The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Sins of Dorian Gray

535 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on dorian gray

What good does it do a man to gain the whole world yet forfiet his soul? None, perfection, the goal we all reach for, yet is it really attainable to become perfect without giving something in return, possibly your soul. This is a theme challenged in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. We see the tragedy of a young beautiful Englishman, Dorian Gray, who becomes a vain sinner dedicated to pleasure. Dorian's inner secrets and weakness of mind becomes his downfall. In this novel Dorian Gray's apparent perfection is destroyed by his weakness of mind and naiiveness, which becomes the downfall of his soul as his mind is opened to sin and Hedonism by Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian's apparent perfection is expressed to us before he is. We are made to believe that he is the...

Show More
Related

  • The Pupil Exceeds the Master: The Authentic Dandy within The Portrait of Dorian Gray

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde depicts two characters that follow the philosophy of Walter Pater. These two characters are Dorian Gray and Henry Wotton. They both embody Pater’s ideal of placing as much enjoyment in one’s short life as possible. While Dorian learns of Pater’s philosophy from Henry he soon exceeds his teacher and becomes invested within the philosophy of living life to the fullest. Dorian exceeds Henry in Pater’s philosophy through his active experimentation and desire for beauty, but Dorian fails to live up to all of Pater’s expectations due to his inability to separate morality for art.

    Read More

  • The Reader's Sympathy for Dorian from Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    The French born author, Anais Nin once wrote, “We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative” ("Think Exist Quotations"). Anais is expounding upon the inconsistency all people have in aspects of their personalities. Some days a person may be hailed as a saint for their actions, while other days they seem absolutely evil. In most literature, characters are defined as good or evil based on their revealed thoughts and actions. On occasion an anomaly may be found, where a character is more ambiguous. Dorian Gray’s Actions throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray paralyzes the readers’ ability to condemn Dorian as purely good or purely evil, causing them to be more sympathetic than usual.

    Read More

  • Picture of Dorian Gray

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty - The first principle of aestheticism, the philosophy of art by which Oscar Wilde lived, is that art serves no other purpose than beauty. Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty reigns. It is a means to revitalize the wearied senses as indicated by the effect that Hallward's painting has on the cynical Lord Henry. It is also as a means of escaping the brutalities of the world, as Dorian distances himself from the horrors of his actions (not to mention his consciousness) by devoting himself to the study of beautiful things: music, jewels, rare tapestries. In a society that prizes beauty so highly, youth and physical attractiveness become great commodities. Lord Henry reminds Dorian of as much upon their first meeting, when he laments that the young...

    Read More

  • Dorian Gray

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, we follow the young Dorian Gray as Lord Henry Wotton first introduces him to a new way of being. Lord Henry believes that the only way of being is to understand that beauty is the only worthwhile trait of life. Wilde writes “, Lord Henry looked at him . . . There was something in his face that made one trust him at once . . . There was something in his low, languid voice that was absolutely fascinating . . . But he felt afraid of him, and was ashamed of being afraid. Why had it been left to a stranger to reveal him to himself?”(page18-23) To Dorian, having just met Lord Henry, these words are life altering. Scholars have made the argument that Lord ...

    Read More

  • Evil in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    trading his soul for his youth, Dorian rids of the good inside of himself.  The

    Read More

  • Dualism of a Double Life in Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oscar Wilde’s novel, Picture of Dorian Gray, portrays the dichotomy of the double life led by Dorian Gray.1 The contrast between the portrait and Dorian personifies the universal battle of sin versus morale and ultimately serves as a moral compass for society.2 Dorian’s development of a double life identifies with the results of sociological oppression leading to confinement.3 The development of this contrasting lifestyle inevitably influences a fatal deterioration of his soul and heart.4 Oscar Wilde’s exaggeration of the effects of the double life of Dorian Gray within his novel Picture of Dorian Gray ultimately conveys the degradation due to a confinement of the soul, and personifies the dualism between private and public lives.5

    Read More

  • Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: Dorian as Tragic Hero

    2335 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: Discovering Wilde

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Isobel Murray. London: Oxford University Press, 1974.

    Read More

  • Manipulation In Dorian Gray

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. ”(Wilde 13). The words of an honored role model can easily persuade even the purest of hearts into the darkness of crime and evil, such as Dorian Gray. At this moment, Gray falls victim to the flourishing words of Lord Henry, who manipulates Gray from a timid and shining boy to nothing but a shallow man who commits capital crimes to conceal his secret.

    Read More

  • Picture of Dorian Gray: Influence, Corruption and Conscience

    3042 Words  | 7 Pages

    Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, explores the themes of influence, corruption and conscience. “The obvious influence of Lord Henry upon Dorian shows how one may corrupt another to such an extent that one's own conscience withers and dies”(Weintraub 116).

    Read More

  • The Picture Of Dorian Gray Theme Essay

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Narcissism In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

    1454 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone is merely a product of their surroundings and become what they have been raised to be. While some remain untempted by the vices of their peers, others completely absorb the negative influences in everyday life. Modern society values beauty over substance and The Picture of Dorian Gray serves to reveal that flaw. Oscar Wilde criticizes the superficial nature of people by satirizing the corruption of their views on morality. He says “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame” (Wilde 238). Dorian Gray, the main character, is representative of the direction that humanity as a whole is heading toward. He struggles with his religious identity while also trying to please society’s expectations

    Read More

  • Essay on The Picture of Dorian Gray as a Moral Book

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lord Wotton sees Dorian as "wonderfully handsome...all of youth's passionate purity," and cannot resist the t...

    Read More

  • The Relationship between Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    To avoid getting hurt, he pretended to be Lord Henry: decadent, cynical, eloquent, rebellious, and a bit evil in the eyes of bluenoses. Dorian Gray is what he would like to be: be loved, taste all the beauties and exquisite in life and die for what he wants to defend. In this novel, Wilde portrays his philosophy of "aesthetic idealism." He favored nature when it was explained as an internal individualistic impulse, just like Lord Henry who suggests that beauty is the greatest good and doing so diminishes the role of the soul. He does this out of a half-facetious, half-earnest pursuit of that which is more genuine, less socially constructed and therefore less hypocritical.

    Read More

More about The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Sins of Dorian Gray

Open Document