Dorian Gray

Before a person is born, influence in their life begins. The baby is influenced by whatever the mother does, eats, and how she cares for herself. After the baby is born, they’re innocent, and naïve. They’re dependent on adults to care for them, to nurture them and teach them about life. Little by little, this child is slowly losing its naivety, and become more conscious of its surroundings, and the way others behave around it. This child starts to have its own opinions; opinions forged by the influence of society. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde portrays Dorian Gray as being as innocent as a new born; with the morals of a perfect gentleman, and the soul of snow by emphasizing his beauteous and young nature. Then purposely, Oscar Wilde introduces corruption into the story in the form of Lord Henry Wotton, and the story unravels from there.

Lord Henry Wotton is an aristocrat who, in the beginning, is quickly branded as a cynical, witty man. The readers perceive Lord Henry Wotton as brilliant, when in reality; all this philosophies contradict each other, and this is noted in the book when he is called “Prince Paradox” (199). His words influence everyone who is unlucky enough to hear them; and he knows this. He “likes peoples better than principles” (11) and he understands the psychology of the human brain and has become a connoisseur in distinguishing the thoughts and words of people. Although Lord Henry isn’t necessarily an evil person, he is a depraved human being who “adores simple pleasures” (30) and classifies hedonism as more important than anything else. When Dorian asked if he was as bad an influence as Basil Hallward claimed, he replied slyly “there is no such thing as a good influence Mr. Gray. All influence...

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...ercise the action for this to be done. So, he decided that the picture represented his conscience and for that, he would “destroy it” (228). Upon stabbing the painting, he stabbed himself in the process because the painting represented his soul and by destroying it, he caused his own destruction. In the end, Dorian Gray wished for repentance, but got none. He realized, too late, that we can never erase damage done upon our soul. He thought by submerging himself in drugs, he would forget everything and therefore it did not exist. Lord Henry’s jealousy and his love of investigating humans caused him to target Dorian Gray. His meddling influenced Dorian’s morals, and his personality. Although Lord Henry was the reason for Dorian’s life going astray, justice wasn’t served to him. No, in the end, Dorian’s mask of youth is lifted, and reality reveals Dorian’s true form.