented painter Basil Hallward. He decides to immortalize Dorian’s beauty and paints his portrait. In the meantime Dorian meets cynical nobleman, Lord Henry Wotton. Just like everyone else, Lord Henry is astonished by the prettiness and innocence of Dorian. Henry is a charming talker, and his views concerning beauty are the same as the views of other members of aristocracy. He cherishes it above all considering it as the most important thing in life. The talk with Lord Henry makes Dorian to think about the elapsing of the physical attractiveness. He realizes that some day his charm and youth will disappear and he will not be able to live a careless life anymore. This thought scares him very much especially when he sees the finished portrait, painted by Basil. He makes a whish, which will change his life forever: ‘If it were I who was to be always young and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give anything! Yes, there is nothing in the world I would not give! I would give my soul for that’ (Chapter 2). Dorian i...
The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, is considered a story of moral corruption, by standards of 19th century victorians. Basil Hallward, a well-meaning artist presents the beautiful Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. Befriending a man named Lord Henry and absorbing much of his character by indulging in many pleasures, Dorian wishes that significantly alters his life. "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that" (Wilde pg.109). The devil that Dorian sells his soul to is Lord Henry, who is a very real and influential character, but also as a voice within him. Dorian continued to lead a life of sensuality which he learns about when he receives a yellow book from Lord Henry. Dorian's devotion to pleasure consumes his entire existence until he’s left in a state wondering about his purpose, expressing Wilde’s opinion about the point of a piece of art.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde remains an enigma in literary circles. Is it a scathing commentary about the philistinism of the Victorian time period? Is it a morality tale against allowing the influence of others to overcome one’s own individualism? Is it a criticism of a society that values youth and beauty over morality and substance? All of these have been the focus of scholarly inquiry in the century since the novel’s release. However, its most fascinating line of examination involves the author himself. The Picture of Dorian Gray is of particular interest as a an autobiographical portrait of the author in three alter egos, and provided eerie foreshadowing of Wilde’s own life even as the author argued that art did not mirror life.