Analyzing Ivan Albright's 'Portrait Of Dorian Gray'

Oscar Wilde’s The picture of Dorian Grey’s novel is about a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and believes his beauty should not be wasted and it is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enslaved by Lord Henry's world view. He shows him a new hedonism, and suggests the only things worth following in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. When he realizes that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian feels a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait that Basil has painted would age instead of him. Dorian's wish

Much of the criticism regarding The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde has dealt with Dorian Gray’s relation to his own portrait (Raby 392). While some may argue that the portrait represents a reflection of Dorian Gray’s character, this is only a superficial analysis of the novel and Dorian’s character. While Dorian Gray’s true character never changes, it is his own perception of his character (his conscience) that is reflected in the changing face of his portrait. In essence Dorian’s picture becomes a mirror through which the "true Dorian" judges his own metamorphasis as the superficial "Lord Henry Dorian" attempts to embrace Lord Henry’s teachings. Dorian’s

In order to understand how Dorian’s character has been changing to a more malevolent being the reader must contrast and compare Dorian’s old behavior to his new behavior using the current situation that furthers his character development. The author uses Dorians home in order to show Dorian’s official decadence into madness begins right where it all started. The authors content is portrayed through the painting of Dorian, after Dorian murdered Basil the painting seemed to have “sweated blood”. This demonstrated that Dorian, in addition to his decaying self-portrait, now had blood on his hands meaning the content was shown through the art where Dorian traded his soul for youth. The setting takes a dark turn towards the end of chapter 17 when

Readers meet terror, which is something that invokes extreme fear and has connotations of intense anxiety, in this passage because Dorian Gray fills in the blanks by describing not just what the subjects of the portraits are wearing on their bodies, but also the faces they wear. The heavily lidded curious eyes of Lady Elizabeth Devereux are nearly missed after being described her dress and the flowers that surround her. George Willoughby’s “sensual lips twisted with disdain” too, are nearly overlooked as we notice the delicate lace ruffles of his coat. There is a sort of spectral haunting as Dorian walks through his house to view these portraits because it feels as of his ancestors are still there watching his every move. They surround him on all sides, his own mother “laughing at him” with her beautiful Lady Hamilton like face; her eyes “seemed to follow him wherever he went” (121).

In The Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde presents the theme of good versus evil side of human nature. The depths of what it means to be human is explored by Wilde with the three characters of Basil Hallward, Henry Wotton and Dorian Gary. Each character represents a different side of the conflict between morality and giving into temptation. The three characters equally represent the difference in the class structure of society.

Oscar Wilde has done a tremendous job with the passages in “The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings”. In “The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings” all the passages, whether it be story, play, or poem, get me hooked because of the drama. All the passages in “The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Writings” have an insightful tone and lesson that usually comes in the form of monologue. Although I don’t find most of the passages relatable there are certain themes here and there that really resonate with me. Oscar Wilde has a certain flair for the dramatics that no other artist, whose work I have read, can capture.

Oscar Wilde was a creator many literary works including plays, poems and books. Though the most infamous piece he has done was The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was first published in 1890 and was seen in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (The Picture of Dorian First Published Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, bl.uk). The book was about a young man named Dorian Gray who gets a portrait done for him by a man named Basil. Then he “wishes (and receives his wish) that his portrait ages while he remains youthful and lives a life of sin and pleasure.” (Oscar Wilde Biography, Biography, 2015) From then on there are themes of love, beauty, suicide, murder, and youth. “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your

The first sign of Dorian’s new development is when he first lays eyes on the portrait after hearing Lord Henry’s panegyric of youth. As Dorian gazes upon himself on the portrait, he comes to a shocking realisation. Wilde writes it as, “The sense of his own beauty came upon him like a revelation… Basil Hallward’s compliments had seemed to him to be merely the charming exaggerations of friendship… They had not influenced his nature. Then had come Lord Henry Wotton with his strange panegyric on youth, his terrible warning of its brevity. That had stirred him at the time, and now, as he stood gazing at the shadow of his own loveliness, the full reality of the description flashed across him… He would become dreadful, hideous, and uncouth. As he thought of it, a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife, and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver” (Wilde 18-19). His beauty would not last forever, and he would become old and withered just like everyone else will. Dorian, who once didn’t care about his looks, had now become obsessed with the ideals and ideas fed to him from Henry. He makes his wish for the portrait to take on the burden of time and sin, instead of him. He says, “I know, now, that when one loses one’s good

Throughout the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde tells a tale about a young man named Dorian whose entire life changes after he meets Basil Hallward, who paints a portrait of Gray that ultimately leads to Gray’s demise. At the same time, Dorian also meets Lord Henry, who eventually plays a bad influence over Dorian. The portrait shows the man Dorian has become

The book was, in part, a reflection of Oscar’s life. Filled with scandal, pain, love, and despair, it could be a mirror. What Wilde wrote was never just a story, but instead a reflection of his soul. It reflects what you think and feels, as was the case with Dorian Gray. The book has had a lasting influence for this reason and several more. The subtext is one of these. Everything Wilde Wrote had another story inside of it. Dorian Gray was no exception, and that is part of what makes it so influential and so very fascinating. It starts with the title. It was the first clue into the story behind the book. Wilde excelled in Greek and Roman studies, and it was no accident that the main character was to be named Dorian. The Dorians were a part of the Greek people long

     The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde. The genre of this novel can be classified as a comedy of manners or a gothic novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Another version with an additional six chapters was published in 1891. One of the major themes in the novel was the Supremacy of Beauty and Youth. A very attractive man has a portrait painted of himself, and after being warned of the mortality of his youth the man, Dorian, trades his soul to remain young while his portrait bears the markings of his age and evil deeds. Dorian becomes increasingly evil thoughout the novel, while constantly being encouraged by Lord

There is quite a bit of symbolism in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The actual painting of Dorian Gray seems to represent his inner self, which much more evil than he tries to lead on. Dorian’s inner self gets uglier and uglier with every crime that he commits. The painting is of Dorian’s true nature, and as his soul gets more crooked it shows up on the canvas. Dorian isn’t freed from the painting’s influence either, since it is getting uglier with each crime he commits, he kind of loses it. The painting starts to act as his conscience, since Dorian seems to not have one, and it constantly reminds him of the true evil that is at the heart of his behavior. This brings me to the next symbol, The Yellow Book.

In the Victorian prose, The Portrait of Dorian Gray explores the idea of duality. The divided self within the character of Dorian Gray begins with his misunderstanding of his self-image, because of the influence of a portrait. Dorian’s fate and transformation connect to the painting, which leads to his downfall. The painting contains Dorian's moral decline as changes to the picture affects his life. Through the portrait, he gains an image of himself as an independent individual compared to his previous characteristics where he followed traditional Victorian standards. The sinful actions of Dorian Gray demonstrate duality, because of the self-image he gains from a portrait allowing him to live morally free until he redeems himself by

In the beginning of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian is viewed highly by Basil and is claimed to be his sole inspiration. By this little description we read of Dorian, the reader can already see how Dorian at the beginning of the book has a strong presence. However Basil describes Dorian as having a “simple and beautiful nature”(pg-12) and tells Lord Henry, “Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad.” (pg-12). Lord Henry is the first person to start to influence and change Dorian into being deceitful. The second factor that changes Dorian is the painting. In chapter two, Basil finishes the Painting and presents it to Dorian. Instead of being filled with joy, Dorian realizes that he will grow old and the Painting will stay young. Later in the story the Portrait changes to show a sneer around Dorians mouth. The reason for this is because Dorian broke Sybil’s heart. After learning about Sybil’s suicide, Dorian accepts that the Painting will show ageing while he appears to have not aged. This forces Dorian to lock away his painting and this also shows Dorian being deceitful with his looks.

In the book The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde the three main characters Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry all have their wants and desires. But the undisputed protagonist is Dorian himself, Dorian in the beginning of the book is an impressionable young man who seems almost pure like a child was changed dramatically through the book. He was changed by things like events and people around him,most notably Lord Henry who pushed his own hedonistic views upon Dorian.