ipl-logo

Dorian Gray Research Paper

1229 Words5 Pages

Born on October 16, 1854 in Dublin, author, playwright and poet Oscar Wilde was a popular literary figure in late Victorian England, known for his brilliant wit (since his childhood), flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality.

Throughout his entire life, Wilde always remained deeply committed to the principles of aestheticism, principles that he expounded through his lectures and demonstrated through his works as well as anyone of his era. "All art is at once surface and symbol," Wilde wrote in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, released in 1891. "Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity …show more content…

They also talk about Dorian's total perfection (besides of being an innocent and a good man, he's the most perfect model they have ever seen). Lord Henry wants to meet this model, but Basil disagrees, he does not want Dorian to be influenced by the hedonistic ideology of Lord Henry. But, unfortunately, young Dorian meets him at that same afternoon, he is swayed by this philosophy and begins to live the life of a libertine in the constant search for pleasure. The conflicts are the most internal than external, because the main character is betraying himself. The setting is in London in the 1800s, better known as the Victorian …show more content…

Dorian states that he would like to show Basil his soul, and he leads Basil to the room, where he keeps the portrait locked up. Shocked, Basil contemplates the disgusting and festering version of Dorian in the painting, and Dorian, stricken with rage from the portrait, Dorian murders Basil. Next morning, Dorian asks for help in disposing of the body from Alan Campbell, who is a scientist and a former close friend. Campbell refuses at first, but eventually agrees to help Dorian when he is blackmailed. After a couple of days later, Dorian attends a party which he finds rather boring, so, that night, he decides to go to an opium den. Instead of facing his sins, he willingly commits himself to forgetting them shamelessly through drug

Show More
Related

Charlotte Gray Chapter 1 Summary

827 Words | 4 Pages

Chunk # 1 Chapters: 1 - 2 Set in Basil’s Home, Dorian and Henry first meet - Basil paints a portrait of Dorian and shows it to Henry - When Dorian arrives, the two meet (Henry and Dorian), and Henry speaks of his ideology - Fascinated, Dorian decides to go to the theatre with him, despite Basil’s objections – Basil objects, knowing that Dorian is quite naïve, and could easily be influenced by Henry’s cynicism Chunk # 2 Chapters: 3 - 4 Dorian and Henry’s relationship tightens, and Dorian falls in love - Henry visits his uncle to learn of Dorian’s past (Dead mother, father, raised by tyrant, the whole nine) - Goes, along with Dorian, to his aunt’s home at a small gathering, and he rants on about the hedonistic lifestyle - Dorian, being charmed by Henry’s ideals and way of

Read More

What Is The Portrait Of Dorian Gray Dialectical Journal

880 Words | 4 Pages

Dorian stabs Basil to death. The next day, he goes back upstairs to check the portrait, and with disgust, he realizes “that loathsome red dew that gleamed, wet and glistening, on one of the hands, as though the canvas had sweated blood” (Wilde 127). With every crime that Dorian Gray commits, the portrait shows what he did by shedding blood on his hands and showing lines of cruelty along the wrinkles in his face. Also, the portrait symbolized how the worldly influences tainted Dorian’s innocence, turning him into a corrupted monster. Going back to the beginning of the story again, Basil Hallward paints Dorian Gray, capturing “his finely curved scarlet lips, his frank blue

Read More

Juxtaposition Of Aestheticism And Ethical Considerations

2135 Words | 9 Pages

Once Dorian kills Basil, he adds to the heinous crime by blackmailing his friend, Alan Campbell, into disposing of his body. Conversely, for levity from the terrible horrors he commits and to relive his soul, Dorian buys flowers symbolizing ephemeral beauty and the purity that comes with it, comparative to Dorian’s lasting beauty and ugliness of his soul due to the atrocities he has committed. Moreover, Dorian, the epitome of hedonism and aestheticism, kills Basil, the pinnacle of Victorian ideals and norms, stressing the novel's (and Wilde’s) defiance of standard views and

Read More

Review Of Ed Cohen's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

480 Words | 2 Pages

Cohen includes many contemporary reviews of Oscar Wilde’s novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ to aid his argument. For example, Regina Gagnier who described Wilde’s novel as “unclean” and “obtrusively cheap scholarship”, Cohen observes, that contemporary critics received the novel in this way due to Dorian Gray being the antithesis of the male class gentleman.

Read More

Comparing Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde

692 Words | 3 Pages

Dorian was led to be this way because of Lord Henry. Lord Henry is the evil Dorian has to constantly battle against because Henry encourages Dorian to do things he shouldn’t. Michael Gillespie wrote a critical essay outlining Lord Henry’s influence and how it impacted Dorian Gray’s morality. Gillespie writes, “Basil protests against such an outspoken articulation of New Hedonism by refusing to believe that Harry holds views as cynical as his statements suggest.” Basil and Henry were constantly on opposite sides when it came to ethics, what mattered, and what didn’t.

