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The picture of dorian gray meaning
Strengths and weaknesses of the picture of dorian gray
Oscar wilde and the picture of dorian gray purpose
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The Picture of Dorian Gray presents the reader with numerous possibilities in regards to its theme, yet the one most prominent is the continuous and direct allusion to the Bible as can be seen in the characters themselves, their dialogue, and the imagery surrounding them. As the book opens, two characters are introduced, Basil Hallward, a deeply moral man and an artist who meets Dorian at a party and becomes obsessed with his beauty, which in turn inspires his art; and Lord Henry Wotton, a man of “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (pg. 56), who possesses dry wit and often becomes a bad influence on those who find themselves unlucky enough to be in his company. Throughout the story the two characters are developed in somewhat …show more content…
I would give my soul for that!”(pg. 19)) According to Thomas C. Foster in the Introduction: How’d He Do That? From How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “Bargains with the devil go back a long way in Western culture…the hero is offered something he desperately wants – power or knowledge (in the case of Dorian Gray youth)– and all he has to give up is his soul” (pg. xxiii) This seems to be the opening theme of The Picture of Dorian Gray, yet it appears to be a bit too obvious and straight forward. One must then consider the rest of the book and the consequences of this pact with the devil, for this was only the prelude to Dorian’s future misdeeds to which Lord Henry will masterfully lead him, all the while never considering the consequences of the words he speaks to the boy. Dorian began his descend into the darkness by first cruelly breaking the heart of a young girl and afterwards living a life devoted solely to sensory experiences of pleasure with no regard for morality or the consequences of his actions causing Dorian’s reputation to suffer in circles of polite London society, until he finally completely succumbs to his cruelty and murders his friend Basil and later drives his friend, the chemist Alan Campbell, to commit suicide after he blackmails the man in order to convince him to dispose of the …show more content…
The difference between the two stories is that Basil does not try to utilize the information against Dorian, instead he begs him to repent and offer a prayer to God, “Pray, Dorian, pray,” he murmured. “What is it that one was taught to say in one’s boyhood? ‘Lead us not into temptation. Forgive us our sins. Wash away our iniquities.’ Let us say that together. The prayer of your pride has been answered. The prayer of your repentance will be answered also” (pg. 115). Yet even as Basil takes on the responsibility and tries to aid Dorian in his sin, the young man remains blind, for as Samson was captured and blinded by the Philistines, Dorian was captured by the seductive words that Lord Henry once uttered and was then blinded by his own vanity. So to Basil’s request he falters, “It is too late, Basil” (pg. 115). But Basil is persistent, or rather desperate and thus mumbles a prayer, “’Though your sins be as scarlet, yet I will make them as white as snow’” (pg. 115), upon saying which, he becomes a martyr to Dorian’s
...s to live and experience as much as you can in the short time you are allotted. He shows how art can help an individual experience moments of exhilaration, but he also warns that one should connect to the innate beauty of art rather than impose their own morality into art. Though Dorian Gray fails to separate his own morality from art he is the character that most accurately illustrates Pater’s philosophy. Henry does illustrate the ideals of Pater’s philosophy through his dialogue, but the reader must not ignore Basil’s firm belief against Henry’s dedication to the words that he preaches. As Dorian embodies the ideals of Pater he also shows the dangerous side of Pater’s philosophy. Pater’s philosophy is not naturally corrupt, but when Dorian chooses to ignore morality through the murder of Basil he shows the wicked extremes to which Pater’s philosophy can be taken.
...years. Lord Henry enjoyed influencing Dorian: "He was conscious--and the thought brought a gleam of pleasure into his brown agate eyes--that it was through certain words of his, musical words said with musical utterance, that Dorian Gray's soul had turned to this white girl and bowed in worship before her. To a large extent the lad was his own creation" (Wilde 51). What makes Lord Henry's influence worse is his utter lack of understanding how harmful it was, and, how little he really knew Dorian, evidenced towards the end when Dorian practically tells him he murdered Basil.
