Information about historical aspects of the nineteenth century and The Picture of Dorian Gray’s publication time period we are able to perceive the influence behind the writing. Along with background information about Oscar Wilde and the hedonistic movement readers are able to contemplate the work on a deeper ingenious level and understand the novels purpose as a whole.
The Picture of Dorian Gray can be scrutinized and understood to approve of the merit of life in accordance with hedonistic values, this is partially due to the novels publication during the Aesthetic Movement of Victorian England along with congealing with the trite virtues of Oscar Wilde. We are able to understand Oscar Wilde’s interpretation of the Aesthetic Movement in sum to be the ideal person whose actions create maximal amounts of pleasure and joy in their life and nothing more (1Duggan). The Picture of Dorian Gray begins in the home of the renowned artist Basil Howard, along with an admirer, Lord Henry; these two men discuss the beauty of the newly done painting of a party guest, Dorian Gray and upon this event the catastrophic downfall of the three main characters is launched. Basil, sensitive to emotions, already consumed with idolatry towards Dorian Gray now has a new form of competition in the form of Lord Henry’s influence and cynicism upon the young man Dorian. Although Dorian is warned by Basil proclaiming Henry’s wrongful authority, Dorian cannot help to be intrigued by the hedonistic selfish lifestyle. While taking a walk in the garden Lord Henry pressures Dorian Gray to live unregretful and spend his precious seconds “always searching for new sensations” rather than devoting himself to “common” or “vulgar” pursuits (1Wilde pg. 24). In this ins...
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...area, the heart. Bloodstained, the knife will forever have caused the death of an innocent man along with the death of a lost soul. Dorian’s servants swoon to the scene of the crime and are hardly able to recognize the elder man lying before them. Dorian’s inner self becomes exposed when the body lays in a new appearance. Left are the precious rings upon his worn, frail fingers.
Overall, the influences of the Victorian, hedonistic era have been revealed through the novel with dramatic instances and have caused the tone to become mysterious. Dorian a mix of personalities has caused grace, charm and destruction with his actions from outside influence of just one man. Parallel to Wilde, “a man who had so many different personalities that he could only ever be true to himself when he was inconsistent” (1Gomel) Dorian may be caught in the same never-ending trance.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
Obsession in its nature is toxic; it turns people into gods, and leaves no room for their actual selves. Celebrities are the idols of the modern world, where ever they go, a fan follows them dying to get their attention. Dorian Gray, who was loved by nearly all of London for his charm and beauty, who’s biggest fan, Basil, worship of him lead to bitterness. The theme of obsession in The Picture of Dorian Gray is seen through both those who worship Dorian Gray, and the portrait, which is the object of Dorian's obsession. Although Wilde displays obsession through Basil's worship of Dorian, and even Dorian's obsession with himself and his youth, the modern day celebrity is a parallel to Dorian, who is worshipped by many at first for their beauty, wealth or fame, but the nature of the worship eventually leads to chaos.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.
...This essay discusses enough of The Picture of Dorian Gray to explain how floral imagery impacted the novel’s meaning. The use of floral imagery and symbolism has earned Wilde a place as one of the greatest and most influential writers of all time.
Although Wilde halts short of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian , the language he uses to describe their devotion for Dorian is unmistakably the language of deep, romantic intimacy. “Tell me more about Mr. Dorian Gray. How often do you see him?”. “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me”. This common motif of homoerotic bonds between men plays a large role in structuring the novel. Basils painting is born from his adoration of Dorians beauty , comparatively Lord Henry is overcome with desire to seduce Dorian. This sense of camaraderie between men fits into Wildes aesthetic values, for it returns him to his past where the philosophy of beauty was not only the basis of society but fundamental to culture. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy in order to justify his own lifestyle.
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.
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.
Oscar Wilde`s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is written primarily out of the aesthetic movement of the Nineteenth Century. Therefore, the text contains a profuse amount of imagery which reflects the concepts of beauty and sensory experiences. By taking the aesthetic approach, Wilde was able to revive the gothic style through grotesque imagery of the portrait and the character whose soul it represents. Wilde is not using gothic elements to shock his audiences; rather he uses the gothic to capture the hideousness of Gray`s corruptness which leaks out of the painting and into the tone of the entire text.
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.
---. The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings. Ed. Richard Ellman. New York: Bantam Dell, 1982.
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. The Electronic Classics Series, The Pennsylvania State University. p. 3/ Retrieved January 3, 2014 from http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray.pdf
The reason behind the Dorian 's degradation is never explicitly mentioned in Wilde 's novel, which begs the question of whether literature has the ability to degrade a person. The influence of literature has the potential to corrupt one 's mind, but whether it does is dependant on the state of the reader. Wilde demonstrates this point to counter claims that art, including, literature can be regarded as corruptive.
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 corrupt nature.