The Picture of Dorian Gray

In Wilde’s The Picture Of Dorian Gray, the title character is forced to face a life full of cruelty and regret. As the novel progresses, Dorian goes from fearing death to embracing it. Dorian kills, watches the people he cares for die, and eventually comes face to face with is own death. All of these changes in Dorian’s life are due to his deteriorating soul and corrupt morals. In the Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde accompanies Dorian with death to advocate the importance of selflessness.…

defined as a book that has stood the test of time. The classic book that I have chosen to read is The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It was first published as a serial story in the July 1980 issue of Lippincott 's Monthly Magazine. It was in 1891 that The Picture of Dorian Gray was published as a book. It was published by Ward, Lock and Company editorial house. The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde 's only novel. Although he was a well-known writer, he was best known for his plays,…

The preface, which was added after The Picture of Dorian Gray received severe backlash, condemns the over-analyzation of art. Society was not ready for the aestheticism lifestyle and scandalous behaviours that were glorified in the novel, and they criticized Wilde for his radical ideas and degenerate characters. Wilde felt that it was preposterous that people were offended by art, as its sole purpose is to entertain those that it appealed to. Dorian Gray was not meant to be a heroic character,…

imagination instead of planting his views and ideas in their minds. Through using the contrasts of paradoxes and ambiguity, Wilde is able to express ideas that possess a deeper meaning than that of the superficial words. When Lord Henry speaks to Dorian about the immorality of influence, he essentially confirms the existence of a moral order that Wilde rejected at the beginning of his novel (Benson 29; Wilde 20). This sets up an aspect of contradiction in the novel and serves to enable the…

“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all” (Wilde 0). These are the words of Oscar Wilde, the author of the 1890 philosophical fiction novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, who is prefacing said novel with the notion that art, be it books, paintings, music, or anything similar, should only serve one purpose: to be admired. Throughout this novel, he presents the argument of aestheticism: that art should not hold an inherent moral…

during the 1890s, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde tells the tragic story of a young and beautiful man named Dorian Gray. Artist Basil Hallward becomes infatuated with Dorian and his beauty after capturing a glimpse of him at a party. Basil invites Dorian over to paint a portrait of him, but Dorian is soon swept under the influence of Basil 's friend, Lord Henry Wotton. He tells Dorian that beauty and youth are the essence of humans ' existence, and because of that, Dorian 's…

reference, it allows them to appreciate the work on a different level. The Picture of Dorian Gray contains many parallels to the myth of Narcissus. Much like Narcissus, Dorian Gray is blessed with entrancing beauty, develops obsessive love for his own image, and wastes away due to that love. To begin with, both texts describe in detail how beautiful the young men are. Upon meeting him for the first time, Lord Henry remarks that Dorian is, “...wonderfully handsome, with his finely curved scarlet…

he was an ambassador for Aestheticism, Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, which portrayed many of his beliefs. In the novel, Dorian Gray personifies the aesthetic lifestyle in action, pursuing personal satisfaction with abandon. He does not distinct between moral or immoral acts, and simply does what pleases himself without caring about others affected by his actions. Rather than being an advocate for a pure aesthetic lifestyle, Dorian is an…

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian Gray exhibits a perpetual amount of ambiguous morals; his points of redemption along with feelings of guilt contribute to the complexity of his nature throughout the course of the novel. The opening chapter presents Dorian Gray as an innocent young male with exceptional beauty. He captures the eyes of characters like Basil Hallward and becomes a muse. However upon meeting Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil’s, he becomes introduced to the…

Based on the playwrite “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface” both by Oscar Wilde, it could be inferred that the author fits under The Sage archetype because of the tone of the text, and the morals of the texts. To illustrate how the author fits under The Sage archetype because of the tone of the text is when “The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface” by Oscar Wilde says, “We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse…