Despite a difference of seventy years and the distance of the Atlantic Ocean, Rabbit, Run by John Updike and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde present striking similarities in their characters and themes. While I initially could not draw the connections between the two novels, I now recognize the many ways in which the authors criticize and analyzed their own environments through their works. I believe that the lessons on the dangers of societal influence and the nature of ethics that Rabbit, Run and The Picture of Dorian Gray explored were not only paramount subjects in their own times, but in the modern day as well.
The two main characters of the novels represent the ideal man in their respective society. Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom’s
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Despite a reputation for egocentrism and ruining lives, Dorian’s community permits his corrupt behavior because of his appearance and wealth. His society’s permittance of his actions led to Dorian’s downfall and eventual death. Rabbit is too gravely affected by his society. His community harshly critiques him for leaving his family in pursuit of happiness. Rather than attempting to understand Rabbit’s life crisis, his society pressures him to conform to their American standards, regardless of whether or not he is content. Because of the strong societal influence.The books also touch on the motifs of morality and desire. In Dorian’s case, he is presented with two opposing sides of behavior: good or evil. These ways of life are represented in Basil (good) and Lord Henry (evil). While Basil encourages Dorian to cease his selfish recklessness and repent, Lord Henry takes advantage of Dorian’s lack of individuality and taints his soul with hedonistic philosophy. Ironically, while Basil and Lord Henry both preach their rectitude to Dorian, neither of them actually abide by their own ideology. In reality, Lord Henry was a proper Victorian gentleman and Basil was (according to his society's standards) inappropriately infatuated with Dorian. Jack Eccles of Rabbit, Run also played the role of a hypocritical moralizer. In his attempt to return Harry to his wife, Eccles reveals his misplaced interest in …show more content…
Prior to 1890, Wilde had difficulties in getting his work published because of its portrayal of homosexuality. Eventually the book was published, but not without several modifications in its content. Although the novel had been censored to prevent scandal, the edits did not prevent the British’s outrage. The reaction to The Picture of Dorian Gray proves the novel’s stance on the superficiality of society. Rather than condemning Dorian’s debauchery and violence, the British chose to scrutinize one of the more arbitrary elements of the story. Rabbit, Run was also denounced for its sexually explicit content rather than the issues of identity and
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is, at first glance, a novel about a young, handsome man’s demise as he travels into a world of self- indulgence, immorality, and evil. Though the predominant motif of beauty versus ugliness is the main take-away point, Wilde’s use of symbols, particularly flowers cannot go unnoticed. From characterization to depicting religious allusions, flowers are frequently used in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Clearly, the novel’s use of roses, orchids, lilacs, and the like has an underlying meaning, which will be explored and analyzed in this essay.
In both novels, the characters represent certain kinds of individuals in today's society. They encounterjealousy, as well as many other conflicts within themselves, and human nature. Ultimately, these two novels deliver the inner conflicts of our society.
Society in The Importance of Being Earnest, Salome, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Therefore, development of character, setting, writer's style, and narrative strategy all contribute to the main themes in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Although these themes, such as homoeroticism and hedonism, may have been quite controversial, they now make up a novel that is a classic. Although the obsession with looks in this novel may seem ridiculous, it is not unlike the world today, with a million dollar industry devoted to allowing people to avoid fading youth and beauty. Even though Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was written over a century ago, its themes are still relevant today.
Dorian, representing the very impressionable and changing population, became so involved with himself, that religion was no longer a factor in his life. He let society determine his values and morals, which led to him not having any at all. When he finally did try to repent, it was too late. Just like it is going to be for mankind. Wilde wrote it to show his disappointment in popular culture through Dorian. He views our consciences just like the characters of Lord Henry and Basil. There is a fine line between good and bad, and people’s choices alone determine what they
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.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
Oscar Wilde’s life was extremely tumultuous and full of scandal considering he lived and wrote in the Victorian Age. The Victorian Age is quite known for its emphasis on social standing. Where one stood in society dictated what their occupation would be and how they...
In conclusion, it has been reiterated that Lord Henry's influence, the changes in Dorian, and the immorality of the yellow book further enforced The Picture of Dorian Gray as a moral book. Oscar Wilde allows for those who could understand the real meaning of the novel by comprehending the importance of these three things to discern that he fully intended on writing this novel as a moral book.
A critical analysis of Oscar Wildes only novel would yield that it is in fact a homosexual allegory of doomed, forbidden passion. The relationship between Lord Henry and Dorian, as well as Basil and Dorian is, clearly Homoerotic and must’ve shocked Victorian society.
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 corruption. Before we examine the quality of the error that Dorian Gray commits, we should first examine his friends and their relation to him, because Dorian falls into this error with a little help from his friends. 1. What is the difference between a. and a The relationship between Dorian Gray and Basil Hallward.
Wilde, Oscar, and Michael Patrick. Gillespie. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Authoritative Texts, Backgrounds, Reviews and Reactions, Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. Print.