The Picture Of Dorian Gray Literary Analysis - 1029 Words

The Picture of Dorian Gray: What’s the meaning? The famous and well-renowned saying â€Å"do not judge a book by its cover† is something we have all heard ever since we were little children. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, this advice is crucial. This idiom expresses that someone should not judge something based on its appearance. A book, or in the case of this novel, a person, might actually be very different from the image portrayed on its cover or their outside appearance. This could not be more evident in the novel, The picture of Dorian Gray. In the novel, you can never be sure whats lying beneath the handsome outer surface that is the main character, Dorian Gray. What may look gorgeous on the outside could easily be†¦show more content†¦This forms the beginning thoughts in Dorian that appearances are the only thing to matter in the world. During the novel, a painter named Basil Hallward, one of the previously mentioned character Lord Henry’s friend, does a wonderfully done painting of Dorian Gray. Dorian later realizes that he will keep his youthful and beautiful appearance regardless of whatever immoral actions he chooses to indulge in. Dorian Gray then goes on to consider himself free of the moral constraints thus leading to his eventual downfall, related to his inward and outward appearance being strongly opposite. Dorian begins to value his own physical appearance more than the true state of his soul. As the novel goes on, this is openly displayed by the increasing degradation of the portrait painted by Basil. In this way, The Picture of Dorian Gray, should be read as a moralistic tale warning against the dangers of valuing ones appearance too highly, and neglecting ones conscience. This furthers the idea of not judging by the outer appearance of something or someone. As Dorian’s obsession with beaut y grows, it becomes evident that he now seems to have a sort of ‘double life’, â€Å"Certainly no one looking at Dorian Gray that night could have believed that he had passed through a tragedy as horrible as any tragedy of our age. Those finely shaped fingers could never have clutched a knife for sin, norShow MoreRelatedThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Character Analysis830 Words   |  4 Pagesthe way the characters themselves interact with both their own thoughts and the world around them. In the works chosen, the appearances of the characters to be analyzed fall on opposite ends of the spectrum of aestheticism. Dorian Gray, from Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray possesses an â€Å"...extraordinary personal beauty (Wilde 1),† one that controls other character’s reception of him, as well as affecting his own inner thoughts, for he knows that he seen as beautiful. On the opposite side ofRead MoreOscar Fingal O Flahertie Wilde1533 Words   |   7 PagesConstance Lloyd. During the first years of his marriage, he had two children, Cyril and Vyvyan, and had become a successful writing reviewer. He also became a famous playwright and novel author; releasing his only, yet successful novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. After these years of great success and prosperity, Wilde came to his downfall through his homosexual relations with Robert Ross, and mainly, Lord Alfred Douglas. Through these affairs, and his involvement with male prostitutes, Wilde wasRead MoreAbstract Aestheticism in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray2148 Words   |  9 Pageswould, that by giving art a value greater than its beauty, society is in turn ruining it. He also added that art must be looked at as a whole, and only those who can see the complete picture can truly understand the meaning behind art, while also seeing into the artists soul. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde portrays aestheticism in many ways, mainly through art and the human soul. Wilde, comparable to a puppeteer, manipulates each character in order to ultimately depict theRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Oscar Wilde s Work Essay1786 Words   |  8 Pages Literary Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s work. 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 infamous, for his intelligence, showiness, and affairs with men. He was tried and imprisoned for his homosexual relationship (then considered a crime). In the wake of writing in various structures all through the 1880s, heRead More The Conscience of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray2865 Words   |  12 PagesThe Conscience of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray Much of the criticism regarding The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde has dealt with Dorian Gray’s relation to his own portrait (Raby 392). While some may argue that the portrait represents a reflection of Dorian Gray’s character, this is only a superficial analysis of the novel and Dorian’s character. While Dorian Gray’s true character never changes, it is his own perception of his character (his conscience) thatRead MoreThe Balance of Dorian Grays Structure of Personality in Oscar Wildes Novel the Picture of Dorian Gray: a Study of Psychoanalysis3447 Words   |  14 PagesTHE BALANCE OF DORIAN GRAY’S STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY IN OSCAR WILDE’S NOVEL THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY: A STUDY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS Background of the study Human lives with their desire though some of their desire are failed to deliver because of the norms border. As a human, we live in a community and it is impossible to do as we please. Norms play the role as law where it limits our behavior and make the standard law points about what we can do or what we cannot do. This law usually opposesRead 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)Read MoreWhen Art Imitates Art757 Words   |  3 Pagestheir means of expression. â€Å"It is practically certain that music and literature, usually combined with dance, arose as a single activity long before the concept of an art existed. In later stages of history, the connections between the musical and literary arts have varied from nation to nation and period to period. (†¦) As soon as the arts of music and literature began to draw apart, the possibility of one’s influencing the other arose.† If we believe that art is an imitation of life, then musicRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay18 71 Words   |  8 Pagesexception. In creating the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde used his experience of sitting in on a painting session, done by a Basil Ward. He then proceeded to comment on how it would be amazing if the painting aged while the subject of the painting did not. Throughout the novel, we notice this kind of lifestyle being lived out by Dorian and Lord Henry, but we also see how Dorian handles his conscience based on his actions. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel that, while it has its controversiesRead MoreThe Pursuit Of Self Discovery2522 Words   |  11 Pagesmez Dr. McCollister ENGL 3314 April 4, 2015 The Pursuit of Self-Discovery: A Psychoanalytic look at The Picture of Dorian Gray When one hears the title The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde a flash of Faustian images such as villains, tragedy, and worldly pleasures might come to mind. The reader might recall Lord Henry Wotton as the Mephistophelian presence of the novel, and his epigram that â€Å"All influence is immoral†¦because to influence a person is to give him one s own soul† (Wilde 19-20)