Essay type:Â | Book review |
Categories:Â | Culture Arts World literature |
Pages: | 3 |
Wordcount: | 566 words |
The Picture of Dorian Gray's novel introduces the readers to a cultured, beautiful, and wealthy young man who arouses Basil's creative imagination. In the drawings, Basil depicts Dorian Gray as a mythological figure or a prehistoric Greek hero free from sin. Dorian is upset with Lord Henry's story on the passing nature of beauty and youth. Lord Henry shares that in the end, the beauty of youth is lost and the innocence leaves the scars and the evil that an individual does in their lifetime.
The portrait highlights Dorian's innocence, but he is unhappy as he believes that it will remind him of the beauty that he would have lost in his old age. Lord Henry influences him to dedicate his life to pleasure and commitment to hedonism. Dorian falls in love with Sibyl Vane while performing in the theater located in London slums. He loved her acting, and she, in turn, fall deeply in love referring to him as her prince charming. However, her brother warns her that Dorian has no qualifications to be close to being her boyfriend. After experiencing real love from Dorian, Sibyl quits acting as she feels that there is no need to pretend to be in love when she has found real love. This act highlights the accurate picture of Dorian's character as he breaks his engagement to her because he was not indeed in love. He loved her because she was right in acting, and everything good with her went down the drain when she stopped acting. Later on, Sibyl takes her own life which hurts his portrait.
Dorian does not show remorse as he is convinced by Lord Henry to believe that Sibyl's death is an artistic achievement. To further guide Dorian's life towards sin and immorality, Lord Henry gives him a book detailing the Frenchman's exploits in the nineteenth century. The publication influences Dorian to lead a life with no regard for the rule of life and respect for humanity. He becomes immoral, and in eighteen years, his reputation is impolite as a result of his infamous life exploits. Despite all this, he is still acceptable among his peers as they believe that he is still young and beautiful. His actions have dented his figure in the painting which has become increasingly hideous. To protect his image from further damage, Basil confronts Dorian begging him to repent. An argument ensues between them, and Dorian kills Basil with a knife in the process leaving the portrait in its original form.
After being confronted by James Vane about his sister's death, he feels guilty and resolves to make amends in his life after a string of deaths. His desire to repent is portrayed in the painting and does away with an experience of hypocrisy after killing the author of the picture. He visits Lord Henry in an effort to repent and start living a virtuous life. As proof that he has made up his mind to repent and start all over again, he says that he did not defile nor make any attempt to seduce the innocent daughter of the innkeeper he had met during the trip. He begs Lord Henry never to lend someone else the yellow book because it had corrupted his mind and led him to cause several deaths.
Works Cited
Analysis of hypochlorite in commercial liquid bleaches by titration. KCC Demo Labs (2020): 156-159. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBtHEaeaBZw&list=PLyT5BHm0lkuIgws-wBOENQTWu7rez-q2P&index=6
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Dorian Evidence to Reform - Paper Example. (2023, Sep 25). Retrieved from https://speedypaper.net/essays/dorian-evidence-to-reform
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