Dorian Grey

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Dorian Grey

Introduction

The novel The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde relates the experiences of Dorian Grey, a man in pursuit of maintaining his charm and beauty at the cost of everything. Intrigued by his beauty, Basil Hallward, a painter, decides to make a painting of Dorian. Lord Henry Wotton, Hallward’s friend and a believer in new hedonism, convinces Dorian that the only things worth pursuing in life are the fulfillment of the senses and beauty. In order to fulfill this, Dorian wishes to sell his soul so that the painting would age in his place. That way, he would still maintain his beauty for ages. As though his wish was granted, the picture disfigures with each evil act he commits while his physical appearance remains the same. The disfigurements in the picture portray Dorian’s state of his soul (Khawaja, 2009).

Question 1

Dorian Grey sold his soul to the devil. This phrase symbolizes that he allowed himself to engage in evil actions and indulge in the evil ways in exchange of maintaining his beauty forever. According to him, beauty is worth everything. He is even jealous of the painting when he says, “How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful, But this picture will remain always young” (Wilde 19). As advised by the Wotton “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it” (Wilde 14).

Question 2

As he had wished, the painting had taken his place. The painting represented his soul. The aging and the disfigurements in the painting reflected the evil acts he had committed. When he put the knife through the picture, he was putting a knife through his own soul. This is why he died when he destroyed the painting. Since the painting reflected his own evil acts, he could not correct those accts by destroying his soul. Destroying his soul meant that he would cease to exist and thus the occurrence of his death. On an artistic angle, the beauty he had once longed for was no longer present as it was destroyed by his evil acts. This is portrayed by the ugliness of the portrait. He had to destroy it in order to forget everything and so in the process he died along with his acts (Boland, 2010).

Question 3

Hallward and Lord Wotton are very close friends. They represent two different beliefs and thus represent the two sides of Dorian (Khawaja, 2009). Hallward is conventional and believes in art while Wotton believes in fulfilling the senses. Their relationship leads Dorian to his destiny. While Lord Howard encourages Dorian to explore the world and engage in both moral and immoral acts, Hallward acts as the voice of reason in Dorian’s life.

Conclusion

The author’s style of blending real life occurring situations and fictitious issues makes the book intriguing. For example, Lord Wotton’s philosophies coincide with the occurrences of the Victorian era. His belief in her hedonism was practical during this era, the period when the book was written. The fictitious action of a picture changing with every evil act Dorian does brings humor and irony in the book. The book also tells us more about the author’s life. In an analysis given about Wilde, Dorian, Hallward and Lord Wotton represented characters he had or had wanted to acquire. Although the book needs concentration and more understanding of the 19^th century literature, it is an interesting read for everyone. It should be read by everyone as it gives two sides of a person that most people possess, the physical being that is seen outwardly and the soul. On a scale of 1-10, I would give the book an eight and I would read another book written by this author.

Works Cited

Boland, Rosita. Why does Dorian Destroy his Own Portrait? Irish Times, 21 April 2010. Web 7 November, 2011. <http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/thebookclub/2010/04/21/why-does-dorian-gray-destroy-his-own-portrait/>

Khawaja, Usman. The Picture of Dorian Grey. New York Times, 12 September 2009. Web. 7 November 2011. <http://community.nytimes.com/rate-review/movies.nytimes.com/movie/38093/The-Picture-of-Dorian-Gray/overview>

Wilde, Oscar & Cricket House Books. The Picture of Dorian Grey. New York, NY: Cricket House Books, 2010. Print.