The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is a novel about Victor Frankenstein, who creates a hideous creature in an unusual scientific experiment. Frankenstein’s monster ends up getting revenge by killing Victor’s family and close friends, including his newlywed wife the night of their wedding. When Victor dies of exhaustion chasing down his creation, the monster pays a final farewell to him, saying that he will depart for the northernmost ice to die as well. In the interactive oral we discussed certain themes shows in the novel such as gothic and romance. Elements of the Gothic genre that are used in Frankenstein are mystery and supernatural activities. Gothic novels tend to take place in dark and gloomy places like castles, dungeons and towers to create

MWDS : The Picture of Dorian Gray ! AP English IV Title of Work: The Picture of Dorian Gray Author: Oscar Wilde Date of Publication: 1890 Genre: Gothic Biographical Information Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854 to Sir William Wilde and Jane Wilde, the second of three children. Wilde studied at Oxford, and joined the Freemasons in 1878 after

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.

Gothic literature has a strong presence of the supernatural world and with that comes mystery. Supernatural can be defined by events that science and nature cannot explain, these event are considered magical or otherworldly. Within this work of literature Victor Frankenstein raises the dead to create a monster. Shelly makes this a mystery to the readers because she never goes into detail on the science of how to create this being. “So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein-more, far more will I achieve treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” ( Shelly 46). This quote lets the reader sees how Frankenstein has an interest in a supernatural world and will stop at nothing to create his monster even if it means venturing into the unknown of science. In order for Victor to achieve his desire of bringing someone back from the dead, Shelly lets the reader knows this creature was made by using many different body parts from different people, “I collected bones from charnel houses and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame” (55 Shelly). This scene is especially gruesome because it gives the

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.

There is an old saying that declares: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. This suggests that beauty is subjective, and lacks a concrete contextualized definition; what is perceived by one individual as attractive, may be, by another, considered unattractive. Regardless of the subjective nature of beauty, society still conforms to beauty ideals, which are propagated and fueled by the media. The beauty ideals that are self imposed by society are problematic because they are unattainable, and galvanize society to reject or promote people based on their outward appearance and hold people’s inner beauty in less regard. The imbalance between physical (outward) appearance and inward is a key theme in both The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Phantom of the Opera. In both novels, the main characters are subject to judgment that is overwhelmingly directed at their outward appearance, and we see an over-emphasis of the superficial, which ultimately leads to their downfall. Another important thematic element present in both novels is that the main characters have conflicting dual personalities that have changing roles as the story progresses. A contrasting thematic element in both books is the excessive praise that the main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray received, and the excessive criticism that the main character in The Phantom of the Opera received, both leading to negative outcomes, and the characters’ ultimate demise.

In Oscar Wilde’s Popular nineteenth century novel, the Picture of Dorian Gray demonstrates the importance of the aesthetic movement in Victorian England. This suggests youth and physical attractiveness is emphasized and are valuable additions to society. Therefore, what matters to Dorian, is not the internal goodness an individual possesses but the appearance they present. Consequently, Dorian is able to forget the violent acts he commits as long as he appears beautiful on the outside. Since external beauty is valued, Wilde argues that people tend to lose their individualism and conform to society’s expectations. With this in mind, Dorian gray grows more corrupt, self-centered as he focuses more on the pleasure for himself as he becomes more vulnerable to his own misgivings. He loses his individualism, because he is conforming to society’s form of asethics. I agree with Wilde’s arguement about Dorian Gray, that individuals lose their sense of idenity when conforming to society’s influence, such as in today’s beauty standards portrayed on social media, racism described through facism, and LGBTQ rights violated by intolerant individuals. (too wordy)

There are many events within the novel that could be considered horrifying or terrifying. For example, the creation of the monster itself could be argued as horrifying. After creating the monster, Victor Frankenstein becomes ill. The execution of Justine could be considered terrifying as well. Justine is executed after being accused the death of william, Victor's brother. After the execution Victor and Elizabeth become very depressed. A final example of a horrifying event was when Victor was tried for the murder of his best friend Clerval and is found innocent. Aside from these three tragedies, there are many more grim events that make this novel very much like gothic

