A Comparison of Oscar Wilde and Dorian Gray
One novel that stands out as literary masterpiece is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Wilde wrote a dark tale of a man, Dorian Gray, who destroys his life by exchanging his soul for eternal youth and beauty. The character of Dorian Gray, in many aspects, mirrors the self-destruction of the author's own life. Therefore, Oscar Wilde portrays his own life through Dorian Gray, the main character of the novel.
Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde is one of Birtain's most well known authors. What many people do not know is that "the life story of Oscar Wilde has become...one of the tragic legends of the ages" (Broad v). Wilde was born in 1854 in Dublin, Ireland to Sir William Wilde, a distinguished surgeon specializing in opthalmology, and Lady Wilde, a poet who ran a literary salon in Dublin. Being an excellent student, he won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford in 1874. Wilde soon adopted his parents' talents for ostentation always dressing flamboyantly and speaking in a wry, ironic matter when pertaining to subjects that he held in distaste. He graduated with honors and became a very distinguished man, but even his high stature could not prevent him from the tragedies of life. The Picture of Dorian Gray "is very much the author's autobiography" (Belford 170). In 1883, after he moved to London, he married Constance Mary Lloyd and had two sons. Wilde is thought to have married Constance "in order to quell rumors about his possible homosexuality, as well as to provide him with a regular income" (Holland 113) because it was not looked upon kindly in England in the 1800's if one was a homosexual. In 1891, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in book form, and ...
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...lde and Dorian are homosexual and find pleasure in being with men. Wilde greatly reflects his life and tells his own life story through one of his most well known and controversial novels of all time The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Works Cited
Belford, Barbara. Oscar Wilde. New York; Random House, 2000
Broad, Lewis. The friendships and Follies of Oscar Wilde. New York; Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1954.
Ericksen, Donald. Oscar Wilde . Boston; G. K. Hall & Co., 1977
Holland, Merlin. The Wilde Album. New York; Henry Holt and Company, 1997.
Hyde, H Montgomery. Oscar Wilde/ The Aftermath. New York; Farrar, Straus & Co. , 1963
Pearson, Hesketh. Oscar Wilde: His Life and Wit. New York; Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1946
"Pink Monkey.' www.pinkmonkey.com 15 Jan. 2001
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York; Random House, 1956.
Jonathan Swift is one of the best known satirists in the history of literature. When one reads his works, especially something like Gulliver’s Travels, it is easy for one to spot the misanthropic themes, which emerge within his characterization. Lamuel Gulliver is an excellent protagonist: a keen observer, and a good representative of his native England, but one who loses faith in mankind as his story progresses. He ends up in remote areas of the world all by accidents in his voyages. In each trip, he is shipwrecked and mysteriously arrives to lands never before seen by men. This forms an interesting rhythm in the novel: as Gulliver is given more and more responsibility, he tends to be less and less in control.
In the writing's of the Jonathan Swift we can clearly see issues and concepts with regard to morality, ethics and relations come into play in our society and in Gulliver's Travels, Swift brings those issues to the for front for everyone to see and analyze. The very concepts and beliefs that man holds dear Swift attacks and strongly justifies his literary aggression thought the construct of the society of the Houyhnahnms who truly leads a just and humane society that we as humans (Yahoos) have the faintest concept of. As I will later point out, Swift also deals with human ignorance and the overall belief that nothing in this earth can be more civilized and exert more reason then us. He uses the characters of the Houyhnahnms to demonstrate our inadequacies and overall failures to exert and practice true reason. Issues such as war, corruption, rape, homosexuality, lying (false representation), slavery, bribery, greed, and murder does not exist in a society that understands the true meaning of reason. We can clearly see the metamorphosis of Gulliver from is departure from his wife and children to being mutinied to his initial encounter with the Yahoos as well as the Houyhnahnms, to his experiences over a 5 year period in his interactions with the Houyhnhnms to his departure and return home to his wife and kids we can clearly see the change from a man (yahoo) to a Houyhnhnm (in spirit). So as we take a closer look at Gulliver's travels, we will see that the Voyage of the Houyhnhnm is about change, understanding, and clarity of oneself, his beliefs, morals and values.
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.
Baldwin consistently uses images of shadows to show the despair the narrator is in over Sonny's ruin. The narrator "[does not] want to believe that [he would] ever see [Sonny] going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face [going] out, in the condition [he has] already see so many others" (Baldwin 42). It is hard for him to see his brother, someone who he had played with as a child, succumb to the hard, dark life of drugs and jazz. The narrator relates to the young boys he sees on the streets of Harlem, remembering his childhood. He describes these boys as "filled with rage" as they recognize "the two darknesses, the darkness of their lives . . . and the darkness of the movies, which blind[s] them to the other darkness . . ." (42). In these children, the narrator sees his broken brother. As he is leaving the school where he teaches, he sees "another boy, standing in the shadow of a doorway, looking just like Sonny . . . [not] Sonny, but somebody [he] used to know . . . Sonny's friend . . . always high and raggy . . ." (42-43). Even though this boy is obviously not Sonny, the narrator cannot help but take another look at him. He wants to remember Sonny as his fun-loving, innocent little brother, but he knows that in reality, Sonny has become a drug addict, living a hard, decrepit life.
can hold me, at night, so that it's warm, ... who can make me happy and I do not
Baselga, Mariano. “Oscar Wilde: The Satire of Social Habits.” In Rediscovering Oscar Wilde, England: Colin Smuthe, 1994: pp. 13-20.
Nassar, Christopher. Into the Demon Universe: A Literary Exploration of Oscar Wilde. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
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 Importance of Being Earnest. Peter Raby, ed. Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays. London: Oxford University Press, 1995. 247-307.
... the Houyhnhnms as perfect creatures that live in a perfect society. Through this mental degeneration of Gulliver, Swift is showing that although reason is a good quality for human nature to possess, it should not be taken to an extreme, nor should it be the only governing principle of a society. Swift would like to see human nature ruled by reason for the most part (as the Houyhnhnms are), but with a slight essence of Yahoo traits as well.
He also blames all the misery of his life on the hideous painting of him (152). Dorian 's hatred towards the two pieces of art mirror how Victorian society looks upon art created by people like Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde 's plays, essays and other works of art are looked poorly upon by some in the Victorian era as his work was considered by some to be corrupting. Oscar Wilde, however uses the book The Picture of Dorian Gray to subtly counter these points. “All art us at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril” (4). Oscar Wilde criticizes Victorian culture as he implies that too many people read and analyze the surface or read the symbol, but not both. In order to properly understand a piece of literature the reader must interpret both surface and symbol. Dorian Gray fails to do this as he interprets merely the surface of the portrait and also of the yellow book, but he fails to investigate the symbol of each piece of art. By failing to completely analyze the text he draws terrible conclusions of what the purpose of the book is and as he begins to formulate horrible ideas based off these incomplete conclusions he has drawn from the book. He then proceeds to blame all his corruptness on the book, when in reality it is his poor analysis of the book
Additionally, Gulliver’s experiences are described very frankly and objectively. Swift depicts Gulliver as such to allow the reader to relate to Gulliver and accept his partialities with less apprehension. It’d be unreasonable for Swift to portray Gulliver as a nobleman because, statistically, there have always been more commoners than nobleman. Additionally, literacy rates were sufficiently high during the early 18th century to assume the text would be read by citizens of varying classes.
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 corrupt nature.
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.