Analysis: The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Monsters: they are the ones who intentionally and repeatedly hurt others, physically or emotionally, without remorse.

Filling minds with paranoia, creeping into the darkest parts of the human psyche, and starring as the lead role in many nightmares, monsters terrorize the happiness and sanity of daily life. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a scientist with good intent creates life, but he is horrified by his creation’s appearance, neglects to take proper care of it, and causes it to become ultimately wicked. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a beautiful man, influenced by his friends, loses grasp of his identity and morals. Shelley and Wilde create two distinct characters, the creation and Dorian Gray, neglected of receiving proper

Every man strives to find himself, to understand himself, but when a person takes a wrong turn on his path to self-actualization, detrimental effects echo throughout his lifetime. The vanity of the cottagers, who cannot look beyond the creation’s horrific appearance, conditions the creation to expect negative responses as a result of his good deeds. After saving a girl from drowning, the creation recounts in despair, “This was then the reward of my benevolence! . . . as a recompense, I now withered under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone” (Shelley 101). This act of violence against the creation marks his turning point. It broke his gentle spirit. Deterring from his path of kindness, the creation finally caves and reciprocates the feelings of hatred he receives from the villagers. Therefore, his personality comes to mirror his monstrous appearance. Bond reinforces this idea that the villagers condition the creation to expect negligence as a result of kindness when he claims that the creation is “alienated from common kindness and interactions, and rewards ostracism with violent crime” (Bond). The villagers train the creation to act in a wicked manner and consequently turn him into the monstrosity that terrifies them all. As the result of a scandalous marriage, Dorian Gray is misguided from

After being rejected from human society, the creation “declare[s] everlasting war against the species, and more than all against him who had formed [the creation], and sent [the creation] forth to this insupportable misery” (Shelley 97). The creation’s new-found passion for revenge dominates his last innocent and pure feelings. Each hate-oriented action, committed by the creation, traces directly back to the unjust villagers and his cruel abandonment. The murders of William, Clerval, and Elizabeth represent the creation’s spite toward Frankenstein while framing Justine for William’s death portrays the creations hatred for even the best of humanity. However, without exposure to the corrupt ways of humans, the creation could not posses enough wickedness to follow through with his hateful actions. Therefore, the corrupt taint the creation with vengeance. On the other side, the corrupt taint Dorian Gray with a loss of remorse. Devoting himself to the words of Lord Henry, “He becomes indifferent to the effects of his actions which not only destroys others (in ways never specified) but also leaves him fatally marred” (Aubrey). Before Lord Henry’s influence, Gray possesses a kind spirit that would be unable to bear such burdens. Lord Henry’s leadership desensitizes Gray to the effects of his own sin. Although people cannot