Prompt #1 - The many faces of a portrait In Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray’, the portrait shapes Dorian’s life by manipulating his behavior and perceptions in a negative way. Throughout the novel Dorian aspires to be superior to the painting because of the many sins that are reflected through it. The portrait becomes more hideous because Dorian is extremely corrupted with looks and sex. Between Lord Henry and the painting Dorian truly becomes a monster. Dorian takes in the superficial ideas of life, hoping to reinvent himself, and become a completely different person. The portrait evolves Dorian into someone who is paranoid, corrupt, and eventually a murderer. Dorian Gray’s true colors begin to show when he breaks Sibyl Vane’s When Lord Henry and Dorian first meet Dorian is innocent and naive. Yet, in just one meeting Lord Henry changes Dorian’s whole perspective on life. Lord Henry explains to Dorian that the portrait Basil painted of him will always be more beautiful and chaste than his own being. This leads to Dorian’s rain of envy. Throughout a few years Dorian becomes greedy and selfish. Dorian leads himself down a self-destruction path. He lets himself embrace all the sins of humanity, his morals become loose, and he becomes involved in a life of pleasure seeking. Meanwhile he starts to notice that the painting is tarnished and that the “face on the canvas bears the burden of his passions and his sins” (Wilde 86). The portrait reveals Dorian’s inward corruption; all of his bastardly actions are displayed on the once beautiful face. So, selfishly, he decides he wants to be good and make the painting beautiful again. When, in fact, the painting just keeps becoming more hideous. Thus, eventually leading Dorian to destroy the painting. Another form of corruption was the french “yellow book” that Lord Henry sent Dorian. Dorian claims that it was “a poisonous book” but it fascinated him. The protagonist in the yellow book lives his life as a pleasure seeker, which intrigues Dorian; it changes him into a more independent man. When Lord Henry visits and asks Doroan about the book, he On the night of Dorian’s thirty-eighth birthday Basil notices him walking on his way home. Basil confronts Dorian and asks him if “all these hideous things that people are whispering” are true (Wilde 144). Basil starts to get frustrated at how Dorian’s life has taken such a dark turn. Basil wants Dorian to “get rid of the dreadful people [he] associates with” he claims that Dorian has a “wonderful influence. Let it be for good, not for evil” (Wilde 145). Dorian becomes angered by the accusations Basil makes of him, he eventually snaps and decides to show Basil the monstrous painting of himself. Upon seeing the painting and witnessing the devilish nature of it; Basil begs for Dorian to pray for forgiveness. Dorian attained “an uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil Hallward” (Wilde 151). In response to this expanding hatred; Dorian murders Basil. The portrait truly turns disgusting after Basil’s death. Another example of murder in Dorian’s life would be Sibyl Vane’s brother, James. Although James was not directly murdered by Dorian, his death was “another death to add to Dorian 's tally of life-wrecking disasters” (Shmoop Editorial Team). He indirectly murdered James, by angering the young man, when he mistreated Sibyl. Death and murder seem to follow Dorian everywhere, first Sibyl, then Basil, and now James, all dead after meeting
“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.
Through the novel Henry’s conversations with Dorian and Basil Hallward depict him as an invested disciple of Pater. Henry’s insight into to Pater’s philosophy can best be seen when he states that, “the only horrible thing in this world is ennui” or boredom (Wilde 220). Henry echoes Pater’s distaste for the formation of habits and not having new experiences that bring the individual out of their daily rut. Henry is the one who advises Dorian to live his life to fullest and to appreciate art and beauty, but the reader is not privy to Henry’s private life or his internal thoughts. While Henry accurately represents Pater’s ideals through his speech the reader cannot assume that he also enacts them in his daily life. The reader is reminded of their lack of insight into Henry’s character when Basil continually states “you don’t mean a single word of all that, Harry” (200). Basil is a close friend to Henry and from the beginning of the novel Basil is not blind to flaws of Henry’s character. In fact, he is fearful that Henry’s influence will corrupt Dorian. Due to the readers disconnect to Henry’s character the words of ...
