Themes In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

The picture of Dorian Gray is a book which fascinated people ever since it first came out. Even today this novel influences and captivates minds all over the globe. This is because there are some very clear similarities in Dorian as a character and our own modern society. The obsession with youth and beauty has never been more prominent than today. The way that Dorian is trying to look perfect to everyone around is also very common in today’s society and it shows how the peer pressure of the demand for beauty affects everyone. There are many parallels between Dorian’s character and the world we live in.

At the start of the novel Dorian is a very innocent and young character and it’s not a surprise that Basil fears that the young man can be easily influenced. Soon, Dorian let’s himself get transformed by Lord Henry’s ideas and opinions. Dorian is intrigued by the old man’s views and morals, well lack of said morals. Soon he starts to believe that the only path to success is looking young and beautiful. Dorian loses his innocence as his obsession with his looks grow. We can easily see this parallel in modern day society too. These days, perhaps more than ever before, people believe that people with good looks have an easier life and are more prone to success. People tend to think that success is something reached thanks to good looks or to some people they think of success as achieving this youthful appearance. We see this on daily basis. Let’s say social media, people login and almost everywhere they see example of these perfect beautiful people which most of the time aren’t even real. Social media and the painting of Dorian Gray therefore have a lot of notable similarities. A

It intrigued people ever since it first came out and people can take away so much from it even today. Just by realizing how much of the story can be applied to real life, a person can really take away a lot into their everyday