Comparing The Couple Next Door And The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Plato, one of the world’s most renowned philosophers, once said “Things are not always the way they seem, the first appearance deceives many.” This principle is as true today as it was two-thousand years ago when Plato wrote it. The character personalities and plot schemes of Shari Lapena’s “The Couple Next Door” and Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” exemplify this concept of how people use their appearances to deceive others and seek personal pleasures in life. From the disgraceful kidnapping scheme that reveals unimaginable secrets in the The Couple Next Door to the protagonist’s soul and appearance exchange in The Picture of Dorian Gray it is conspicuous that there is a distinction between a pleasant appearance and a moral conscience.

A display of virtuosity can be used to display a wonderful attitude, but at the same time people can use it to satisfy their indulgences. The combination of an unscrupulous mindset and a growing desire for personal gains creates the formula of a deceptive behavior. It is important to note the distinction between a moral conscience and an appealing appearance. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian sells his soul to a painting in return for an eternal youth of pleasure. During Dorian’s inspection of the picture he says, “For there would be real pleasure in watching it. This portrait would be to him the magical of mirrors. As it had revealed to him his own body, so it would reveal to him his own soul.” (Wilde 103). Wilde reveals that Dorian is happy his soul has taken the burden of aging instead of his own body. Then he says, “Life had decided for him; Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys, and wilder sins – he was to have all of those things.”(Wilde 102). Dorian values youth and beauty over his own soul. Wilde uses the painting as a moral conscience and Dorian’s beauty as a symbol of the deceptive lust humans have for personal pleasures. Through this representation he demonstrates that there is duplicity between reality and appearance; beneath every pleasant appearance may be a marred

Provided that people are willing to hide their intentions and sentiments for debauchery, the immoral magnitude of satisfying their desires is shocking. In society this is obviously looked down upon and punishable by the justice system. There is no honor in performing immoral acts of deception for personal gain. Sadly, sometimes the need to maintain one's reputation and obtain selfish wants can be too overwhelming to suppress. For instance, in The Couple Next Door, Richard Dries, the grandfather of the daughter and appallingly the mastermind behind the kidnapping scheme, uses Marco to do his dirty work and frames Marco Conti as the organizer behind the kidnapping scheme to cover his tracks as the main perpetrator and maintain his identity as a protective family member. In desperation, he says "We have to protect our girls from you. We have to protect Cora. You're dangerous Marco, with your plans and schemes." (Lapena 207). Despite his attempt to cover his tracks, he gets caught by his own wife of his schemes. His shocking intentions behind the crime were also discovered. “Richard was going to relieve her seven million dollars under the guise of getting her only grandchild back from her kidnappers. So he could leave her for that appealing Cynthia to live another life with her.” (Lapena 284). This depicts that people like