Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde. The genre of this novel can be classified as a comedy of manners or a gothic novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Another version with an additional six chapters was published in 1891. One of the major themes in the novel was the Supremacy of Beauty and Youth. A very attractive man has a portrait painted of himself, and after being warned of the mortality of his youth the man, Dorian, trades his soul to remain young while his portrait bears the markings of his age and evil deeds. Dorian becomes increasingly evil thoughout the novel, while constantly being encouraged by Lord Henry Wotton. Eventually Dorian can no longer bear the person he sees in his portrait so he tries to destroy the painting but ultimately he destroys himself.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the characters are predominantly aristocratic males. The main character is Dorian Gray, a wealthy young man who is both a handsome and a very impressionable young man. Basil Hallward is an artist who was obsessed with Dorian, naming him his muse and source of inspiration. Lord Henry Wotton is a friend of Basil Hallward who makes young Dorian his protégé, teaching him his philosophy of “new Hedonism.” Sibyl Vane was a young actress who caught the eye of Dorian during one of her performances, after being spurned by Dorian she is heartbroken and commits suicide. James Vane is the brother of Sibyl Vane. He did not approve of Dorian from the start, so he wanted to murder Dorian to avenge the death of his sister.
The setting of The Picture of Dorian Gray is London, England. The story takes place from the years 1890 to 1908.
In the years between 1890 and 1908, Dorian succumbs to the influence of Lord Henry Wotton. Because of this, Dorian disregards morality and follows Wotton’s “new Hedonistic” philosophy. Dorian became a very loathsome man on the inside while still remaining young and beautiful on the outside.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, there were quite a few symbols. Three of these symbols were opium dens, James Vane, and the yellow book. The opium dens represent Dorian Gray’s state of mind. He uses the opium to try to forget his actions, just as he tries to rationalize these actions so he can ignore his consci...
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...to find, Dorian, an old disfigured man lying dead on the floor with a knife in his heart.
In the beginning of the novel Dorian Gray was a bright and charming young man. By the end of the novel, because he was so easily influenced, he became a selfish and cruel person. Various conflicts in the novel cause Dorian to change. In every traumatic event Lord Henry was there leading him into the lifestyle of selfish pleasure. Dorian Gray was physically attractive but that did not matter because he was such a foul creature on the inside.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was very well written. Wilde used witty and colorful dialogue to grab the reader’s attention. This is an enjoyable novel that is still somewhat relevant in modern times. Dorian got away with his sins longer because he looked youthful and innocent on the outside so people did not want to believe he had a bad character. This proves that sometimes, appearances can over rule reality. This is an enjoyable novel that is still somewhat relevant in modern times.
Works Cited
1. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Donald Lawler. New York: W. W. Norton, 1988.
“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 Picture of Dorian Gray." Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne and Timothy Sisler. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 146-165. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Sep. 2013.
Within The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde depicts two characters that follow the philosophy of Walter Pater. These two characters are Dorian Gray and Henry Wotton. They both embody Pater’s ideal of placing as much enjoyment in one’s short life as possible. While Dorian learns of Pater’s philosophy from Henry he soon exceeds his teacher and becomes invested within the philosophy of living life to the fullest. Dorian exceeds Henry in Pater’s philosophy through his active experimentation and desire for beauty, but Dorian fails to live up to all of Pater’s expectations due to his inability to separate morality for art.
In "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, we see a beautiful young man who makes tremendous efforts to transform the actual world into the idealistic world of art, dreams and sensations. Dorian's quest, however, culminates in his ultimate tragic destruction. Given that Dorian lives a corrupt life, one is likely to focus on the negative aspects of his character. In spite of his significant character flaws, Dorian Gray may still be considered a hero. This essay will examine Dorian's degradation from the innocent world to the vicious, sensation-oriented world. The elements contributing to Dorian’s status of tragic hero will then be discussed.
Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was written during the late nineteenth century England. The protogonist Dorian Gray is portrayed as a paragon of youth and beauty whose aristocracy and charisma inspire his surroundings, particularly an artist called Basil Hallward. Dorian poses for him and one day while again posing to Basil, he is introduced to a cycnical philosopher and orator William Henry. Dorian is easily seduced by his theories. Lord Henry corrupts this young boy by transforming into a hedonist. Through him, he faces the harsh realities that his physical appearance is fading and he becomes afraid of ageing. He envies the concrete and ever-to-survive masterpiece of Basil and longs for aging on his life without any sign of ageing and decay. Then his wish incredibly turns out to be real. And his sins begin to be appear in the pic...
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a rich story which can be viewed through many literary and cultural lenses. Oscar Wilde himself purposefully filled his novel with a great many direct and indirect allusions to the literary culture of his times, so it seems appropriate to look back at his story - both the novel and the 1945 film version - in this way.
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Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde readers are presented with a vast depiction of the art of immorality in the face of ignorant innocence portrayed by the character Dorian Gray. In the beginning it seems to be a quaint novel on artistry and the paradoxical relationship between two lifelong friends by the name of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. The plot takes a surprising twist when introduced to the real center of attention, the character of the seemingly innocent Dorian Gray. Upon this introduction Wilde then begins to tell the tale of what a life of secrecy and deception will lead to without the consciousness of a moral threshold and the inescapable burden of Dorians horrid accumulation of sins. The deception begins with a simple shout out to the heavens for the impossible to be granted. This then flourishes into unspeakable acts caused by an Egyptian statue, bringing misfortune to Dorian Gray by giving him exactly what he so desperately desires, thus teaching the world a lesson. Not everything we so strongly desire the world to provide is good for the soul.
Lord Wotton sees Dorian as "wonderfully handsome...all of youth's passionate purity," and cannot resist the t...
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...
Wilde, O. (1945). The picture of Dorian Gray. The Electronic Classics Series, The Pennsylvania State University. p. 3/ Retrieved January 3, 2014 from http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray.pdf
Oscar Wilde`s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is written primarily out of the aesthetic movement of the Nineteenth Century. Therefore, the text contains a profuse amount of imagery which reflects the concepts of beauty and sensory experiences. By taking the aesthetic approach, Wilde was able to revive the gothic style through grotesque imagery of the portrait and the character whose soul it represents. Wilde is not using gothic elements to shock his audiences; rather he uses the gothic to capture the hideousness of Gray`s corruptness which leaks out of the painting and into the tone of the entire text.
In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.
Set in the late 19th Century, Oscar Wilde wrote his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is a story about debauchery and corruption of innocence and well known as a "Gothic melodrama." Violent twists and a sneaky plot make this novel a distinct reflection of human pride and corrupt nature.