Black, White, and Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a well-known story about a innocent young man’s fall into corruption. In the beginning of the book, the main character, Dorian, is depicted as a very attractive, innocent, young man; ‘“…the willful sunbeams of life…”’(Wilde 56). A painter, engrossed to Dorian’s beauty, paints a portrait of Dorian, capturing his essence on canvas. However, after listening to his friend, Lord Henry, about the horrors of growing old, he wishes his sins and old age to be transferred to the portrait – his acrylic self – instead of his actual flesh. In the end, Dorian falls into the clutches of temptation, and wickedness turning his self – portrait, into a loathsome, blood-stained, old bloke. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, the protagonist, is manipulated into corruption through ideals that ultimately switched his understanding of sin and virtue. The reader is first introduced to Dorian through the eyes of Lord Henry. Lord Henry has monstrous ideas regarding the world, people, and ethics. One of the first things Lord Henry says to Dorian is:
I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream – I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy …show more content…
He goes so far as to state ‘“Some one has killed herself for love of you. I wish that I had ever had such an experience”’ (Wilde 105). Lord Henry is wishing for someone to kill themselves, so he can prove that he is loved. Without Lord Henry’s influence, Dorian would have mourned the death of his love, rightfully, and respectfully. Instead, he becomes grateful, believing “She had atoned for everything by the sacrifice she had made of her life” (109). The realism of suicide is a heartrending affair, but Dorian is converted into believing it a generous
The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a well-known story about a innocent young man’s fall into corruption. In the beginning of the book, the main character, Dorian, is depicted as a very attractive, innocent, young man; ‘“…the willful sunbeams of life…”’(Wilde 56). A painter, engrossed to Dorian’s beauty, paints a portrait of Dorian, capturing his essence on canvas. However, after listening to his friend, Lord Henry, about the horrors of growing old, he wishes his sins and old age to be transferred to the portrait – his acrylic self – instead of his actual flesh. In the end, Dorian falls into the clutches of temptation, and wickedness turning his self – portrait, into a loathsome, blood-stained, old bloke. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, the protagonist, is manipulated into corruption through ideals that ultimately switched his understanding of sin and virtue. The reader is first introduced to Dorian through the eyes of Lord Henry. Lord Henry has monstrous ideas regarding the world, people, and ethics. One of the first things Lord Henry says to Dorian is:
I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream – I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy …show more content…
He goes so far as to state ‘“Some one has killed herself for love of you. I wish that I had ever had such an experience”’ (Wilde 105). Lord Henry is wishing for someone to kill themselves, so he can prove that he is loved. Without Lord Henry’s influence, Dorian would have mourned the death of his love, rightfully, and respectfully. Instead, he becomes grateful, believing “She had atoned for everything by the sacrifice she had made of her life” (109). The realism of suicide is a heartrending affair, but Dorian is converted into believing it a generous