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Dorian Gray Double Life Essay

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The Truth of Deception and the Art of a Double Life
“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.” (48 Ch. 3) The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray explores the art of living a double life. Dorian Gray himself illustrates how the “double life” lifestyle is lived and the consequences of living such a risqué way. When worse comes to worse, the double life will not always hide the selfishness of a person on the inside. In the Picture of Dorian Gray, author Oscar Wilde depicts the positive and negative effects of living a double life and how deception ultimately can lead to downfall, specifically exemplified through the main character Dorian Gray, influenced by Lord Henry, and the good and bad of it all.
“Dorian Gray is my dearest friend," he …show more content…

Basil, worried about Dorian and his ranking, sought after him and went to his home; Dorian, to prove himself, decided to reveal Basil’s old ever changing portrait to him. Basil’s reaction proved inadequate for self-conscious Dorian, “The mad passions of a hunted animal stirred within him, and he loathed the man who was seated at the table, more than in his whole life he had ever loathed anything.” (157 Ch 13) Dorian, enraged, stabbed Basil in the neck, “The friend who had painted to which all his misery had been due had gone out of his life. That was enough.” (159 Ch 13) Dorian’s downfall began with his murdering of Basil, and the furthermore repercussions of his chagrining action. When Dorian tells his inspiration, Lord Henry, of his murderous act, Lord Henry responds with, “Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders. I don’t blame them in the smallest degree. I should fancy that crime is to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary

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