Monstrous Criminals In Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray

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.

this in the presence of Lord Henry, “We shall all suffer for what the gods

   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).

If you can get past most of the superficial and unlikeable characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray, this story does indeed have its place in the horror genre. While I understand the setting and the characters were a reflection of the actual class distinctions during the Victorian time period, I found the shallowness and narcissism of Dorian Gray and his circle of acquaintances tedious. "Fops" came to mind more than once along with "don't these people have a purpose other than to dine out and indulge themselves?" Even the women were for the most part portrayed as imbeciles. It almost hurt to read the section in chapter four where Lord Henry's wife appears for the first and only time: "She was usually in love with somebody, and, as her

Throughout his life Oscar Wilde had many strong influences exerted upon him. During his early childhood his mother influenced him and into college some of his professors and certain philosophers left a substantial impression upon him. Into adulthood these influences leaked out in his writing. These influences gave him ample ideas for writing The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde's study of the Hellenistic ideals of Epicurus, his coddled lifestyle as a child and his devotion to the movement of Aesthetics and Moral Ambiguity have produced one of the most astounding works of horror fiction.

Nothing provides for a more complex and interesting story than having one or more complex and interesting character(s) at the center. Having a character that is not static, or goes through some sort of change or multiple changes throughout a novel can not only make it harder to put down, but can help the reader to understand better the message or theme that the author is attempting to reveal. Often times, said complicated character is faced with two or more opposing forces, is continually plagued by them and eventually gives in to one or the other. In Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, the main character Dorian faces two conflicting forces in the symbolic form of two of his dearest friends, which ties

I would like to examine more thoroughly the features that Jaspers shares with another figure relevant to the historical development of the monster, that is, ‘the individual to be corrected’. Even if Jasper did not kill Edwin he still remains a deeply troubled man with many vices, the worst of them being his opium addiction. Opium, in Jasper’s case, is not only a defence mechanism, a way of escaping “the cramped monotony of [his] existence” but it is also an entryway that brings in a whole other set of concepts. In Dickens’s time opium could be easily bought at pharmacies and even at market halls, it was popular amongst artists after Thomas de Quincy and Samuel Taylor Coleridge romanticized it in the 18th century. The society did not treat

What does the fall of man, Oscar Wilde novel The Picture Of Dorian Gray, and Shakespeare’s Macbeth all have in common? They all have the same theme of the fall of man and break in the perfect union they once where in. The novels all start with man in perfect union, then sin enters and chaos starts and it eventually leading to their death or downfall. The Fall of man, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Wilde’s novel The Picture Of Dorian Gray tightly follow the archetype of the fall of man this is all illustrated when sin enters a situation the perfect union that once was present can no longer be sustained resulting in chaos and disarray to guarantee that hoping someday that peace and tranquility will someday be reestablished.

Traditional gothic fiction was at the height of its popularity during the Victorian era, it exploded in the 1790’s and continued its reign well into the 1800’s. This confrontational style of fiction often blurs the lines of realistic and artificial, forcing readers to challenge their beliefs and surpass the norm. However, the aspect of gothic fiction that was most attractive to the Victorian audience was the way human fears and societal tensions were reflected in the deliberately fictionalised literary works. Themes such as the human greed for immortality and eternal beauty that underlie key gothic texts such as Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray have incited modern adaptations and the appropriation of these texts into

Mann’s Death in Venice captures the oppressive state of early 20th century Europe through the character of Aschenbach, who’s repressed desires for beauty and youth are unleashed when he see the epitome of beauty in the boy Tadzio. Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray symbolises the aristocratic aesthete in Victorian society’s glorification of beauty, as the character of Dorian retains his beauty through the degradation of his own soul. Despite being published only 22 years apart, the novels are set in very different societies. Both texts highlight the consequences of the idealization of beauty, with both books having tragic repercussions for the beauty the characters pursue. The themes of Greek mythology, indulgency, homoeroticism and the

Just because there’s a pretty face doesn’t mean there is a pretty heart inside. A person can be good on the outside and evil on the inside, or evil on the outside and good on the inside. I feel that our peers are quick to judge others when it comes to knowing who is good and who is evil without learning the person and knowing who they actually are and they are easily influenced. A person that is evil can change to good with good influences around them, or a good person can change to evil with evil influences. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray Basil based Dorian on Dorian’s past clearly stating that Dorian is a good person that slowly turns to evil due to Lord Henry. Lord Henry is an evil man that is all about himself, doesn’t care about others, and easily manipulates others. Lord Henry influences Basil from the start of the novel, and continues throughout the whole novel to where Basil starts paying the consequences. I believe that others are influenced by our peers, and the good vs evil plays a huge role in this novel. Good vs evil isn’t even just in this novel it is in our everyday lives.

A religious reading of purity helps to situate the direction through which both The Picture of Dorian Grey and “The Lame Shall Enter First” choose to take in relation to sin. Heaven is in closest proximity to the individual in infancy. This is often when Christians are baptized, and so baptism cleanses the infants of original sin. Therefore, the aging process moves the individual further and further from the purity associated with baptism. In a similar way, interacting with Eve prior to the fall is much like interacting with a child prior to the experiences associated with the maturing process, because both are susceptible to outside influence. When Eve succumbs to the forbidden fruit, it is much like a child’s sensibility impaired by adult experience. Both Wilde and O’Connor use the youth of their characters to blur the lines concerning the transgressions of their characters.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the author applies several literary devices to create a specific style in this novel. Wilde uses the metaphor “And when winter came upon it, he would still be standing where spring trembles on the verge of summer” to show how Dorian thinks of himself as the painting. “When the blood crept from its face, and left behind a pallid mask of chalk with leaden eyes,” is used to personify the portrait, giving it human traits like bleeding. An allusion is also utilized when Wilde alludes to the Greek gods where Dorian “would be strong, and fleet, and joyous” unlike his portrait. At the end of the passage, Wilde applies two short sentences, “He would be safe. That was everything”. These short sentences

In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde the desire of wanting to remain young and beautiful through influence leads to negative consequences. Throughout the story there were many times in which Dorian depicted being corrupted with the thought of wanting to stay handsome forever. The author is trying to prove that influence can spark negative consequences and destruction. The setting in the garden, the portrait, the yellow book, and a few literary devices display ways in which Dorian is slowly becoming corrupted by Lord Henry.

If your event/people was/were real, describe them here. If fictional, talk about the author(s) and their background: