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Picture of Dorian Gray

            The quest for eternal physical beauty has plagued societies for centuries. We live in a society that 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 during a time when appearance and status were paramount. Gray had everything; wealth, influence, youth, and intelligence. It was his beauty that inspired Basil Hallward to paint his portrait. Dorian believed that as long as he remained young, he would remain handsome. He believed that he would not be as beautiful if he aged. Lose of beauty would render him miserable. Lord Henry told Dorian "To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people that judge by inner beauty." Dorian is very pure when we first see him in the story and he gradually became depraved by the influence of Lord Henry. "He grew more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul." It was his beauty that ruined him - the beauty and youth that he had dreamed of and prayed for. Dorian's vanity was out of control. He became a vain, arrogant, young man who ultimately traded his soul for eternal youth and good looks. Dorian believed that youth and beauty were the only things important in life worth having. .
             What is true beauty? Is it our outward appearance? I don't think so. I believe that true beauty resides within us. Quality of character, wisdom and inner beauty are far more valuable to me than physical appearance - particularly after 9/11.


Essays Related to Picture of Dorian Gray

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary of novel: Dorian Gray, the beautiful, talented, charming young man, has managed to capture the hearts of both men and women alike during nineteenth-century England. ... Historical Significance: In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde doesn't hesitate to make reference to previous literary works or historical events. ... When The Picture of Dorian Gray was published, England's reading public was expanding to include the most minor of citizens - the working class. ... Dorian Gray, the main character in the novel, has a complete lack of morality...

  • Word Count: 784
  • Approx Pages: 3

2. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Beauty

In, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the main character Dorian acquires a thirst for youth that eventually dominates his life. ... Like Narcissus, the portrait represents an image of him, but unlike his Greek counterpart, the picture presents Dorian with a microscope to the quite horrific reality of his inner self. ... Finally, if anything, The Picture of Dorian Gray proves to its readers that the need to be beautiful is a recurring concept of life. ... The desperation to do anything in order to retain beauty not only presents itself in Dorian gray but in today's society as well, allowing be...

  • Word Count: 849
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Picture of Dorian Gray Analysis

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde which expresses the desire for eternal beauty and youth, which is a representation of today's society and its fixation on appearance. ... This is an example of how The Picture of Dorian Gray represents modern day obsessions with beauty and how vain people can become when the realisation of their own physical attractiveness becomes aware to them. ... This example shows the current selfishness in comparison to that used and examined in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The last concept that is used in Dorian Gray and is a modern-day issue is...

  • Word Count: 1090
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. The picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an excellent novel about vanity and influenced lifestyle. Dorian gray is a very inflencial perdson and when Lord Henry tellds him how precious his young life is dorian vbegins to worry. ... In the begining you can sesce something wrong with Dorian. ... when he stabs the picture it goes back to the way it originlally was and his is found by his servants dead on the floor qwith a knife through his heart. ... So read the Picture of Dorian gray and find out where the evil lies in you....

  • Word Count: 344
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Picture of Dorian Gray

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the main character Dorian Gray, turns into an sick and twisted adult by means of cursing his fate and pledges his soul only so that he could live without bearing the physical burdens of aging and sinning. ... Dorian Gray at the beginning of the novel is known as radiantly handsome, impressionable, and wealthy young gentleman. As the novel progresses, Lord Henry's influence over Dorian grows stronger. ... The major conflict in the novel is that Dorian Gray, having promised his soul in order to live a life of perpetual youth, must try...

  • Word Count: 314
  • Approx Pages: 1

6. The Picture of Dorian Gray

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the main character Dorian Gray, turns into an sick and twisted adult by means of cursing his fate and pledges his soul only so that he could live without bearing the physical burdens of aging and sinning. ... Dorian Gray at the beginning of the novel is known as radiantly handsome, impressionable, and wealthy young gentleman. As the novel progresses, Lord Henry's influence over Dorian grows stronger. ... The major conflict in the novel is that Dorian Gray, having promised his soul in order to live a life of perpetual youth, must try...

  • Word Count: 314
  • Approx Pages: 1

7. Picture of Dorian Gray Comparison

The Picture of Dorian Gray is as well known for its theater production as it is for its book. ... Dorian and Basil both act the same in the book and the play. ... The portrait of Dorian is the main subject that The Picture of Dorian Gray is set around and is that way in both peaces. It is painted by Basil and is a gift to Dorian. ... As you can see both versions of The Picture of Dorian Gray are very similar to one another yet still have there little differences. ...

  • Word Count: 554
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. picture of dorian gray

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. ... "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! ... Because Lord Henry is responsible for influencing Dorian Gray, he is partly the cause of the death of Dorian (5810). ... The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel including a moral dialogue between conscience and temptation that is powerfully conveyed. ...

  • Word Count: 1332
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Picture of Dorian Gray

Although the wealthy class was revered and respected in society, one author, Oscar Wilde, chose to capture and satirize its life and ideals through his literary works, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. ... In both The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, British high society, representing superficiality, seduces common men. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, society, manifested in Lord Henry Wotton, seeks opportunity to transform a common man, Dorian Gray, to that of "superior social stature," through its powerful influence. ... Initially re...

  • Word Count: 565
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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