The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

return give to the same story” (Foster 185-186). One book that is a part of Foster’s story is Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this essay, Thomas Foster’s methods regarding both symbolism and ¬¬¬¬heart disease from his book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor will be discussed and applied to one of Oscar Wilde’s novels. Throughout his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde uses the portrait of the young protagonist as a symbol of many things, one of them being a mirror. Wilde

In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, we see how the different characters show their love of beauty and pleasure and the affects they have on the main character: Dorian Gray. Each of the three main characters, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, and Dorian Gray portray a part of how the author felt about himself and the world around him. “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages, perhaps” (qtd. in Bloom pg. 117)

When looking at Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is clear that Frankenstein is a novel that can be placed into both the gothic and horror genre, although it is a gothic novel secondary to it being a horror novel; The picture of Dorian Gray isn’t so clear in this regard. On a first reading, one may assume the story to be gothic literature and only gothic literature because of the sheer amount of gothic characteristics and elements that the text presents that include, but are not limited

Transformation in Literature Greek Philosopher Heraclitus once said “There is nothing permanent except change”. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the theme of transformation is constant throughout the novel; however it is not portrayed as something that is permanent. Through the protagonist’s transformation, Oscar Wilde 's novel is suggesting that the hedonistic lifestyle, a lifestyle where gaining pleasure is the main goal of a person’s life, may seem like it is an exciting and wonderful

Wilde explores the theme of outsiders in his 1890 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. He infuses what it means to be an outsider in almost every character in the story. The most important of these characters are Dorian Gray, Henry, and Basil. Each show what it means to be an outsider in his own individual way; whether it is an outsider among society, among a group of friends, or from a person’s own self. The main character, Dorian Gray, possesses most attributes of being an outsider. The most obvious

influence an individual to adjust and revise their personal code. This is the case with Mr. Dorian Gray, in the novel by Oscar Wilde titled, The Picture of Dorian Gray. This title character is influenced by outside persons and experiences that cause him to modify the outlook he has on the world and the effects of his actions. Whereas, other characters, such as Basil Hallward, are exposed to the same influences as Mr. Gray, like Lord Henry, but remain stable in their set codes. This occurs because of Dorian’s

In the “Picture of Dorian Gray”, Oscar Wilde prefaces his only novel by examining the value of art and the artist. After a short examination, Wilde concludes that “All art is quite useless” (Wilde, 2), contradicting the principles of the Aesthetic Movement, a contemporary to Wilde and Dorian Gray, that became popular during the fin-de-siècle English Victorian society. Aestheticism believes in imitating art and living life experiencing the pleasures of the world, adopting the hedonistic way of living

XI of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the eponymous character, Dorian, practices escapist behavior. Upon noticing his portrait changing to reflect his immoral acts, he hides the picture in his upstairs schoolroom and distracts himself with New Hedonism, the amoral lifestyle preached by Lord Henry Wotton. Chapter XI chronicles Dorian 's material pleasures over the course of eighteen years. Initially, I believed that the purpose of this cataloguing chapter was to illustrate Dorian 's escapist

pleasure is the most important aspect of life. In the picture of Dorian Gray, Aestheticism and

Wilde’s book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, since the association of negative influences from individuals seems to be the downfall of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is a character that was misguided throughout his adulthood because of his surroundings and affiliation with individuals, which is the blame in his, loss of innocence. The presence of a witched portrait of Dorian, takes on his mischievous actions and the deteriorated appearance while he remains youthful. The portrait allows Dorian to portray his