The Picture of Dorian Gray

What is the definition of a monster? Is it a slimey creature that hides in the closets of children, or perhaps creature with teeth sharper than steak knives? Nearly infinite definitions exist, but The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley help to paint a clear picture of what a monster actually is. Frankenstein and Lord Henry are used to show that a true monster is someone that ruins the lives others either through negligence or subtle manipulations. At first…

When the text begins, Dorian is introduced as a flawless young man that was pure and beautiful. Basil’s painting reflects this perfection, and even Dorian is blown aback by his own looks. We are then introduced to his past by Lord Fermor, who reveals his tragic family history that involved the loss of both parents, a tragedy that would result in his upbringing by a loveless tyrant. Dorian is then described as having a unique fascination for Lord Henry, and is one of the few people that were…

In the book Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, there are four types of genius and beauty that affected character’s lives: reputational beauty, superficial beauty, scientific genius, and psychological genius. Sibyl killed herself after abandoning her acting career for the beauty of Dorian Gray, who met her only a few days before. Even Basil the painter is stabbed by Dorian, after trying to help Dorian regain the purity of youth, the reputational and superficial beauty of whom Basil had for himself (in…

regarding the key theme Wilde uses symbols and literary devices in order to highlight authority of one leading to negative consequences. Dorian was innocent in the beginning of the book and changed into a criminal by the middle. The influence behind the cruel man was Lord Henry; Dorian’s manipulative “friend”. Henry’s lectures and cynical attitude reeled Dorian in and soon led to his negative behavior. For example, the portrait, a key symbol in the novel is a mirror image of how Dorian’s life is…

Oscar Wilde opens up the novel of Dorian Gray with exceedingly sensuous language such as; “catch the gleam of honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of laburnum whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs..” These sensuous elements, as well as many other examples throughout the first few chapters is intended, by Wilde, to correspond with the idea of aestheticism. Being a large theme of the novel, the deeply sensuous language allows the…

the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the main character, Dorian Gray, turns towards a life of sin that ultimately leads to his death. These actions were influenced greatly by Lord Henry. Although Dorian cannot be without blame as he made the final decision of each action, Lord Henry can be considered the antagonist in this novel as he influences Dorian’s dreadful sins, and succeeds in making Dorian live his life for art and forget moral responsibility. When Dorian meets Lord…

be other people, society or oneself. This message is reiterated many times within the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by…

Moral Development Outline – The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde I. Dorian Gray’s moral decay begins with painter Basil Hallward’s discovery of him and the subsequent collision of influences Dorian faces. A. When Basil first meets Dorian, Dorian’s purity and untainted youth capture the imagination of Basil to an almost dangerous extent that eventually harms Dorian. 1. When Basil confesses he “couldn’t be happy if [he] didn’t see [Dorian] every day” (Wilde 7), Wilde suggests the…

How does Oscar Wilde use the central character of Dorian Gray to create supernatural effects in the PODG ? Something that must be established, to understand the supernatural in a PODG is the contrast between a material objects and a living organism. Its key due to the fact Dorian begins in the play living as a living thing, however in some respects he becomes a material object after “selling his soul”. Dorian fails to comprehend the concept of ageing and it angers him that his painting will…

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,…