The Picture of Dorian Gray

is seen in both The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, where the writers fulfill their duties…

When people criticize The Picture of Dorian Gray lacks of standpoint about morality, Oscar Wilde defends his book by saying, “ All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment”. The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, describes a beautiful gentleman Dorian Gray, under the influence of his two best friends, sells his soul in exchange for everlasting beauty and youth, and dies tragically at the end. In this novel, Dorian learns beauty and vanity when he saw his…

positive or negative. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the main character Dorian Gray is being influenced by these two completely different impactful characters his friends; Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. Basil paints a portrait of Dorian gray appreciating the epitome of beauty and Lord Henry and acquaintance of Basil convinces him to sell his soul to be forever young while the portrait grows old. The piece of art flares varying attitudes closest to Dorian and he begins to be more…

Art captures the brevity of life — it embodies, to many, the soul of its creator and grants the viewer insight to a single moment. However, in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, a portrait morphs into a catalyst of dual lives. Tempered through an impulsive desire, Dorian’s essence is divided between the seen and the discrete. Through the use of the portrait and opium motif, Oscar Wilde develops the theme of dual existence/true identity. Throughout Wilde’s novel, Dorian’s portrait and the…

When observing any form of art, the spectator often attempts to look beneath the surface of the piece to find the artist’s deeper meaning. Throughout the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde emphasizes his belief in aestheticism. He attempts to enforce the idea that art should be created for art’s sake, and that people can not conclude anything about the artist from their art. In the preface, Wilde warns readers that “all art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the…

In "The Picture of Dorian Gray," Oscar Wilde conveys a compelling theme centered on the detrimental use of influence personal in our relationships. Although the philosophical novel has multiple themes, the theme involving the detrimental use of influence in personal relationships manifests itself through the destruction of various characters including: Dorian Gray and Basil Hallward. One of the broader notions presented in the novel reveals itself as the stark disapproval of sacrificing one's…

An entertaining and moralistic novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray combines multiple literary elements into a well-written novel with underlying ideas about the inherency of evil and its roots. Many prominent literary themes stand out throughout the novel, but the most common and prominent ones remain: “man vs. self” and “man vs.society”. Throughout the story, the questions of moral values such as the creation of evil and the importance of beauty standards in society appear frequently and are…

Patrick Duggan once wrote, "Dorian lives according to what Lord Henry professes without hesitation, and how Lord Henry inspires Dorian." Duggan explains how Dorian Gray values Lord Henry's philosophy over anything else. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde analyzes the power of negative influences through the impact that Lord Henry's philosophy had on Dorian Gray, how Dorian Gray's character drastically changed over time, and how this negativity affected Dorian Gray's…

What is the importance of Lord Henry’s introduction in the novel Dorian Gray? Lord Henry Wotton is the first character introduced in Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. From the start of the novel it is evident that Lord Henry lives an extremely lavish lifestyle and has an eye for beautiful things and their aesthetic. His eye could “just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossom of a laburnum” as he is lying on a “divan of Persian saddle bags.” Wilde portrays…

The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde is about the life of the character Dorian Gray. Dorian is a young and beautiful man who makes a Faustian pact that his self-portrait, drawn by painter Basil Hallward, would grow older as time past instead of Dorian. Throughout the story, Dorian commits many sins, for example, using his influence to ruin others’ lives and the murdering of Basil Hallward. However, Dorian’s appearance is still young and beautiful because the portrait…