The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.

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.

thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages, perhaps.” He was

   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).

As a whole, this opening confrontation between Lord Henry and Dorian’s initial character proves several points: one, Dorian does have his own passions and soul before meeting Lord Henry, and two, Lord Henry’s teachings initially echo Dorian’s own feelings, which are what draw him to Lord Henry over the two-dimensional Basil Hallward. Later, ironically, it is Lord Henry’s own teachings which leads to Dorian’s struggle to repress his "true self" and ultimately bring about his downfall.

Theme: In a society that mistakenly values beauty and influences over individuality, one chooses to be in the known without any life consequences, thus causing one to sacrifice their true self and abandon their morals, and as a result it alters one as a person to be someone who they truly aren’t.

This novel written by Oscar Wilde details the prominent rise and fall of an aristocratic man in Elizabethan, England. It tells of the title character Dorian Gray’s obsession with his outward beauty and how this obsession leads him down a path of debauchery that eventually ends his tragic and somewhat mystical demise.

The intriguing literary masterpiece The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, portrays the story of a ravishing young Englishman who exchanges his soul and discards his innocence for the desperate gift of eternal youth and beauty. The author develops the theme that there are negative consequences to being influenced by others and that naivety can eventually lead to one's downfall and corruption. The ones closest to Dorian Gray ultimately influenced change in his personality and behaviour, which leads to his downfall. The theme is shown significantly through the characterization of the gorgeous actress Sibyl Vane, whom Dorian mistakenly believed he was in love with greatly. He convinced himself that he truly loved her, only to prove in the end, that his love was shallow, and he tactlessly broke her heart when he was no longer impressed with her acting skills.

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

In chapter 20 of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian reflects on his past crimes and wonders whether he will ever change and retrieve his innocence again. Throughout the final chapter of the novel, the elements of Gothic novel that Wilde explores conveys the idea of the pursuit of individualism. Dorian’s wild, racing emotions clearly show how much he is driven by his readiness to fulfill his desires under any circumstance. Through this, the use of specific words and punctuation markings highlight Dorian’s personal yearning of removing himself from his past.

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

He is infatuated with Dorian's beauty in the beginning. He appreciated Dorian's beauty but did not wish to possess it for himself. Basil exclaims, “When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale... I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.” His love for Dorian changed the way he perceived art. Basil eventually paints a portrait of Dorian to capture his beauty forever. Basil’s portrait marks a new phase in his career. Once he has painted Dorian, he fears that he has put too much of himself into the work. Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to Lord Henry, who he fears will have a damaging influence on Dorian. He admits, “Yes, that is his name. I didn't intend to tell it to you.” Basil is later envious of the relationship between Lord Henry and Dorian. Lord Henry upsets Dorian with a speech about the transient nature of beauty and youth. Basil, wishing to protect and defect him, voices his objection to Lord Henry’s influence over Dorian. Dorian felt Basil had come to realize his true personality and that he would bring it to someones attention. Basil is murdered by Dorian. The murder of Basil marks the beginning of Dorian's end. He cannot overcome the realization that he killed his friend.

Freud’s belief was that mental health and psychological wellness requires a harmonious relationship between the different parts of the mind and a lack of harmony can lead to neurosis. Plato invented the original tripartite and Freud expanded on it in 1923. The tripartite is divided into the sections: The Superego, the Ego, and the Id. The Superego is basically the conscience of our mind. The Ego is consciousness created by the combination of the Id and Superego. The Id is having thoughts of instincts and drives which are necessary to satisfy. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, we see the main characters representing the Superego, Ego, and Id.

Vanity and undeniable ego are characteristics of self-destructive properties. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde shows how these can lead to a man’s downfall. He displays this through the character of Dorian Gray. The novel explains how as Dorian grows up and through his life, he is ultimately destroyed by his own ego, vanity and inability to change or realize how what he does affects not only him but the lives of those around him. Dorian Gray struggles throughout the novel with the daunting facts that he is Vane, has an enormous ego and cannot realize the full extent of his own actions

In my opinion, in Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, published in 1890, an interesting character is the central character, Dorian Gray. At the beginning of the novel, Dorian appears to be a beautiful, naive and youthful character to readers, until he is corrupted by vanity and appearences. Dorian makes a fraustian deal. He will remain youthful and beautiful physically while a potrait painted of him will reflect his age and his continuous guilty conscience. Dorian thinks that as long as he remains physically attractive, then his personality will not matter. Throughout the novel, readers see him bringing suffering, duplicity and death to all members in the social circles that he switches to. For example, Dorian falls in love with