Character Analysis: The Beauty Of Dorian Gray

Wilde also was famous for his leading of the aesthetic movement and his imprisonment for propagating homosexuality. The Picture of Dorian Gray tells a story about a degradation of a young man Dorian Gray. At the beginning, an artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the kind and innocent Dorian Gray and, after seeing the artwork, Lord Henry Wotton - a vain and snobbish class man - requests to meet him. Influenced by eccentric Henry Wotton’s philosophy, Dorian begins to become vain and cruel but while his external appearance remains unchanged, his appearance on the painting alters every time he commits a sin. The novel explores many issues, one of them is aestheticism - exaltation of art and beauty, leading to the eternal question - can a beautiful person be moral and a moral person be beautiful, which always have and will stir society’s curiosity. Oscar Wilde once said that "All art is quite useless" and in The Picture of Dorian Gray, he tends to juxtapose various expressions of art with the routine of Dorian Gray and a shallow life in the nineteenth century. As a tool to reveal the concept of a life at the end of the 19th century Wilde uses art of pretty - but meaningless - things used to please one’s vanity and create a mundane environment. This raises the question: what did Oscar Wilde want to imply by and how does he use art to develop the theme of morality in The Picture of Dorian Gray? It was impossible to avoid art in any of its expressions (parties, theatre, clothes, etc.) in even the most regular lives in the 19th century and of course it influenced the way of thinking, created the social status and the image of oneself, so, after all, art had a huge impact on the individuals of the 19th century. And, as often beauty does, art encourages greed and vanity, which Oscar Wilde demonstrates through the usage of art in the novel.

Most people are taught from a young age what is right, and what is wrong. These teachings set up the basis for later discovering one’s personal values. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, these same principles are applied and challenged by Wilde. Not only does he question morality and human nature, but also the ideas of the Aesthetic movement- which influenced the ideals and behavior of Dorian Gray. Through Dorian’s morally ambiguous character, Wilde asserts that one is not purely good or evil, but a mixture of the two; Wilde establishes this theme when Dorian breaks up with Sibyl Vane, murders Basil Hallward, and stabs his decaying portrait.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, a novel laced with sin, treachery, and raging battles of inner conflict, is Oscar Wilde’s sole novel. Considered immoral and scandalous upon publication, the book centers around a young man named Dorian Gray, who does not age or reflect the darkness of his heart outwardly, and instead a portrait of him bears the damage his destructive life wreaks on his soul. However, the meaning of the story extends past the simple fact that Dorian lives a life of immorality—he walks the path that takes him there with his two friends, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotten. The two attempt to guide and influence Dorian throughout the novel in their own ways, and are a vital piece of Dorian’s tale. Basil and Henry act as character foils as well as a symbolic angel and devil for Dorian Gray’s character, and also contribute themes of choosing one’s own fate.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde is able to show how possessions can change a man so drastically. Over the course of the book the readers examine how many items such as the painting, the yellow book and much more, shape and alter Dorian from being outgoing, likable, and overall good to secluded, manipulative and most of all deceitful. Dorian gray has many motives for being deceitful that help develop the characters, and change the way they interact with each other.

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 this novel, beauty and youth reign over everything. In Victorian period, The Picture of Dorian Gray was characterized as scandalous and immoral. Typical idealistic image of behavior and modesty inherent to old time Victorian England was discredited in the novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray contained radical ideals for the period of time it was written. Dorian represents all what was disgraceful and forbidden condemned in Victorian

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

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.

Every single book is essentially the same. However, every book is written in a different and unique way. When writing their books, each author borrows from other authors to make their book a masterpiece. Thomas Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, explains in great detail the differences between books, but also their connections. Foster writes “There is only one story . . . Whenever anyone puts pen to paper or hands to keyboard . . . They all take from and in return give to the same story” (Foster 185-186). One book that is a part of Foster’s story is Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this essay, Thomas Foster’s methods regarding both symbolism and ¬¬¬¬heart disease from his book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor will be discussed and applied to one of Oscar Wilde’s novels. Throughout his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde uses the portrait of the young protagonist as a symbol of many things, one of them being a mirror. Wilde also uses Gray’s death to not only signify suicide, but his true unhappiness through the stabbing and thus killing of his own soul.

Oscar Wilde’s fictional piece The Picture of Dorian Gray is a wonderful story that provides insight on the effect that sin has on the soul. In the beginning of the story Dorian is a kind hearted man, but by the end he becomes a cold blooded murderer who thinks only about himself. The ending is also very interesting in the sense that although Oscar Wilde escaped suspicion, revenge from James and those who could put his pursuit of pleasure in jeopardy, Dorian could not escape himself. This is the theme that really stuck with me. Dorian pursued pleasure with complete disregard for his soul or his conscience and in the end it led to his lack of pleasure and death.

The notion that art can exist for the sake of its beauty alone is the essence of aestheticism, a nineteenth-century arts movement that had a significant impact on the writings of Oscar Wilde; in particular, his enrapturing novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is an insightful narration that expresses many of the central elements of this aesthetic philosophy. Centered on the life of an attractive young man named Dorian Gray, the novel details how through the influence of others, he becomes morally depraved, and sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth. The main instigator behind the drastic transformation of Dorian’s character, is the intensely charismatic and ever cynical, Lord Henry Wotton. Easily winning over Dorian’s affections with

Beauty and youth is a very fickle topic to most. It is highly desired and some go through somewhat unconventional means to achieve their version of beauty. But how far would one be willing to go? Even if one were to preserve their beauty for an extended period, how far would one be willing to go to prevent others from finding out their true selves? This is what Dorian Gray faces in “The Portrait of Dorian Gray.” Before seeing his portrait, Dorian was a young, pure, and beautiful boy who was very modest and would brush off the many compliments he received. But after taking in his beauty and realizing the fragility of it, he goes in a crazy rage, and wishes that the painting would be the one to grow old and ugly instead of him. His wish is granted and he is horrified as he watches himself decay through the painting. This causes a drastic change in his character and morals as he develops from an innocent boy into a sinful and wretched man.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray the main character Dorian gray was first an innocent man and role model to artist Basil Howard who represented humanity. Overtime influences, interactions, and beauty got the best of him. In The Picture of Dorian Gray Basil says “He has a simple and a beautiful nature. Your aunt was quite right in what she said of him. Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” this shows how even at the very beginning Basil knew how Lord Henry would influence him in a negative way. As we read on we can see how lord Henry teaches him to only care about beauty which causes Dorian to believe beauty is the only thing that matters in life. Lord Henry was the main cause of the corruption of Dorian's soul. In the novel another quote Lord Henry says is Oh, she is better than good – she is beautiful,". This demonstrates how from the very get go he told Dorian that beauty is better than goodness. The poisonous book was another way Dorian was overtaken by the evil. In the novel it says “It was a poisonous book. The heavy odor of incense seemed to cling about its pages and to trouble the brain. The mere cadence of the sentences, the subtle monotony of their music, so full as it was of complex refrains and movements elaborately repeated, produced in the mind of the lad, as he passed from chapter to chapter, a form of reverie, a malady of dreaming, that made him unconscious of the falling day and creeping shadows.” This quote proves how the evil has already taken over him and now the book is taking over his soul. A clear piece of evidence that shows readers how the evil has really won in The Picture of Dorian Gray is the

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 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of a man obsessed with the pursuit of beauty and youth. He goes as far as to sell his soul, both literally and figuratively, in order to maintain his own youthful beauty. To preserve his youthful beauty, Dorian Gray allows his sins to be captured in a canvas self-portrait. However, in doing so, he does not take into account the impact his actions will have on others as well as on his own soul. In the novel, the titular character desires the power and privilege that youth and beauty brings, but he does not realize the true sacrifice such power requires.