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The Picture Of Dorian Gray Gothic Analysis

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In the early 18th century a new genre of fiction prose, named "Gothic Novel" was introduced. The term ”Gothic” used to refer to the German tribe of the Goths, and later on signified ”Germanic”, then ”medieval”. The Gothic novel spread over the 19th century and had the popular theme of haunted places such as castles, crypts, gloomy mansions and convents; supernatural elements having the role to intensify the atmosphere. The characteristic motifs of the gothic genre were the strange places, the supernatural, magic objects, monsters, demons, science used for bad purposes. And many of them appears also in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" The protagonist is both good and bad, both handsome and ungly by his character and the picture, his own portrait, represents Dorian 's inner soul. The portrait, the main symbol of the novel, carry all the marks of Gray 's degeneration, who, is exploring …show more content…

It becomes a kind of conscience, and it reminds Dorian constantly of the evil at the heart of his nature. In “The Picture of Dorian Gray” are present plenty gothic elements. Some of them are: the evil, the bargain with the devil, the secret room, the scary atmosphere. The devil is impersonated by Lord Henry who uses his wisdom to tempt Dorian with his immoral opinions. He gives to Dorian a yellow book, a poisonous book which influences and brings him to become a murderer, lossing his innocence. Lord Henry has a poisonous influence on Dorian always tempting him: "Some day, when you are old and wrinkled and ugly, when thought has seared your forehead with its lines, and passion branded your lips with its hideous fires, you will feel it, you will feel it terribly." Dorian:"Am I really like that?" ; Basil: "Yes; you are just like that." Dorian:"How wonderful, Basil!" ; Henry: "At least you are like it in appearance. But it will never

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The both kings that were going to talk about are king Henry and Alexander the great. The both king were different and some of have similarities when they ruled for their time. The kings were both remember but Henry the VIII as not remember what he wanted to be. When Henry the VIII and Alexander the great were rulers the people remember them when they died .They were both blood thirsty and Henry the VIIl and both Brilliant

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Cruelty plays a vital role in developing the plot and characters in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. Throughout the piece, many acts of cruelty are displayed from Dorian Gray and others that show truly who they are how they've developed from it. Dorian takes on a huge change in his morals and standards because of the influence taken in from others. This influence causes him to only care about his own youth and vanity, resulting in a huge change of personality. The more Dorian becomes influenced by Lord Henry and the painting, the crueler he becomes

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The researcher decides Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned to be the objects of the study on inferiority and superiority complex causing hedonistic lifestyle in main character. The first reason, both of literary works cover the changing of each life of the main character, society and ultimately the individual. Second, they both share the same social background of the main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, displays a well-respected young man. He doesn’t recognize his own beauty until he sees it reflected in Basil’s portrait, and, once he does, it’s all too late. While Anthony in The Beautiful and Damned is illustrates reaching pleasure as the lifestyle and it becomes a habit.

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Gothic Literature is a genre that was popular between 18th to 19th centuries in North Germany. It is always being associated with Dark Romanticism which the emphasize was more on nature, terror and death, horror and many more. It involves dark and gloomy setting and also unexplainable things that are beyond human senses and reason such as ghosts and monsters. The main characters, on the other hand, are always ineffectual which they do not give much effect on the story plot. This can be seen through Washington Irving’s “Rip van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which can be considered as American gothic work in terms of its description of setting, the involvement of supernatural element in the story and also the characteristics of the main character.

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Dorian is showing dramatic attention-seeking behavior as he claims he is trying to ameliorate himself. Another way the term Gothic is demonstrated throughout the novel is with violence and other extreme emotions.

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The Internal Struggle of Good Against Evil In the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being” (Solzhenitsyn 168); however righteousness always triumphs in the battle against villainy. The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde portrays this struggle within Dorian Gray as he faces the toxic influence of Lord Henry, and goes against his morality and Basil Hallward. The clash between hedonism and altruism in the novel exemplifies the prevalence of good against evil. The first battle between the two forces occurs in the exposition of the novel, before the main character is introduced.

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‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is the title of this book which wrote by a great author named Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde had writing many books based on his experiences and most of his genre is quite dark and mysterious, same as this book he wrote which contain gothic genre. I found this story had gothic genre because the storyteller, which is Oscar Wilde illustrating supernatural event in this story such as the Dorian’s wish seem like coming true as the portrait was the one that kept aging instead of Dorian Gray himself. Thus, the portrait has reflected as Dorian Gray’s soul and his personality grew darker and more evil as his life continued. This book that I read has quite artfully as it is like engaging me to keep reading more to know the

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Dorian is a young man who is not yet fully formed in his thinking and has a very handsome appearance. Basil is instantly taken with him and finds that he wants Dorian all to himself. The way Basil influences Dorian isn 't through words but rather through his actions. He idolizes him.

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The genre of the novel is a terror, drama, psychology, humanitarianisms, romance and paranormal components. The Picture of Dorian Gray begins on a beautiful season day in Victorian-era England where Lord Henry Wotton, a determined man, is observing the sensitive artist Basil Hallward painting the painting of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who is Basil 's ultimate inspiration. Though sitting for the painting, Dorian listens to Lord Henry adopting his hedonistic worldview and begins to think that beauty is the only aspect of life worth trying. This encourages Dorian to wish that the painted image of himself would age in his stead.

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As soon as Dorian enters in Chapter 2 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wildes’ one and only novel, its is evident that there will be a battle between who will have the most influence on his pure, untouched soul. Basil Hallward, a painter and worshipper of art is an optimist and sees only the good in even the wickedest of people, such as Lord Henry. Lord Henry is a charming, self-indulgent aristocrat that shapes and molds Dorian to lead a life devoted to pleasure. Both Basil and Lord Henry represent two important opposing forces in the novel, good and evil. The greatest struggle in The Picture of Dorian Gray is inside Dorian; he himself embodies both pure good and pure evil.

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Morality and The Picture of Dorian Gray “The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.” C.G. Jung The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, was first published in 1890, right in the middle of the Victorian Era, an era that was characterized by its conservatism. Ever since, and due to the content of the book, it has been condemned as immoral. Furthermore, on 1891, Wilde published a preface protecting his book from public punishment in which he said “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.

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Its fictional world gives form to amorphous fears and impulses common to all mankind, using an amalgam of materials, some torn from the author’s own subconscious mind and some stuff of myth, folklore, fairy tale, and romance. It conjures up beings - mad monks, vampires, and demons ... Gothic fiction gives shape to concepts of the place of evil in the human mind

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All actions have an inverse action that can be acquired. The novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey, significantly portrays the inverse options in life. Superficial happiness is the leading cause for double standards. The main character preservers through an abundance of difficult situations, while retaining his beauty. This is all due to his double life that he has come accustomed to living.

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As years pass the picture ages like a real person would age, but it not only grows older, but uglier because of his actions. The picture is the mirror of Dorian 's soul, as he commits terrible actions the picture becomes

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The reader gets the impression that the portrait is a representation of Dorian 's inner self, and how it becomes uglier and more disgraceful as time gradually passes and with every horrific crime that he commits, as can be seen in the following quote: “The picture had to be concealed. There was no help for it.” (Wilde 113). The portrait serves as an image of Dorian 's true nature and the relationship between how his soul progressively becomes more nefarious, and how the evil of his soul becomes visible on the painted surface of the canvas. The way Wilde uses the portrait as a motif throughout the story helps the reader to see and understand how Dorian himself is not yet entirely unfettered by the influence of the portrait.

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