Character Analysis: The Picture Of Dorian Gray

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, we are faced with a pallet of characters, all whom are very dynamic and have clear ambitions. Up until Chapter 6, we are given the idea that Dorian Gray is a generally normal man. He shows no sign of abnormality, he is simply a man with rather good looks and he has an immense interest in Lord Henry’s philosophical way of thinking. The first real event in which the reader can either justify Dorian’s actions as good or bad is located in Chapter 7 after he has brought Basil Hallward and Lord Henry to see the girl that he is in love with, Sibyl Vane, preform at the theatre. Following the second act of the play, Basil and Lord Henry leave the theatre, displeased by her performance, with Lord Henry making the comment, “‘She is quite beautiful, Dorian,” he said, “but she can 't act. Let us go,”’ (Wilde, page …show more content…
For instance, in Chapter 19, Dorian tells Lord Henry of a girl named Hetty whom he was in a courtship with. He claims that by leaving her and not corrupting her, as he did Sibyl, that he has started on a path of morally good deeds. He tells Lord Henry this, “Dorian Gray shook his head. ‘No, Harry, I have done too many dreadful things in my life. I am not going to do any more. I began my good actions yesterday,’” (Wilde, page 187). This shows that after fearing for his life and feeling as he cannot bear the burden of what he has done as James Vane hunts him, he has realized that he must change his ways and begin doing good things in order to redeem himself for his own values. This alone shows that perhaps the blood on his hands was an effect of the painting, not necessarily Dorian’s own conscious. This creates a very controversy analysis as to Dorian’s true moral ambiguity and what his true feelings are, as he tells himself lies to avoid