An Analysis Of The Picture Of Dorian Gray

1981 Words4 Pages

adison Exner
Mrs.Byrnes
Advanced British Literature
11 March, 2014
Why the Schoolroom, Oscar? : An Analysis of The Victorian Age’s Educational System
In Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, there is debauchery and sin around every turn. Dorian Gray is a beautiful and vivacious man in England’s social scene and he is painted by his friend and artist, Basil. What Dorian doesn’t know is that with the painting will come an everlasting and sinful youth. He soon becomes close friends with Lord Henry, an older man who has a horrible influence over Dorian. Time passes and strange things begin to happen to Dorian, including the death of his lover, the portrait becomes marred and ugly while Dorian stays beautiful. Dorian soon realizes the horror of the portrait’s nature and that his sins will show on the painting and he will stay forever young.
Dorian is terrified of being found out about his eternal youth and hides the painting away from everyone. The strange part is where he chooses to hide the portrait, he sends for his servant to unlock the old schoolroom in his home. Dorian chooses the schoolroom over all of the other rooms in the masion that he resides in; it is odd that he puts the painting into this one. Oscar Wilde does this on purpose; it could be a statement on either the ideals of Victorian education or the “lesson” that the portrait teaches. The strange placement of the portrait could also be a representation of the Victorian Age’s fall from grace.
Oscar Wilde’s life was extremely tumultuous and full of scandal considering he lived and wrote in the Victorian Age. The Victorian Age is quite known for its emphasis on social standing. Where one stood in society dictated what their occupation would be and how they...

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... both began with very high hopes for the future but both were mistaken. Dorian hoped to always be young and beautiful and the Victorian Schools wanted to achieve affordable education for all. Dorian gave into the pleasures that his everlasting looks could grant. Mistakes and power being placed in the wrong hands was detrimental to both Dorian Gray and Victorian England. Lord Henry leaves us with a quote that summarizes the connection between the schoolroom and Dorian’s story, “Good God, Dorian, what a lesson! What an awful lesson!” (Wilde 203). It is salient that Oscar Wilde is making a statement when he uses the schoolroom setting in a story about such a naive and unsuspecting character. Dorian was given all of the promise in the world but acted unwisely and it cost him everything, the schoolroom was a clever medium of Oscar Wilde’s opinions of youth and beauty.

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