The Picture Of Dorian Gray

“England is bad enough I know, and English society is all wrong” (Wilde, 145). The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Ernest are both ingenious literary works by the witty Oscar Wilde. The lead roles Dorian Gray and Jack Worthing are the perfect examples of how the Victorian society was phony. Although one is tragic and the other comedic both works by Oscar Wilde offer a social comment on the hypocrisy of the Victorian Era. Through the protagonist’s superficiality, deception and consequence of living a double life such comments are presented. While their superficiality and ability to deceive people are quite similar their consequences for their actions differ a great deal.

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.

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.

Macbeth's terrible murder of the King in order to obtain the crown causes absolute chaos and disturbs the Natural Order, or balance of the universe, and so he is punished for this. By murdering the king, Macbeth causes Duncan's sons to flee Scotland, allowing Macbeth to obtain the throne. This disturbs the Natural Order, as the rightful heir isn't on the throne, and slowly Macbeth pays for his evil deeds through his descent into evil. Macbeth is soon punished for all his cruel and wicked deeds, and his punishment is death by Macduff. Afterwards, the Natural Order is re-established as Duncan's son Malcolm rightfully obtains the throne, but many lives have been lost along the way. For example, after Duncan's murder, his sons fear for their own lives, and flee to other countries. "Let's not consort with them… I'll to England" (2, 3, 131-133). "To Ireland, I. Our separate fortune | Shall keep us both the safer. Where we are, | There's daggers in men's smiles; the nea'er in blood, | The nearer bloody" (2, 3, 134-137). Shakespeare uses a metaphor here ("daggers in men's smiles") to show the fear and distrust felt by Duncan's sons- fear for their lives, distrusting all those around them. Their flight leaves the throne free for Macbeth, who is given the title without question. "The

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.

Adam and Eve possess nearly everything in the Garden of Eden with the exception of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; similarly, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth own sufficient status in society for not only is he the Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor, but also “[Duncan’s] kinsman and subject” (). Howbeit immediately from the moment he hears his “destiny” to become the next king, because of human nature’s inclination to readily yield to one’s pride— the desire to make oneself the as one’s own beginning in an effort to reach the pinnacle— Macbeth sets his priority on his crave for something more and is willing to go insofar as to violate the underlying root of relationships: familial relation. Although they are not related by blood, Macbeth and Duncan are still related, and the fact that Macbeth wholly disregards that tie solely for his own gain evinces the extent to how unscrupulous he is. Additionally, Macbeth “knows that to murder Duncan is to violate the laws of kinship, homage, and hospitality”, yet he strikes against the principles of certainty and simply follows his ambition, which underscores Macbeth’s degradation in moral for realization is not enough to justify his actions: he fails to put his realization into action by not performing the murderous deeds to attain more power, and although he is aware that he will be perpetrating a crime and going against his morals, Macbeth persists in confusing the truth to carry out his ambitious means in achieving his supremacy (Coursen 293). Likewise, Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent’s allurement of possibly becoming like God and never receive the “reward” they had hungered for; instead, in desiring more and attempting to be sufficient in themselves, Adam and humans in general, become not only less but also diminish from the competent

Social class is something that people use to classify someone and judge someone on. This term or idea is thoroughly introduced within the stories The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain, and All Quiet on the Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque. Wilde uses his characters to represent his arguments and criticism towards the upper-class people during that time period. As for Twain, he uses his setting to describe the problems within that society and how it felt to be in that area during that place in time. Remarque uses his character’s thoughts to get what Remarque wants to say about the people’s beliefs in his time. Overall, the experiences that these authors went through and saw within their community and society really influenced their words throughout the stories.

Oscar Wilde explores the theme of outsiders in his 1890 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. He infuses what it means to be an outsider in almost every character in the story. The most important of these characters are Dorian Gray, Henry, and Basil. Each show what it means to be an outsider in his own individual way; whether it is an outsider among society, among a group of friends, or from a person’s own self.

The poor ego has a still harder time of it; it has to serve three harsh masters, and it has to do its best to reconcile the claims and demands of all three...The three tyrants are the external world, the Superego, and the Id” (Sigmund Freud).

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

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.

Deceiving society with a false personality in order to maintain a well accepted reputation can be satisfying, but it is only temporary because a loss of true identity will cause distress.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde warns against immorality, vanity and selfishness using his protagonist’s downfall to show the dangers of overindulgence and depravity. The preface is contradictory and reveals that Wilde’s beliefs on art and its ties to morality were inconsistent. He appears to be trying to show that we shouldn’t subscribe to just one clear ideal without questioning it or considering other opinions. However, it’s clear throughout the book that there is a strong moral ideology behind the story. Wilde claims that ‘an ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style,’1 but then breaks his own rules by showing Dorian Gray’s downfall to be inextricably linked to his exposure to and infatuation with hedonism and immorality. In this essay, I will demonstrate how the gradual moral decline of Dorian Gray and his eventual demise are used to send a very clear message about morality, corruption and overindulgence.

In life, accumulation of mistakes usually leads to corruption if we do not take a certain decision to make a sincere confession, to give them up. Most of the time, people who are concerned by this type of behavior are petulant, and like to hear things favorable for them. Therefore, it is true that any failure to make good choices in life might lead to disaster or might teach us meaningful lessons that we would never forget. Therefore, thinking about mistakes reminded me of the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” that I read three years ago. I think it is a good example to illustrate my point of view regarding a “friend” who is jealous enough to drive a young inexperienced person in the wrong direction.

“To be of good quality, you have to excuse yourself from the presence of shallow and callow minded individuals,” said by Michael Bassey Johnson. Johnson’s quotation notes in order to be moral, you must remove yourself from negative surroundings and trifling individuals. This reading of the quotation relates to Oscar Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, since the association of negative influences from individuals seems to be the downfall of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is a character that was misguided throughout his adulthood because of his surroundings and affiliation with individuals, which is the blame in his, loss of innocence. The presence of a witched portrait of Dorian, takes on his mischievous actions and the deteriorated appearance while he remains youthful. The portrait allows Dorian to portray his consequences throughout the years, in which he tries to mirror it. Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, although the protagonist to some extent is responsible for his actions, he is not entirely at fault for his downfall since the negative guidance had a greater influence. Dorian’s morality has been altered through the manipulation of Lord Henry, and the portrait.