Read More

Cruelty In 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'

760 Words | 4 Pages

Right at the start of the story Basil Hallward, who is somewhat obsessive over the young and beautiful Dorian Gray, decides to paint a portrait in his praise. Unbeknownst to Basil, Dorian had been speaking to Lord

Read More

The Ignorance Of Youth In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

467 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian eventually shows Basil what his portrait has become and Basil suggests that Dorian must pray for forgiveness to which he responds that it is far too late and looking back at the grotesque portrait once again fills Dorian with rage against Basil, taking a nearby knife and stabbing him to death. Dorian blackmails an ex-friend, Alan Campbell, into helping him cover up Basil’s murder and some time later there is gossip of Alan’s suicide. Dorian sees glances of James Vane everywhere he goes and is terrified that he will be assassinated. Dorian once again confronts his portrait, grabs the same knife used to kill Basil and stabs his portrait in hopes that this will destroy any evidence of such a shameful

Read More

Oscar Wilde Research Paper

811 Words | 4 Pages

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16th, 1854 to William Wilde and Jane Elgee in Dublin, Ireland. It is said that Wilde’s writing is highly influenced by his mother who was a poet and skilled linguist (“Oscar Wilde Biography”). Wilde was recognized

Read More

Theme Of Corruption In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

725 Words | 3 Pages

At the end of the book, he has lost all of his innocence and gained cruelty. Bad company and objects are what causes Dorian Gray 's corruption. Basil Hallward is a painter who wants to paint Dorian 's picture. He is a quiet and unchangeable man. When he first meets Dorian, they talk about how it was destiny for them to meet.

Read More

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Literary Criticism

750 Words | 3 Pages

Dorian Gray is a handsome, narcissistic young man enthralled by Lord Henry 's new enjoyment. He satisfies in every pleasure of moral and immoral life ultimately heads to death. Henry tells

Read More

Dorian Gray Good Vs Evil Essay

997 Words | 4 Pages

Basil attempts desperately to lead Dorian to decency, to hold onto the perfect image of Dorian, being the one and only force of goodness in his life. He cannot accept the reality of Dorian’s actions after being influenced by Lord Henry. Basil’s good nature can be seen through the fact that he never loses faith that Dorian can change his ways and become the innocent, naïve boy he once painted and loved unconditionally. This goodness backfires after Dorian kills Basil. He had reached a point in his life in which he had lost his consciences and his corruption was out of control.

Read More

Influence In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

2219 Words | 9 Pages

Lord Henry’s painting showed Dorian the reality of life and all the sins he had committed. With the picture, Dorian destroyed it plus his own life because he could not bear the fact that his beauty was going to fade. In addition, Henry influences Dorian by manipulating him because; he carries on with his idea of remaining youthful. This is evident when he says, "To get back to my youth, I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable" (Liebman 300). Lord Henry had everything to do with Dorian’s obsession of wanting to remain young especially with the picture and his philosophy.

Read More

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Moral Analysis

873 Words | 4 Pages

From the beginning of the novel we get to see a model of poor and unconventional morality, Lord Henry Wotton, a man who is moved by an ethic current called “New Hedonism” which taking into account society’s ethics (specially the ones from the Victorian Era) is quite immoral. The New Hedonism basically consists in looking for the individual’s best comfort, pleasure and happiness (based on beauty), leaving aside the other’s comfort and what should be morally done. This character with poor morality is who guides the book’s main character Dorian Gray along his adventure. However, it is vital to take into account the fact that Dorian Gray is never forced to follow New Hedonism and that Wilde never influences or invites the reader to follow New Hedonist

Read More

Vanity In Dorian Gray

864 Words | 4 Pages

In my opinion, this is a good example of the futility of the society that he’s inserted in. Lord Henry is one of the main influences in the change of Dorian, because he is the one that gave him awareness of the power of beauty and youth, and the one who gave him the yellow book that opened is mind to unthinkable possibilities; but he’s not the only one that takes him to a life of promiscuity and addictions. We are all free to choose between good and evil, and, before Dorian met Basil, he didn’t had a strong notion of reality, and when he got aware of it, he was frightened; he didn’t wanted to lose the charms of his

Read More

The Importance Of Double Life In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

828 Words | 4 Pages

The double standard can be depicted in image changing, in lavish lifestyles, and in superficial happiness. Dorian Gray, the protagonist in the novel, lives a superficially stable double life. The portrait that Basil Hallward, Dorian’s artist and friend, created for Dorian caused a self-image imbalance. The portrait was young and juvenile, while Dorian was soon to grow old and immoral. Thus causing a mental epiphany that made Dorian realize he could not have his fellow peers discover he is not innocent.

Read More

More about Dorian Gray Research Paper

Related Topics

Open Document