Analysis: Picture of Dorian G.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his life forever. "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that" (Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells his soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only as something external to Dorian, but also as a voice within him (Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensuality which he learns about in a book given to him by Lord Henry. Dorian's unethical devotion to pleasure becomes his way of life.The novel underscores its disapproval of aestheticism which negatively impacts the main characters. Each of the three primary characters is an aesthete and meets some form of terrible personal doom. Basil Hallward's aestheticism is manifested in his dedication to his artistic creations. He searches in the outside world for the perfect manifestation of his o
Lord Henry Wotton, the most influential man in Dorian's life, is an aesthete of the mind. Basil is an artist who uses a brush while Wotton is an artist who uses words: wn soul, when he finds this object, he can create masterpieces by painting it (Bloom 109). "It was his beauty that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had prayed for" (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wilde's claim in the preface that, "there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book" (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose. "The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, of regard for human life, separates individuals like Wilde's Dorian Gray from humanity and makes monsters of them" (West 5831).
Some common words found in the essay are:
Lord Henry, Dorian Gray, Henry Wotton, Basil Hallward, Basil Hallward's, Oscar Wilde, WH Auden, Lord Henry's, Henry Dorian's, Contrary Wilde's, lord henry, dorian gray, basil hallward, lord henry wotton, henry wotton, west 5811, basil artist, lord henry's, 5811 dorian disgusted, fairy tale, picture dorian, beautiful wilde, picture dorian gray, west 5811 dorian,
Approximate Word count = 1332
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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