The Picture Of Dorian Gray Character Analysis - 1860 Words

In Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray a beautiful young man gets to stay young because a portrait receives all the signs of aging and sin. Although the portrait grows truly grotesque with the marks of sin, Dorian gets to continue on his path of immorality. Yet, when he stabs the portrait to free his conscience, he dies because he has killed the essence of who he is. In the novel, Wilde uses the ideals of conscience and beauty to reveal how affixation with one’s outward appearance will lead will to complete destruction of morality, and therefore one’s self. Before the death of Sibyl Vane, Dorian is heavily influenced by Lord Henry and still has a moral conscience left. Preceding the creation of the portrait, Dorian is pure†¦show more content†¦The influence of Henry introduces the idea of vanity. Once introduced, Dorian is â€Å"open-eyed and wondering† at the idea of holding onto his youth forever (Wilde 17). This introduction opens Wi lde’s exploration of vanity and leads into Dorian begging at the portrait. â€Å"Under the influence of Henry Wotton..Dorians throws off all moral restraint and lives a life of passionate self indulgence† (Miller 1). After all, â€Å"the sense of his own beauty came on him like a revelation† (Wilde 18). Dorian begins his journey into utter self-absorption when he bargains with the portrait. His words carry a desperate tone; â€Å"If it were I who was always to be young...For that—for that—I would give everything!† (Wilde 19). A few words from Henry have Dorian pleading for eternal youth. Wilde begins his critique of Victorian society here. Society’s emphasis on beauty and art is contributing to Dorian’s desire to hold onto his beauty. Selling his soul to an inanimate object catalyzes his self-destruction. He gives away who he is to achieve society’s idea of beauty forever. Giving up his soul was the beginning of the end and allows him to treat Sibyl as he does. From Sibyl’s death until Basil’s death, Dorian’s portrait grows uglier and crueler, while Dorian himself descends into a material life. After Dorian has made the desperate plea to stay young forever is fulfilled the vanity begins to drive his identity. His attraction to Sibyl Vane is purely because she embodies art, and whenShow MoreRelatedThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Character Analysis830 Words   |  4 Pagesappearances have much to do with the perception of characters in literature. The way a character looks can have a great effect on both the way other characters interact with them and the way the characters themselves interact with both their own thoughts and the world around them. In the works chosen, the appearances of the characters to be analyzed fall on opposite ends of the spectrum of aestheticism. Dorian Gray, from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray possesses an â€Å"...extraordinary personal b eautyRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Character Analysis863 Words   |  4 Pagesaffect the main characters in the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the short story, Face, based on their external appearances, which creates many differences, but ultimately leads to some major similarities in the lives of the main characters. Both of the main characters have something extraordinary about their outward appearances. Dorian Gray has the gift of youth and beauty, while the main character in Face has a large birthmark covering half of his face. The main characters are affected inRead MoreOscar Fingal O Flahertie Wilde1533 Words   |  7 PagesConstance Lloyd. During the first years of his marriage, he had two children, Cyril and Vyvyan, and had become a successful writing reviewer. 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Therefore, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, both Sibyl Vane and Lady Henry are weak, flighty, and naive.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The weakness ofRead MoreThe Relationship between Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton1374 Words   |  6 Pagesnovel The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is a story about debauchery and corruption of innocence and well known as a Gothic melodrama. Violent twists and a sneaky plot make this novel a distinct reflection of human pride and corrupt nature. Before we examine the quality of the error that Dorian Gray commits, we should first examine his friends and their relation to him because Dorian falls into this error with a little help from his friends. 1. The relationship between Dorian Gray and BasilRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1778 Words   |  8 PagesXI of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the eponymous character, Dorian, practices escapist behavior. 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Wilde, comparable to a puppeteer, manipulates each character in order to ultimately depict the ideas behind aestheticism; he plays upon each characters eternal search for contentment, their connections with their innerRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Oscar Wilde s Work Essay1786 Words   |  8 Pages Literary Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s work. Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is viewed as one of the best dramatists of the Victorian Era. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps infamous, for his intelligence, showiness, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime). In the wake of writing in various structures all through the 1880s, heRead MoreLiterary Criticism Of Oscar Wilde s The Canterville Ghost And The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay2157 Words   |  9 PagesAnalysis of characters, plot and literary criticism of Oscar Wilde’s Novel â€Å"The Canterville Ghost† and â€Å"The Picture of Dorian Gray† Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and critic. He is viewed as one of the best dramatists of the Victorian Era. Besides literary accomplishments, he is also famous, or perhaps or notorious, for his intelligence, showiness, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime)Read MoreThe Balance of Dorian Grays Structure of Personality in Oscar Wildes Novel the Picture of Dorian Gray: a Study of Psychoanalysis3447 Words   |  14 PagesTHE BALANCE OF DORIAN GRAY’S STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY IN OSCAR WILDE’S NOVEL THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: A STUDY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS Background of the study Human lives with their desire though some of their desire are failed to deliver because of the norms border. As a human, we live in a community and it is impossible to do as we please. Norms play the role as law where it limits our behavior and make the standard law points about what we can do or what we cannot do. This law usually opposes