Gothic settings generally take place in gloomy sites in which serve as a framework for mysterious situations and therefore create more suspense. With vivid gothic elements, the author, Mary Shelley, is able to scare the reader to some extent. A significant gothic scene in the novel is when the monster is created and Victor Frankenstein describes how “It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils…the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out” (Shelly, 43). The description by Frankenstein sets a dark and gloomy mood and creates fear in the hearts of the readers as the monster awakens for the first time and no one knows how things will play out. It foreshadows the darkness to come later on in the novel. The dark, depressing and horror mood is further set by author’s use of stormy, rainy and thunder filled night settings. Another classic example of how the book is a gothic novel is the sign of raising the dead or resurrection. The scientist, Victor Frankenstein is concerned with bringing the dead back to life. With nervousness that practically advanced into agony, Victor Frankenstein “collected the instruments of life around [him] that [he] might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at [his] feet” (Shelley, 43). The scientist intends to use the body parts of the dead to create life and ends up creating a monster. The main character does this in order to ignite an eerie, bizarre feeling in the reader. Since gothic characteristics of a novel are also portrayed by death itself, the death of Victor Frankenstein’s mother, and the murder of Victor Frankenstein’s family members William, Justin, Henry and Elizabeth by the monster epitomizes gothic conventions in literature. By using gothic characteristics, the author was able to achieve suspense and to have the reader scared to some magnitude, wondering if

Crafted through dark and supernatural ideas Frankenstein was written in 1818. In the mid 1800’s the gothic theme became prevalent throughout literature, carried by authors like Horace Walpole and Edgar Allen Poe. These authors used dark, supernatural events and gloomy, dreary settings to further cement the story as a gothic piece. Throughout the novel Mary Shelley uses dark and gloomy settings and backdrops, as well as the sheer amount of death and terror from death, along supernatural elements which conveys how the novel portrays gothic literature.

Many individuals are taught from a very young age about ethics and morals, and begin to develop them to their own standards throughout their time growing up. Many people tend to have their code of ethics and morals set and in practice by the time they reach adulthood. However, sometimes outside factors have the ability to influence an individual to adjust and revise their personal code. This is the case with Mr. Dorian Gray, in the novel by Oscar Wilde titled, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This title character is influenced by outside persons and experiences that cause him to modify the outlook he has on the world and the effects of his actions. Whereas, other characters, such as Basil Hallward, are exposed to the same influences as Mr. Gray, like Lord Henry, but remain stable in their set codes. This occurs because of Dorian’s ability to be influenced and corrupted by new and unethical ideas that he has never thought of before. Many characters in this novel, though of the same age range and surrounding temptations, seem to have different senses of what morality and ethics means. However, each of the main characters live very different lifestyles from one another. For example, Basil Hallward is a painter who spends the majority of his time working in his studio. Lord Henry is a man of the upper class who spends the majority of his time partaking in high class social functions where the only factor contributing to your character is your wealth, or with Basil in his studio,

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.

One of the most important aspects of any Gothic novel is setting. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein is an innovative and disturbing work that weaves a tale of passion, misery, dread, and remorse. Some would argue that Frankenstein is a classic Gothic novel. By a classically Gothic novel it is meant that the story employs a traditionally scary theme. This could include such things as dark and dreary castles set in isolated surroundings replete with dungeons. Supernatural beings such as ghosts and living dead may be included in the twisted, thrilling, unveiling tale. The novel does contain many Gothic characteristics in a sense that it does explore

Art, what is Art? It is an ambiguous matter: without an exact form, an exact meaning. Does it have any rules or restrictions? However, it can be a great influence on the lives of people. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, two lovers have fell in and out of love due to Art!