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Pride and prejudice character development essay
Pride and prejudice character development essay
Pride and prejudice character development essay
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In a London studio, Basil Hallward puts the finishing touches on his most recent portrait, that of a young man. Lord Henry, who is visiting with Basil, asks about the young man's identity, but Basil declines to answer. Basil never intends to exhibit the painting, because if he did, it would bare the deepest feelings in his soul. However, Basil lets slip that the subject of the portrait is Dorian Gray, who shortly thereafter pays the two men a house call. Lord Henry starts to talk to Dorian about his life, suggesting he should make the most of his youth while he has it, because they will soon fade. Afraid to grow old, Dorian wishes he could trade his soul to stay as young as he looks in the portrait; a short while later, he again wishes that he could stay young while the image in the painting aged. The portrait thus begins to take on a life-like existence; in fact, Basil's threat to burn the portrait is likened to "murder" and Basil prefers the company of the portrait to the real Dorian. Dorian falls in love with a actress, Sibyl Vane. After a short courtship, they become e...
“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.
During the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, three people die: Sibyl Vane, Basil Hallward, and James Vane. In one way or another Dorian played a part in each of their deaths. Kestner says that the second type of narcissism is the inability to feel (217). Dorian feels no remorse for the deaths of these people and takes no responsibility for his part in it. Sibyl Vane committed suicide after Dorian’s brutal rejection of her. Dorian murdered Basil after showing him the painting. Basil was trying to save Dorian’s soul by begging him to confess his sins. Dorian flew into a rage and stabbed Basil, afterwards “he felt strangely calm” (Wilde 152). He justified his actions by saying that Basil was “the friend who had painted the fatal portrait to which all his misery had been due” (Wilde 152). Then Sibyl Vane’s brother, James Vane, came to get revenge on Dorian Gray and ended up dying when Dorian distracted a gunman during a hunt. None of Dorian’s friends on the hunt cared that the man has died; they only care that he has “spoiled [their] shooting for the day” (Wilde 193). These are the type of people which Dorian surrounds himself, people who will continue his down fall. The friends only care about beauty and titles which then influences Dorian to look at the world in the same way. Oscar Wilde added multiple encounters with Dorian’s friends as a criticism of society. The
Over time Lord Henry's influence takes affect over Dorian and he begins to take action upon his own intersts and nothing else. One of these examples is an actress named Sybil Vane. He fell madly in love with her mainly just over her talents. So, when she told him that she can no longer act in love because she has found that in Dorian and wants to quit, Dorian dumps her pretty badly. When Dorian gets home he notices that his portrait has changed for the worse. When he tries to make amends with Sybil he finds out that she has commited suicide. Eventually Dorian shakes this off with the help of Lord Henry and becomes more and more corrupt and sinful. Years pass and Dorian continues his sinful actions. Then one day Basil arrives at Dorians house, begging him to ask for forgiveness. Dorian says no and shows Bas...
The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty - The first principle of aestheticism, the philosophy of art by which Oscar Wilde lived, is that art serves no other purpose than beauty. Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty reigns. It is a means to revitalize the wearied senses as indicated by the effect that Hallward's painting has on the cynical Lord Henry. It is also as a means of escaping the brutalities of the world, as Dorian distances himself from the horrors of his actions (not to mention his consciousness) by devoting himself to the study of beautiful things: music, jewels, rare tapestries. In a society that prizes beauty so highly, youth and physical attractiveness become great commodities. Lord Henry reminds Dorian of as much upon their first meeting, when he laments that the young...
With the fateful encounter with Lord Henry, Dorian is ushered into a world of idealistic art and beauty. Lord Henry plays a key role in introducing a new world in which beauty, youth and sensations dominate. First, Lord Henry employs a powerful strategy of developing Dorian's self-consciousness of his ow...
This fits because Dorian is easily influenced by Harry and begins acting as he does. Dorian receives this tainted soul very early on in the book and tries to resist it multiple times, but fails. When Lord Henry first starts to realize what he is doing he thinks to himself that he is “amazed at the sudden impression that his words had produced, and, remembering a book that he had read when he was sixteen, a book which had revealed to him much that he had not known before, he wondered whether Dorian Gray was passing through a similar experience” (22). The book mentioned is no doubt the one that Dorian receives later in the story. At this point it is evident that Dorian is linked to the painting. When Basil tries to destroy the painting Dorian cries “’It would be murder!’” (29). If it is true that his soul was already linked, he would have been dead if Basil stabbed the painting. He also states that “’When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself’” (28), which is interesting because that is exactly what happens. Dorian then moves on to what could have been his saving grace, Sibyl
The Picture of Dorian Gray presents the reader with numerous possibilities in regards to its theme, yet the one most prominent is the continuous and direct allusion to the Bible as can be seen in the characters themselves, their dialogue, and the imagery surrounding them. As the book opens, two characters are introduced, Basil Hallward, a deeply moral man and an artist who meets Dorian at a party and becomes obsessed with his beauty, which in turn inspires his art; and Lord Henry Wotton, a man of “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (pg. 56), who possesses dry wit and often becomes a bad influence on those who find themselves unlucky enough to be in his company. Throughout the story the two characters are developed in somewhat
The juxtaposition of Dorian’s incredible devotion and his sudden hatred of Sibyl Vane creates shock and makes the reader realize Dorian’s injustice to his lover. When he first meets Sibyl, Dorian is enamored by her beauty and talent. “‘Sibyl Vane is sacred!’” he exclaims when describing the actress to his friend Lord Henry (Wilde 51). Dorian worships her because she encompasses every aspect o...
In the beginning of the book, Dorian seems to be an innocent, charming, beautiful young man, and even referred to as “a wonderful creation” (ch 2). Dorian is described as this amazing person, with looks comparable to a God, charm that could swoon any woman, and a mesmerizing persona about him with the ability to draw anyone near, yet he seems to be so imperceptive to himself. His attitude of simplicity causes readers to be fond of him, passing their first judgments that he could not possibly be evil. As the story moves along readers see the first inkling that Dorian may not be so perfect. Dorian comments on “how sad it is…[that he] shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But the picture will remain always young” (ch 2). This statement lets readers inside Dorian’s thoughts, showing how shallow and frivolous Dorian views life to be. He places so much value and esteem on looks alone, forgetting that being painted should be an honor, or at the very least...
During this time an artist was seen as an important figure to society because he was able to visually create and give meaning to beautiful things, which was considered art. Art and beauty became correlated this way. Sometime it is thought that artwork has to be significantly beautiful to be considered art. Basil believes that he has created his one and only master piece, which is the picture of Dorian Gray. He sees so much of himself in the art that becomes insecure about his masterpiece. In Victorian times the artist was always more important than the artwork because of what he could possibly represent in the eyes of society as an artist. This allowed Basil to become insecure about his artwork, he did not want to be judged based off of his artworks that he put some much of himself into; artistically and intelligently. This is the reason he becomes too reluctant to exhibit his artwork, “I know you will laugh at me,” he replied, “but I really can’t exhibit it. I have out too much of myself into it.” (6). This statement by Basil shows his insecurities and afraid of judgement as an artist. it also depicts that he is very concerned with the reaction and judgements of others because he tells Lord Henry his reason for not wanting to exhibit his painting Dorian, which he becomes very drawn and attracted to. Basil pushes Victorian gender roles by showing
Although Wilde halts short of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian , the language he uses to describe their devotion for Dorian is unmistakably the language of deep, romantic intimacy. “Tell me more about Mr. Dorian Gray. How often do you see him?”. “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me”. This common motif of homoerotic bonds between men plays a large role in structuring the novel. Basils painting is born from his adoration of Dorians beauty , comparatively Lord Henry is overcome with desire to seduce Dorian. This sense of camaraderie between men fits into Wildes aesthetic values, for it returns him to his past where the philosophy of beauty was not only the basis of society but fundamental to culture. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy in order to justify his own lifestyle.
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.
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...
Basil Hallward, a painter, knows the corruptive influence that Lord Henry can impose upon his model, Dorian Gray. Basil does not want Lord Henry to even meet Dorian because he is afraid that Dorian will be influenced and ruined. Basil begs Henry by saying, "Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide, and has many marvelous people in it. Don't take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him" (Wilde 10). Right from the beginning Wilde begins to show what type of person Lord Henry is. Lord Henry's influences pose a threat to Dorian. Basil is well aware of this.
Seemingly striving after impersonality and aesthetic perfection in his work, Basil feels the greatest anxiety of having put "too much of himself" into his picture of Dorian (Chapter 1, page 20) that he can't exhibit it. To display his work of art in public would, in a sense, amount to exposure of Basil's attraction to Dorian Gray. This is one reason, and another reason is that he may fear that more people will see and get attracted by Dorian Gray. He admits to Lord Henry that "he is much more to me(Basil) than a model or a sitter."In his deep consciousness, he is quite possessive and self-contemptuous. He refused to introduce Dorian Gray to...