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Monsters have been involved in society since the beginning of time. A monster is the physical embodiment of everything that humans are afraid of. Monsters are featured in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. There is a discrepancy, however, in what makes a man a monster. In both Shelley and Wilde’s novels, it is the creators, not the creations, who are the real monsters. Frankenstein is the culprit of his creation’s evil deeds because he abandoned him at…

Analysis of the Major Conflict in Chapter Twenty of The Picture of Dorian Gray Among numerous of conflicts in the novel that involves the protagonist, Dorian Gray, the most important and crucial one ceases in the last chapter. Many analyze the conflict only on the superficial level and view it as the struggle between Dorian and his decaying Portrait. However, I found that the conflict could be interpreted more deeply and it actually contains multiple level of concepts that the author wants to…

Within literature, the utilization of horror vacui elucidates the human desire to maintain a grasp on the material world in times of adversity or turbulence. In Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, Sarah Waters’s The Night Watch, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, this fear of existential emptiness is manifested into the characters’ own materialist strategies to cope with it. Whether it be through the accumulation of memories and social clout, physical tokens from the past, or knowledge…

It could be said that guilt is one of the most powerful emotions a person can feel. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character Arthur Dimmesdale experiences the extremes of this emotion. Dimmesdale has an obsession with keeping a clean public image, but falls victim to sin which leads to a consequence of suppressing all feelings of guilt, affecting his mental and physical health. This psychoanalysis of Dimmesdale will evaluate why he should confess to his sin and the benefits…

Michelle Watts 10-22-2017 English Literature since 1800 Second Essay Assignment The Layers of “Goblin Market” Does great art make you feel or make you think? John Ruskin and Walter Pater have different approaches when it comes to art appreciation. The argument by Ruskin is that great art is “received by a higher faculty of the mind” and Pater is convinced that art “is the aim of the true student of aesthetics”. Not only are both schools of thought are correct but must…

The idea of education through self-cultivation (Bildung) belongs to the era of modernity and of the self-realizing individual (Castle 665). The newly-formed individual returns from his journey as a master rhetorician, reconciling with his fractured self when he realizes his internalization of “fractured discourse in the world” (Castle 666). Wilde explores a world in which the protagonist reaches his ultimate goal effortlessly under the influence of others, effectively avoiding the arduous…

Oscar Wilde’s, The Picture of Dorian Gray, examines the concept of morality and how it may change through the influence of others. In several unique instances, the direct influence of another can change a person’s moral understandings and actions for this is most clearly notable in the relationship between Lord Henry Wotton and Dorian Gray. Ultimately, Lord Henry’s corruptive nature was responsible for the downfall of Dorian Gray by purposefully exposing Dorian towards a hedonistic and sinful…

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Machiavelli’s The Prince, deception is a tool that one uses to gain a personal advantage. Despite the negative connotation that is typically associated with deception, Twelfth Night and The Prince demonstrate how deception can bring a positive outcome. If one employs a deceptive appearance under necessary circumstances, the end result must be justifiable, even when a majority of people are willingly deceived. Characterized by her beauty and resourcefulness,…

According to the online dictionary of Merriam Webster, vanity is described as: “The Quality of people who have too much pride in their own appearance, abilities, achievements (…) The Quality of being vain” and “Something (such a belief or a way of behaving) which shows that you have too much pride in yourself, your social status, etc.” In my opinion, these descriptions fit the corrupted Dorian Gray perfectly. Dorian was a pure, innocent boy, until he was corrupted by Lord Henry, which made him…

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a unique piece of literature. Set in late 19th century London, the novel centers around Dorian Gray and his friends- Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward. Lord Henry and Basil Hallward share a close relationship with Dorian Gray, having great influence on his development. Both Lord Henry and Basil have completely different values and beliefs. Basil believes in the goodness of mankind and values art to the highest degree. Lord Henry cares little…