In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde it is apparent that Lord Henry’s influence drastically changes Dorian’s view of himself and the world around him. Dorian’s character began as a blank slate, but deep within Dorian’s character there was the temptation for the forbidden. Lord Henry saw this as an opportunity to introduce his philosophy and indulge his desire to manipulate him for his own pleasure. Lord Henry’s philosophy of Aestheticism is not inherently bad, it simply allows an individual to experience things their beauty and pleasure are regardless of the moral inclination. However this ability to experience aspects of life without moral accountability gave way to Dorian’s temptation, something Henry did not know about, and allowed
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A prime instance of this abuse is toward Sibyl Vane. He conversed with her as if he loved, but truly he was interested her because she brought him pleasure through her acting. When Sibyl loses her ability to act Dorian is disgusted, “‘yes’, he cried, ‘you have killed my love! You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity... I loved you because… you realized the dreams of great poets’”(91) Dorian’s word choice puts importance solely on her ability to act, so Dorian signifies that his only interest in Sibyl is her ability to act because it stirs his imagination, bring him pleasure. After this usefulness runs out Dorian discards her as if she were a mere plaything with absolutely no sympathy for her feelings. “ You are shallow and stupid. My God! How mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now.”(91) Dorian’s actions show a strong resemblance to Lord Henry’s philosophy and shows how it influenced him. Aestheticism states that life is solely made up of experiences, so everything is just something to be experience for its pleasure and then forgotten when it no longer provides such pleasure. Dorian’s falls in love with Sybil’s ability to act and then quickly discards her because she loses this appeal. Dorian loses all sympathy for others because he applies this thinking, that he should only care for …show more content…
Through Lord Henry’s teaching Dorian develops a lifestyle of dangerous self indulgence. Dorian twisted the idea that life is art and should be experienced without moral accountability to excuse himself from the consequences of his actions. Which allows Dorian do whatever he wants. Even commit heinous acts without a second thought. This mindset transforms Dorian from an innocent man into an egotistical sociopath with disregard for others’ lives. Lord Henry’s intentions although not harmful awoke Dorian’s true nature allowing his teachings to become harmful because Dorian used Henry’s philosophy as an excuse to abuse the people around him and indulge in sinful
A prime instance of this abuse is toward Sibyl Vane. He conversed with her as if he loved, but truly he was interested her because she brought him pleasure through her acting. When Sibyl loses her ability to act Dorian is disgusted, “‘yes’, he cried, ‘you have killed my love! You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity... I loved you because… you realized the dreams of great poets’”(91) Dorian’s word choice puts importance solely on her ability to act, so Dorian signifies that his only interest in Sibyl is her ability to act because it stirs his imagination, bring him pleasure. After this usefulness runs out Dorian discards her as if she were a mere plaything with absolutely no sympathy for her feelings. “ You are shallow and stupid. My God! How mad I was to love you! What a fool I have been! You are nothing to me now.”(91) Dorian’s actions show a strong resemblance to Lord Henry’s philosophy and shows how it influenced him. Aestheticism states that life is solely made up of experiences, so everything is just something to be experience for its pleasure and then forgotten when it no longer provides such pleasure. Dorian’s falls in love with Sybil’s ability to act and then quickly discards her because she loses this appeal. Dorian loses all sympathy for others because he applies this thinking, that he should only care for …show more content…
Through Lord Henry’s teaching Dorian develops a lifestyle of dangerous self indulgence. Dorian twisted the idea that life is art and should be experienced without moral accountability to excuse himself from the consequences of his actions. Which allows Dorian do whatever he wants. Even commit heinous acts without a second thought. This mindset transforms Dorian from an innocent man into an egotistical sociopath with disregard for others’ lives. Lord Henry’s intentions although not harmful awoke Dorian’s true nature allowing his teachings to become harmful because Dorian used Henry’s philosophy as an excuse to abuse the people around him and indulge in sinful