Right and Wrong in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennesse Williams

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Morality, defined as the “beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior,”(“Morality”) is the substructure of our integrity and the column of virtuousness. The opposite of this, immorality, is the corruption of one’s being, becoming more wicked in nature. With morals, a person is held to a certain set of standards and demeanor, but if these morals were to become corrupted, a person’s moral boundaries would crumble, leaving the person vulnerable to misguiding influences and allowing for a certain barbarous freedom to uproot the integrity and virtuousness a moral person upholds. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray introduces a captivating and graceful young Englishman named Dorian Gray, who abandons his purity for an odious decadent lifestyle. Likewise, Stanley, one of the main characters in Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire portrays himself as a virile oppressor who tolerates no other authority than his own. Two deceitful men emerge from two extremely diverse worlds with the same corrupted and immoral character similar to humanity; however, these characters are very different. One character, Dorian, is characterized by his beauty, while the other character, Stanley, is characterized by his authority. It is through portentous behavior that one can see the true nature of these characters. Both The Picture of Dorian Gray and A Streetcar Named Desire, emphasize the capitulating to unethical behavior for narcissistic reasons and the inability to determine right from wrong.

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray’s true nature is revealed through a graceful portrait that a man by the name of Basil Hallward paints. This painting resembles Dorian’s beauty and purity. “When he saw it he dre...

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Ed. Allison Boothe and Kelly Mays. New York: W.W Norton, 2010. 1804-1867. Print

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