The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel written by Oscar Wilde. This gothic style story revolves around the protagonist Dorian Gray and his friends Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward in the setting of London, England in 1890. The story is that one day Basil is speaking of a cultured, dignified and attractive gentleman named Dorian Gray to his friend Lord Henry. Lord Henry interested with Basils infatuation with Gray, begs Hallward to introduce him to the fellow. Basil on the other hand does not believe this is a good idea, since he believes Lord Henry will negatively influence Dorian. In the last sitting of Basils’ self-proclaimed masterpiece painting of Dorian, Dorian and Lord Henry finally meet and while Basil is busy painting, Dorian
The story reaches a climax when Basil confronts Dorian about all the rumors that are spreading in town about him and his actions. Mr. Gray wanting to share his secret of his ever marring painting shows Basils. In response Basil tells Dorian that he must repent for his sins in order for his soul to return to an equilibrium. Dorian furious at Basil’s response, commits the ineffable crime of killing him with truculence force. The falling action and end of the novel is Dorian seeking to obtain equilibrium in his life and comes to the conclusion that if he destroyed the picture it would bring him inner peace and he would no longer have to deal with the torment the painting brought him. His actions, though have reverse actions, instead of destroying the picture he ends up killing himself. The ending scene is Dorians servants finding an unrecognizable disfigured Dorian with a knife plunged into his heart and the gorgeous picture of their master on the
There was the satinwood bookcase filled with his dog-eared schoolbooks. . . How well he remembered it all! (Wilde).
After wards though the room is described as “‘faded Flemish tapestry, a curtained picture, an old Italian cassone, and an almost empty bookcase . . . that was all that it seemed to contain, besides a chair and a table” (Wilde). There are major differences between the two descriptions of the same room. Wilde though does not provide any reasoning on what might have caused room to change and the loss of books from the bookcase. Tearle provides a fascinating idea on what might have caused the differences,
The only ‘person’ apart from Dorian who has access to the bookcase, as to the cassone, during that important interim, is not really a person at all: namely, the picture itself, the picture of Dorian Gray. It is as if the corrupting presence of the portrait has spread its insidious sin through the whole room, destroying (or at least part-destroying) all that is connected with childhood and
“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.
1. This quote reveals Dorian’s acknowledgement of his double life. On the surface, he must maintain a facade of unadulterated youth and innocence. Internally, he is reeling from murdering Basil Hallward, as we see the after effects of what could be arguably called Dorian’s most nefarious act. Yet he keeps his ebullition from view and greets guests with his beauty. In a way, we can see the extent of Dorian’s corruption, as he performs the very act of the portrait himself. The twisted deed is kept away from view with his beautiful mask, and it is here that Dorian becomes sickeningly delighted with the ease that he can fool the world. He is not a complete villain without any realization of his own sins, yet the fact that he slides into a composure of innocence with a sense of “terrible pleasure” shows how far he has gone into corruption, and how futile it will be to redeem himself (Wilde 128).
Lord Henry easily influence Dorian because he is young and young people can copy everything what old people say and does. Dorian listened to Lord Henry that being gorgeous is better than to have manners. He showed this like when he just liked Sibyl because she can act but when Sibyl forget about her acting, he unliked her and just dumped her. When Sibyl killed herself, at first Dorian is kind of guilty but then Lord Henry told him that it is not his fault. That Sibyl is only a girl. Also, with the death of James and Basil, he felt really guilty. With James, he feels like because James was the brother of Sibyl so like James is threatening him. Basil also kind of influenced him because he also made Dorian realized or showed Dorian the world of beauty. And with Basil, Basil is the one who knows everything about him and the one who made his portrait that Dorian feels like it is not right because all he see on his portrait is his guilt and every bad thing he did. He blamed Basil for it. He also destroyed the painting because it is not working right and its just becoming worse and worse when his sins are increasing. When he destroyed the portrait, he used the knife that he also used when he killed Basil. At the end, when he destroyed the painting, he also killed himself. The book is
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.
After many years of seeing the picture that was once perfect decay and become hideous, he is eventually driven mad. Just before murdering him, Dorian expresses to Basil, “I was wrong. It has destroyed me.” (Wilde, Pg. 204). By the end of the book The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde’s writing gives Dorian a certain conviction that is commonly known as a “come to Jesus” moment. However, this conviction ultimately drives Dorian to destroy the picture which ends in his own death.
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...
The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde shows the life of three men who are affected by art in the Victorian society. In Victorian times men were expected to provide for himself and his family, accumulate wealth, exemplify good morals and prove his masculinity. If a man did not show one of these qualities in the Victorian time his masculinity would be questioned. In the novel these men show three different sides to masculinity. Each character finds himself unhappy with the role he is forced to play in order to prove his masculinity. For them it seems in order to be successful or achieve happiness they must push past the gender roles society has placed on them. Basil Hallward represents the artist, Dorian
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
The Picture of Dorian Gray was a remarkably well-written book due to the reaction of its themes by society. In the preface of the novel, Wilde introduces the opinion that "...there is no moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." Numerous views can be taken upon this fastidious comment. Many would agree that Wilde is justifiably correct because the preface was written with the intention that his readers understand the deeper meaning of the themes than worrying about whether it is considered morally acceptable; or perhaps, the view that it could be considered moral or immoral by the impact it has on the readers' lives. Even though there are several positions held on what The Picture of Dorian Gray's most important meaning is about, the most prominent is the novel as a moral book. Lord Henry Wotton immediately begins to corrupt Dorian's mind after they first meet by forcing his immoral thoughts of "yielding to temptation" which allows Lord Henry to hold his attention. After listening for quite a while to Lord Henry's views, Dorian begins to change his own to match them, and therefore begins to live a life of immorality. The yellow book is a device that Lord Henry uses to further corrupt and drive Dorian deeper into the pits of sin. Through Lord Henry's influence, the changes in Dorian Gray, and the impact of the yellow book, Oscar Wilde efficiently reveals The Picture of Dorian Gray as a moral book.
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 wants Dorian to go back to his old ways. It is at this point that the reader can see that Dorian is actually being affected by his conscience, something that has not been seen in him since the beginning of the book. It is at this point that Dorian begins to go back to how he was before and feels the need to reform. However, Dorian is unable to accept how drastically he himself has changed, and attempts to excuse it. This can be seen when Dorian cries, “Each of us has heaven and hell in him, Basil.” Dorian is showing despair, proving that he realizes that he understands that he has committed many sins and thrown away his life, but still wants to explain it away. Despite this, Dorian attempts to shock Basil by showing how drastically his painting has changed to reflect what Dorian has done. However, Basil instead prays for Dorian and shows him love, which Dorian cannot accept. Dorian kills Basil, but realizes that he has made a mistake. He starts trying to reform in order to get rid of the ugliness of the picture and return it to how it was
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
Woodcock, George. The Paradox of Oscar Wilde. London-New York: T.V. Boardman and Co., Ltd., 1950.
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.