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...
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.
In society, there has constantly been the question as to whether people can change or not. Author Oscar Wilde proves in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, that one can. The question he poses to his readers is “What kind of transformation is shown by the protagonist Dorian Gray: good or bad?” It is possible to think that Dorian Gray has become a better person, not for others, but for himself since he lives in the pursuit of pleasure and always achieves it. However, as it is demonstrated by the portrait, the damnation of the lives of others can provoke damage to one’s conscience and soul. Dorian’s soul is ruined gradually by his hedonistic adventures, eventually failing to redeem his actions, but not before he leaves a devastating path of destruction and experiences self-inflicted destruction.
Dorian Gray shows how much he gave up to pursue his obsession when he said that his fiancé’s suicide was melodramatic and unnecessary (Wide 88-89). Obsession causes Dorian to indulge all forms of self-pleasure, whether moral or immoral, and to disregard the value of his own soul to preserve his transient beauty. The portrait that Basil Hallward painted acted as a mirror to his soul’s state and grows revolting each time he indulges in immoral acts, which inhibit him from focusing on what is truly important. It was only until the end when he kills himself does his soul reverts back to his inner beauty as shown in his portrait (Wilde 197). Wilde shows us how conformity can push us to obsess something that we don’t truly believe and ignore all other aspects that actually lead to our good lives. Through Dorian Gray, we are taught that we need to stand by our beliefs and not lose ourselves in other people’s beliefs. Wilde teaches the audience that we need to hold onto some core beliefs and elements that we hold near and dear to
...years. Lord Henry enjoyed influencing Dorian: "He was conscious--and the thought brought a gleam of pleasure into his brown agate eyes--that it was through certain words of his, musical words said with musical utterance, that Dorian Gray's soul had turned to this white girl and bowed in worship before her. To a large extent the lad was his own creation" (Wilde 51). What makes Lord Henry's influence worse is his utter lack of understanding how harmful it was, and, how little he really knew Dorian, evidenced towards the end when Dorian practically tells him he murdered Basil.
In this novel, Oscar Wilde displays Dorian’s moral corrosion negatively in order to convince his audience of the detrimental effects of aestheticism. As Dorian descends deeper into the depths of his depravity, the audience loses faith in him. His innocent, childlike and charitable qualities, seen in his philanthropy and petulance when he is first introduced, are lost, and he acts cruelly and selfishly. For example, when his lover, Sibyl Vane, performs on stage and fails to meet Dorian’s expectations, Wilde fashions Dorian’s reaction to be callous and bitter to her so that the reader sympathizes with Sibyl.
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...
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.
Upon stabbing the painting, the painting returns to its original form and leaves Dorian looking aged and withered to the point where he is unrecognizable. The author tries to show that the actions and “ugliness” of an individual cannot remain hidden forever. Wilde attempts to convey the message that although others may be oblivious or unaware of an individual’s inner “ugliness”, an individual cannot always tune their ugliness out to their own self. Although, in his pursuit of desires, Dorian ignores his moral compass, which prevents him from differentiating between good or bad, he is however not able to ignore the “ugly” person he becomes. Dorian isn’t bothered by his ugliness due to moral reasons but more so due to the fact he doesn’t wan others to discover this side of
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...
Careful examination of Dorian’s initial susceptibility to influence, willingness to commit sin, and interactions with other characters prove Lord Henry plays the biggest role in transforming Dorian from pure to vicious. With his cunning theories and brainwashing comments, Dorian cannot muster the strength to resist Lord Henry’s dominating nature, showing there are no limitations in relationships when it comes to influence. The topic of which character primarily influences Dorian to turn to a dishonest lifestyle is undeniably significant in understanding the purpose of the characters as well as the deeper meaning of the text.
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.