“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, and be respectable.” (Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian Gray). This is a light-hearted and humorous musing of the appeal to be young again, which summarizes the hedonistic worldview of Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian Gray that may ring true to others. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel that is set in Victorian era London; a society in which appearance and wealth are held at an extremely high value. The youth in beauty and the beauty in youth are treated as commodities and it is of no surprise that the protagonist, Dorian Gray, who was cursed with the blessing of eternal youth be slowly corrupted and self-indulgent in his increasingly darknesining
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This reflection is exhibited between the small banters and discussions exchanged between two elderly men as they lament on missed opportunities and what it means to be alive. Although these characters share a similar goal, how they go about seeking to obtain or view that goal ultimately reflect the character as a human being. The innate desire to maintain one’s youth is a common aspiration that many wish to fulfill. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Youth are both influential works that exhibit the eternal struggle between age and youth, yet these protagonists in both works have different perspectives on life. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian’s insatiable desire for eternal youth in order to avoid the “disgusting” characteristics that come with age becomes the cause of his downfall. In contrast with the film, Youth, the protagonist Fred acknowledges that people unavoidably age and yearn for youth while at the same time they try to be comfortable with their shortcomings and …show more content…
As aforementioned, the concept of beauty is exaggerated in the context of the Victorian era in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is the main hero who represents all the vices condemned in Victorian society. This era of hypocrisy puts much trust in physical appearances and it was believed that one’s face and figure were enough indicators to disclose an individual’s inner intentions and emotions. Beauty reigns, putting youth and physical appeal above all. Once Dorian’s portrait was completed, Lord Henry enforces these values upon the impressionable Dorian and he quickly becomes a slave to the idea of the importance of youth and beauty. This is evident in the novel when Dorian asks Basil, the painter, “How long will you like me? Till I have my first wrinkle, I suppose. I know, now, that when one loses one’s good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything. Your picture has taught me that.” (pg. 105). On the other hand, Youth holds a more contemporary perspective through the eyes of a retired composer who has had experience with the world. One could say that this film is an anti-epiphany on a major personal scale. The topic of growing old and aging is, most often, the butt of jokes such as memory loss. Youth focuses more on the amount of life opportunities that one can take when they are young and laments the
This reflection is exhibited between the small banters and discussions exchanged between two elderly men as they lament on missed opportunities and what it means to be alive. Although these characters share a similar goal, how they go about seeking to obtain or view that goal ultimately reflect the character as a human being. The innate desire to maintain one’s youth is a common aspiration that many wish to fulfill. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Youth are both influential works that exhibit the eternal struggle between age and youth, yet these protagonists in both works have different perspectives on life. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian’s insatiable desire for eternal youth in order to avoid the “disgusting” characteristics that come with age becomes the cause of his downfall. In contrast with the film, Youth, the protagonist Fred acknowledges that people unavoidably age and yearn for youth while at the same time they try to be comfortable with their shortcomings and …show more content…
As aforementioned, the concept of beauty is exaggerated in the context of the Victorian era in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is the main hero who represents all the vices condemned in Victorian society. This era of hypocrisy puts much trust in physical appearances and it was believed that one’s face and figure were enough indicators to disclose an individual’s inner intentions and emotions. Beauty reigns, putting youth and physical appeal above all. Once Dorian’s portrait was completed, Lord Henry enforces these values upon the impressionable Dorian and he quickly becomes a slave to the idea of the importance of youth and beauty. This is evident in the novel when Dorian asks Basil, the painter, “How long will you like me? Till I have my first wrinkle, I suppose. I know, now, that when one loses one’s good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything. Your picture has taught me that.” (pg. 105). On the other hand, Youth holds a more contemporary perspective through the eyes of a retired composer who has had experience with the world. One could say that this film is an anti-epiphany on a major personal scale. The topic of growing old and aging is, most often, the butt of jokes such as memory loss. Youth focuses more on the amount of life opportunities that one can take when they are young and laments the