In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray it is unequivocal that a large part of Dorian’s corruption is attributed to Lord Henry Wotton and his cynical, paradoxical teachings. However, it is evident, upon closer inspection, that Dorian’s own nature and the portrait of Dorian himself – although inanimate – plays a much larger part in the deterioration and ultimate demise of Dorian Gray. Throughout the novel it is easy to get caught up in Dorian’s ever-prominent obsession with Lord Henry and his book and forget that Dorian’s own disposition and actions play the most dominant role in his demise. Young Dorian is quite picturesque. He is malleable, naïve, and exceptionally narcissistic. Although, there is an undertone to his naiveté that indicates he may not be as naïve as he lets on. Basil’s description of Dorian Gray in Chapter I focuses on two things – how beautiful Dorian is, and how sometimes, he takes “real delight” in inflicting pain, albeit emotional or not, on Basil (Wilde, 14). Dorian indulges Basil’s …show more content…
Dorian felt terrible about breaking Sybil’s heart, but only after he had seen the change in his portrait. Lord Henry did not point him towards breaking her heart, but rather once it was done, his hedonistic teachings allowed Dorian to move past the guilt and continue on with finding pleasure in life. Dorian himself acknowledges that he is at fault for what happened to Sybil, more so than Lord Henry and his book, “…for a moment he regretted that he had not told Basil the true reason why he wished to hide the picture away. Basil would have helped him to resist Lord Henry’s influence, and the still more poisonous influences that came from his own temperament” (Wilde, 99) and that is amplified when he physically views his indiscretions displayed on the portrait for the world to see. His portrait shows him what he is really capable of
“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.
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.
Basil goes to speak to Dorian to tell to him of the rumors they have been spreading. Many people believe him to be immoral and a corrupting influence that must be avoided to keep one’s good name. Hearing such rumors trouble Basil because he worships Dorian so strongly and is so devoted to him. He even refuses to exhibit the portrait of Dorian, the imitation he made, “Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious idolatry.” (13 Wilde) Basil feared that the world would be able to tell how much he adored Dorian. Continuing his conversation, Basil claims “but you, Dorian with your pure, bright, innocent face, and your marvelous untroubled youth—I can’t believe anything against you.” (127 Wilde) Which is to say that Basil believes that when one commits sin it changes the man’s outward appearance, corrupting him and since Dorian is beautiful he is without sin...
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.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
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 Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray slowly becomes more influenced by things and people around him. Eventually, Lord Henry gifts him with a book describing a wealthy man’s pursuit of aesthetically and sensually pleasing items. “The yellow book” has a much stronger effect on Dorian Gray’s perception of beauty than Lord Henry Wotton does. Although it can be argued that Lord Henry introduced Dorian to the idea of aestheticism, the “yellow book” drives Dorian to live a life full of it, and changes his focus. Dorian shows the fact that he is not strongly influenced by Lord Henry through his interactions with Sibyl. Contrary to this, Oscar Wilde illustrates the substantial influence the yellow book has on Dorian by one, the
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.
In Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty is depicted as the driving force in the lives of the three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Dorian, the main character, believes in seizing the day. Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited ones physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. Beauty ordains the fate of Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry. The novel embodies the relationship of beauty and morality. Beauty is not based on how attractive an object is to everyone, but how attractive it is to one.
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
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.
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.
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.