Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray: Discovering Wilde

Dorian Gray is notorious for his breathtaking good looks so much that his beauty was desired by all men throughout his entire life. "I know, now, that when one loses one's good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything. Your picture has taught me that. Lord Henry Wotton is perfectly right. Youth is the only thing worth having. When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself" (Wilde, 28).This is a great example of foreshadowing because Dorian does become so upset with his life and aging that he kills himself. It shows how dependant he was on beauty even until the very end of his life. It is ironic that he traded his soul for eternal beauty and in the end the only thing he wanted was his soul and no beauty. Since Dorian is beautiful he starts to think the only thing that matters in life is beauty, he only sees the importance of

Furthermore, Dorian’s moral principles get progressively worse, eventually leading to the murder of Dorian’s longtime friend, Basil Hallward. Dorian acts impulsively and erratically while showing Basil the mutilated portrait, “and suddenly an uncontrollable hatred for Basil Hallward came over him” (115) spurring Dorian to stab Basil repeatedly. Due to his impulsive nature and devotion to seeking pleasure, the moment his anger took over, Dorian chose to ignore his conscience. He retains his childish behavior because he never

Dorian is introduced to Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry Wotton seems at the beginning of the novel to be the most corrupting character in the book, being the catalyst of Dorian Gray?s change in character, or realization of true character. Wotton is a cynical character, and is somewhat of a hypocrite, as Hallward rightly says (paraphrasing Charles 2nds epigram), "You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing" (4). For all his talk, Lord Henry remains a married man who chooses a life as a spectator rather than a carouser (Miller 385). From the instant of their acquaintance, Lord Henry causes an instantaneous difference in Dorian. "Lord Henry lives vicariously on the emotions and experiences of other people" (Shewan 376). Lord Henry awakens in Dorian feelings and thoughts Dorian has never had before, and Dorian feels overcome with awe. When asked about his negative influence on people, Lord Henry says," There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral?Because to influence a person is to give him one?s own soul?" (17). Dorian immediately develops an attachment to Lord Henry, one which Henry claims will be everlasting. Jeffrey Meyers explains, "If Hallward is the masochistic creator of Dorian?s aesthetic glorification, Wotton (who manipulates the vanity stimulated by the portrait) is the sadistic catalyst of his moral degeneration"(372). In fact, Ted Spivey claims that

Basil Hallward and Henry Wotten are quite the opposite of each other—Basil is unwaveringly conventional in his values while Henry instead enjoys entertaining the idea of radical and inappropriate ways of thinking (on page 4, he claims that “the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary,” to which Basil responds that he “hate[s] the way [Henry] talks about his married life). Because of their profoundly contrasting ideas, they are not so much foils for each other as they are for Dorian Gray. It is by these two men that one measures Dorian’s place on the scale of morality.

In the book, The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, there is a character named Lord Henry Wotton. He is the story's antagonist and whom critics often think most resembles Oscar Wilde. Wilde remarks "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages perhaps." Within the preface of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, there lie the lines "Those who go beneath the symbol do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their own peril." From Wilde's statement, we can assume that there is a part of Wilde represented in each of the main characters, but how they represent him is up for the reader to decide.

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.

particular day of June. . . . If it were only the other way! If it were I

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is a novel about greed and ruin. Dorian Gray, received infinite youth from a portrait of him, which portrays all his sins and wrongdoings on itself, rather than his body. This freedom from morality leads Dorian Gray down a road of destruction until his sins are returned to him and he meets his end. Through a psychoanalytic Freudian lens, it is clear that Dorian Gray exhibits many of Sigmund Freud’s theories, including his theory of personality, the Oedipus complex, and the defense mechanisms.

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

He is even told by Lord Henry he is far too charming to go into philantropy. This remark may be the beginning of the flattery that opened Dorian's mind up to his corruption. Dorian is being moved by Harry's speech about cherishing youth and enjoying it. His mind was being challenged by the thought of his own passions until the point when he proclaimed "stop! You bewilder me. I do not know what to say. There is some answer to you, but I cannot find it. Do not speak. Let me think. Or rather let me try not to think". Dorian allows himself to be corrupted. He begins to fear aging and begins to think that everything will be loss with the loss of his youth and beauty. Dorian goes from no worries to this thought as Harry speaks. He was convinced that this "new Hedonism" was the way. This shows the weakness of his mind in his youth it is also the begginning of his fate. With this flaw of character, Dorian seemed to write his fate unknowingly. When Basil Hallward, the painter, rewarded Dorian with the portrait he replied "If I were to be the one always young, and the picture grow old! For that-for that-Iwould give everything!…Iwould give my soul for that!". This was just a plea at the depth of his sorrow, a remark made totally through whim.

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

Oscar Wilde wanted to show that people have two sides to them whether you think you know them well enough or not. He demonstrates this by using imagery through Dorian's painting and Dorian Gray. As the story progresses the Picture becomes more and more disfigured as Dorian commits a simple sin from the very beginning. Dorian represents the face that he presents the world, the personality that he shows to other people. The portrait is what Dorian doesn’t show, his true self that is hidden away, a whole other side of Dorian.

He was the polar opposite of Basil. In their very first meeting, Lord Henry placed that seed of fear of losing his beauty inside of Dorian. This fear was a rising action for the main issue throughout the novel. It drove Dorian to make that wish of allowing the painting to be marred by life while Dorian’s youthful physique remained the same. To contrast Basil, Lord Henry encouraged Dorian to immediately meet new girls as soon as he heard his reinstated fiancé committed suicide.

Dorian Gray once told Henry "The soul . . . can be bought, and sold. It can be poisoned, or made perfect" (Wilde 213). Likewise, it would not be beneficial for one to sacrifice their soul with an exception of exchanging it in order to attain perfection. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray explores the themes and ideologies of Hedonism and Aestheticism. Hedonists believe that pleasure is the most important aspect in life and can be obtained when one denies their moral instincts to partake in sensual activities, essentially neglecting their soul. Aestheticism focuses on the principle that art serves no purpose and exists for the sake of beauty alone in which critics illustrated the attitudes of the movement through The Yellow Book. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, introduces the protagonist, Dorian Gray, as a young and handsome male during the Victorian Era in England. The story commences with Basil Hallward, a painter, using Dorian as his model. Meanwhile Lord Henry preys on the young lad to encourage him to engage in the Hedonistic lifestyle. More so, the portrait of Dorian presented by Basil represents Dorian’s soul. Immoral decisions made by Dorian slowly alter his portrait for the worse and ultimately mirrors the unsightliness of Dorian’s persona. Lord Henry furthers his projection of Hedonism onto Dorian by presenting a book which reiterates philosophies of

In Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray human nature is heavily discussed and explored, more specifically the idea that one can not deny who they truly are and that it will eventually affect them, or in the presented case bring their judgment. Throughout the text this concept is conveyed to the reader through various symbols. The book 's namesake, the painting of Dorian Gray, is the most prominent example of this symbolism due to its very peculiar quality. As any reader can tell, the cornerstone of this novel 's plot is the fact that Dorian has been given the very rare fortune of being able to suffer no detrimental effects to his beautiful appearance in real life due to his horrible actions while his painting bears these crosses instead. “But here was a visible symbol of the degradation of sin”(Wilde 93). As Dorian continues to become worse and loses any iota of morality, he maintains the appearance of an angel while the painting becomes a twisted, grotesque, and aged monstrosity that stands as a monument to all of his sins.