The novel depicts the protagonist, Dorian Gray, coming to realization of how everything in the world is not permanent, including his beauty due to a painting from Basil Hallward and a lecture of life from Lord Henry Wotton. In response, Gray sells his soul to the painting for eternal beauty, and that the painting should take his sins.Gray is content, even purposefully using trial and error on the emotions of people around him. Yet, the past comes back to haunt him, and Gray has to come to terms with time passing even if it is against his
In conclusion, both novels have the “monster” theme and show us society and its preconceptions and that society judges by appearance. The monster was mild and beautiful inside, but "ugly" and horrible outside and therefore everyone feared him. They never gave him a chance to prove his gentle nature. Dorian was stunning but had an awful inside, yet everyone loved him and spoke well about him. This shows us that anybody could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. People are more than their appearances; therefore appearance isn’t enough when you’re trying to get to know a person. As Shakespeare said “All that glisters is not gold”.
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
He refuses to repent after Basil sees his soul: “though your sins be as scarlet; yet I will make them as white as snow” (233). Dorian becomes so angry that he strikes Basil. He knew that he wouldn’t let Basil live after seeing the portrait, so this was no accidental death. Dorian also does not want to feel any guilt for his actions, so he thinks killing Basil will take that away. Also, he sees Basil as a “thing” that’s getting in his way. By calling Basil’s body a “thing,” he is objectifying Basil, like he did with Sibyl, so he can justify his actions and not face the reality of what he has done. This allows Dorian to take away the human aspects of Basil and to disregard the value of Basil’s life. Wilde underscores Dorian’s lack of empathy when he commits the most selfish act of all: murder. Wilde uses the most deplorable act against humanity to emphasize the danger of acting on selfish impulses. Like Odysseus, Dorian is unable to understand the value of human life. They also both act on selfishly in order to feel
Dorian Gray is a grand Gothic experiment from the moment in Basil Hallward’s studio when he desperately swears that he “would give [his] soul” if only he “was to be always young, and the picture … was to grow old” in his stead (Wilde 28). Even before this moment, Dorian was a test subject of Lord Henry’s, who wanted to see how many of his own ideas he could inject into the boy. This influence rapidly planted in Dorian the ideas of eternal youth and beauty and led to the encasement of his soul in the portrait. After the switch, Dorian not only is under Lord Henry’s influence, but he is also Oscar Wilde’s subject. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde manipulates Dorian, his surroundings, and his circumstances to capture a realistic portrayal of the character’s downfall by depicting the nature of the body, mind, and soul, and the relationship they share.
In many ways, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a retelling of the Faust story. A temptation is placed before Dorian, as with Faust, and he falls for it--offering up his soul to get it. In fact, one of Faust's principal wishes is also to remain young. Faust and Dorian also each seduce a young woman, then lead her to her death, as well as leading the woman's brother (Valentine in Faust and James Vale in Dorian Gray to die in attempting revenge for his sister.
Henry, being a part of the Victorian Society, values beauty too much. To him, beauty acts a sensory pleasure. Henry’s strong views and preference towards beauty greatly influence Dorian throughout the novel. About his friendships and enmities, Henry mentions that he “chooses [his] friends for their good looks, acquaintances for their good characters, and enemies for their good intellects” (Wilde ...
Through Basil Hallward, Wilde implies that Dorian can easily be corrupted. However, Dorian tries to assure Basil that he is not being influenced. He states that Lord Henry "has certainly not been paying me compliments. Perhaps that is the reason that I don't believe anything he has told me" (Wilde 15). The only reason Dorian does not believe Lord Henry is because Lord Henry does not complement him. Wilde infers that if this is the only reason for Dorian to doubt Henry, Dorian could therefore be influenced in some other way. Overall, Wilde shows how a person may deny the warning signs of being influenced.
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde readers are presented with a vast depiction of the art of immorality in the face of ignorant innocence portrayed by the character Dorian Gray. In the beginning it seems to be a quaint novel on artistry and the paradoxical relationship between two lifelong friends by the name of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. The plot takes a surprising twist when introduced to the real center of attention, the character of the seemingly innocent Dorian Gray. Upon this introduction Wilde then begins to tell the tale of what a life of secrecy and deception will lead to without the consciousness of a moral threshold and the inescapable burden of Dorians horrid accumulation of sins. The deception begins with a simple shout out to the heavens for the impossible to be granted. This then flourishes into unspeakable acts caused by an Egyptian statue, bringing misfortune to Dorian Gray by giving him exactly what he so desperately desires, thus teaching the world a lesson. Not everything we so strongly desire the world to provide is good for the soul.
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 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.
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.
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.