Oscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray - 1998 Words

Rackshana Sithirasenan Mr. Cimetta ENG4U1-01 24 November 2014 Dorian’s Pursuit Towards Hedonism Dorian Gray once told Henry The soul . . . can be bought, and sold. It can be poisoned, or made perfect (Wilde 213). Likewise, it would not be beneficial for one to sacrifice their soul with an exception of exchanging it in order to attain perfection. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray explores the themes and ideologies of Hedonism and Aestheticism. Hedonists believe that pleasure is the most important aspect in life and can be obtained when one denies their moral instincts to partake in sensual activities, essentially neglecting their soul. Aestheticism focuses on the principle that art serves no purpose and exists for the sake of beauty alone in which critics illustrated the attitudes of the movement through The Yellow Book. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, introduces the protagonist, Dorian Gray, as a young and handsome male during the Victorian Era in England. The story commences with Basil Hallward, a painter , using Dorian as his model. Meanwhile Lord Henry preys on the young lad to encourage him to engage in the Hedonistic lifestyle. More so, the portrait of Dorian presented by Basil represents Dorian’s soul. Immoral decisions made by Dorian slowly alter his portrait for the worse and ultimately mirrors the unsightliness of Dorian’s persona. Lord Henry furthers his projection of Hedonism onto Dorian by presenting a book which reiterates philosophies ofShow MoreRelatedOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1544 Words   |  7 Pagescelebrity I find that it is inevitable to avoid being a part of some sort of controversy. At the height of Oscar Wilde’s career is where he found himself in just that. Although Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray is praised today, in the late 1800s it was seen by others as a negative shift in society and literature. In the film â€Å"Wilde†, after the release of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde’s wife Constan ce and his mother Jane have a conversation in regards to the novel that gives insight toRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay1517 Words   |  7 Pagesin connection with Dorian demonstrates how he tries to live surrounded by exquisite sensations. As Oscar Wilde once said, â€Å" Beauty is above genius, because it does not require understanding.† This shows that beauty is everything no matter who it s towards. Oscar Wilde was a well known author for his brilliant wit, his style in writing , and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality. He shows his great works in the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which is about how Dorian Gray meets Lord Henry WottonRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1656 Words   |  7 Pagesstill embraced some radical views that today we would associate as prudishness and repression. In 1890, author Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray and submitted it to Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. The magazineâ€℠¢s editor, J.M. Stoddert, immediately declined the novel and determined that it would offend the sensibilities of his readership (Wilde x). It was believed that Oscar Wilde’s book contained explicit sexual, especially homosexual, content which contradicted the time period of theRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1040 Words   |  5 PagesCorruption can do many things. It can lead to unstable lifestyles, pollute minds and bring on the downfall of just about anything or anyone. One of the best examples would be from the story, Dorian gray by Oscar Wilde. This story showed a young Dorian living his innocent life, only to be surrounded and influenced by the corrupt society around him and would ultimately lead to his demise. It is not easy to define corruption as a whole. But to narrow it down, corruption is mainly associated with briberyRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1049 Words   |  5 PagesKevin McElroyIn The Picture of Dorian Gray, the autho r Oscar Wilde relays the message to the reader that youth decays with age but value and beauty does not. The character Dorian Gray mourned his stage of youth through the portrait instead of having cherished the times he experienced. This use of symbolism through the portrait is Wilde s way of expressing this theme. This main symbol is the portrait itself as the author uses it to gradually reveal Dorian’s true identity. Dorian Gray is an attractiveRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1644 Words   |  7 PagesLooking back on Oscar Wilde s life, there are many realizations that he struggled finding something that suited him best with his type of work. A man of the 19th century, who is best known for his only novella The Picture of Dorian Gray and his play The Importance of Being Earnest as well as his infamous arrest, imprisonment and being a gay author leading to his downfall. Oscar Wilde who was known as a playwright, author, sometime poet, and also a not very mo tivated school student, still came toRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray2021 Words   |  9 PagesMcNeight English Lit II 3/1/15 Dorian Gray: A Battle With One’s Self Oscar Wilde’s â€Å"The Picture of Dorian Gray† is a story that focuses on the journey of an innocent and pure man, and his downward spiral of giving into temptation and committing crime, and living a life of pleasure. The story is centered around the idea of aestheticism. Everything is beautiful, the thought of something having any kind of â€Å"moral† meaning is just absurd. â€Å"The Picture of Dorian Gray† by Oscar Wilde both honors and condemnsRead MoreOscar Wilde s The Picture Of Dorian Gray1295 Words   |  6 Pages It is apparent that vanity, sin, and beauty are the key elements found in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. But, where do these elements originate from? What is the reason behind man’s internal need to pursue sin or his ideal sense of beauty that, on occasion, leads to his vanity? In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde explores naturalism through the use of symbolism and the tools of characterization, such as sp eech, action, interiority, the narrator, and the actions of other charactersRead MoreAnalysis of Oscar Wilde ´s The Picture of Dorian Gray590 Words   |  2 Pages The Picture of Dorian Gray The difference between art and life is quite simple, art is created and imagined by an artist and life is a representation of the living and the actuality of experiencing situations. Conversely, in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde demonstrates how the main characters mistake art for life, and life for art. Through The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde reveals the proper perspective for life and art, art has the ability to stand alone in society withoutRead 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)