... worships beauty. We are bombarded daily, sometimes even subliminally, by this eternal quest for beauty. Oscar Wilde explored this theme in his book, The Picture Of Dorian Gray. The book was written over 100 years ago but even today the emphasis on beauty and youth in our culture are stronger than ever. Our media always seems to feature young and beautiful people. How often ... do we see the elderly or fat people featured in advertisements? We have been taught to place more value on physical appearance than on the quality of character. Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray lived durin...

• Word Count: 451
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In the preface of Oscar Wilde's novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray", there is a list of many guidelines which he proposes dealing with art and such topics. The first of these items listed is stating that "The artist is the creator of beautiful things." (p 41) . Ironically, in the novel which follows, Wilde does not follow his own guideline, contradicting his own statement. The events which occur as a result of an expression of art, display that an artist is ... not only capable of creating ... ...

• Word Count: 486
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School