Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray

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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. "Dorian is described as an addict, having mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them." Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited one's physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. "Lord Henry's moral position in Dorian Gray is akin to that of the devil; he is the initial serpent in the Garden, and continues to coax Dorian to evil throughout the novel." 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. This story describes how the external attractiveness of a person can influence people's behavior and can corrupt their inner beauty.

Dorian Gray's life is dictated by his physical appeal "extraordinary personal beauty". His beauty lies within his

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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 chang...

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...mestone.edu:2219/ps/i.do?&id=GALE>

Gomel, Elana. "Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the (Un)Death of the Author." Narrative 12.1(2004):74+.LiteratureResourceCenter.Web.1May.2011.< http://library.limestone.edu:2219>

Platizky, Roger. "Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray." The Explicator 60.4 (2002): 202+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May. 2011.

Ruddick, Nicholas. "'The Peculiar Quality of My Genius': Degeneration, Decadence, and Dorian Gray in 1890-91." Oscar Wilde: The Man, His Writings, and His World. Ed. Robert N. Keane. New York: AMS Press, Inc., 2003. 125- 137. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 164. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May. 2011

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