Dorian Gray Assessment #2

Rachael Kerr
AP English 11
March 30, 2010
Dorian Gray Assessment #2
Dorian Gray Characterization
Dorian Gray begins as an innocent, beautiful young man whose loss of conscience twists him into a corrupt yet equal beautiful being.
It could be said that Dorian Gray is the most controversial character in the novel, considering he never receives punishment for the unjust way he acts. But his personality is not static; Dorian was completely different in the beginning of the novel. Dorian was an extremely handsome young man, beaming with the stainless cloth of boyhood. It is through Basil that we first learn how impressionable Dorian really is; Basil does not want Lord Henry to meet Dorian, because he knows how Henry will act to Dorian. When Henry meets Dorian, he begins to influence Dorian in such a way that will continue throughout the novel: “the few words that Basil’s friend had said to him […] had touched some secret chord” (21). After seeing the most magnificent portrait of himself by Basil, Henry teases Dorian about the fleeting tendancy of youth, to which Dorian pleas: “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! […] I would give my soul for that!” (28). Upon making this deadly bargain, Dorian never receives the harsh consequences of age or sin that traditionally write itself across one’s face. After realizing this lack of repercussions, Dorian loses all sense of morality, wishing only to seek pleasure, and disregarding his portrait growing evermore grotesque: “What did it matter what happened to the colored image on the canvas? He would be safe” (110). Dorian takes a dark turn, and kills Basil in cold blood as he attempted to show Dorian his wrongs. Nearing the end, Finally, being driven to the brink of insanity due to haunting phantoms of everything he has done, Dorian attempts to completely to rid himself of all guilt: “[the painting] has been like conscience to him […] he would destroy it” (228). He stabs the painting, and his servants find him “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage” (229) with the same knife he used in his heart. In life he wished for eternal life, but true immortality only exists in death.
Dorian Gray is an incubus, a mythological demon that lures young women in using their aesthetics as a way to get the women to have sex with them to reproduce; Dorian is abuses his good looks for his own selfish gain, luring in the esteem less and simple minded.
A parallel would be to the main female character in The Hot Chick; within the first few scenes, she is shown using her good looks and sexual appeal to get away with not paying for food.

Lord Henry Characterization
Lord Henry is a overbearing, manipulative, yet light hearted man who lacks concern for those around him who might be affected by his paradoxical musings.
Lord Henry is a very influential speaker with an air of interest surrounding him, as demonstrated by Dorian: “There was something in his low, languid voice that was absolutely fascinating” (Wilde 23). Lord Henry speaks often without thought or a filter; sometimes in paradox, other times witticisms, then at times in cynicism. Although what he says might be queer and harmful, his listeners are fascinated and beg for more: “You must come and explain that to me some afternoon, Lord Henry. It sounds like a fascinating theory” (185). But Henry uses his listener’s interest to invite them close to him, so as he will be able observer them more closely. He regards those who are close enough to him to be considered ‘friends’ as ‘test subjects’. However, only those who can see through the haze he creates are the ones who truly understand him: “Lord Henry, I am not at all surprised that the world says that you are extremely wicked” (182).
Lord Henry is the Id of your brain, the pleasure principle; it revolves around what is wanted, when it is wanted, and devotes itself to getting that; he reveres himself in Hedonism, looking for nothing more but the fastest road to instant gratification.
A modern day parallel for Lord Henry would be to Germany’s Adolf Hitler; Hitler had property on the thin line between genius and insanity, and everyone around him knew that, yet he was such a fantastically motivating speaker he was able to turn an entire nation to genocide; Lord Henry was able to twist a naïve, innocent boy into a immoral, Hedonistic murderer.

Dorian Gray Assessment #1

Rachael Kerr
AP English 11
March 29, 2010
Dorian Gray Assessment #1
1. How terrible it is, when a man can no longer feel pleasure without hearing of another’s pain.
2. Life is the greatest thing mankind has received, yet we put restrictions on living.
3. Intelligence is unbecoming. While one wastes his time reading and thinking, he could be out, making important friendships and more important relationships.
4. Love is a useless emotion because to obtain it, a stronger, more exciting one must die first.
5. Women are like roses; if they see you play the right part, they will throw themselves at you.
6. Having children is not how you preserve yourself; quite the opposite. And besides, your children will never be wholly like you, cheap imitations at best. Why waste the time or winkles?
7. Lying is not the worst you can do to a person, they will never know. Being truthful is much more painful.
8. Suicide is quite useful; it can be a preservation tool. If used at one’s peak, it lends immortality to happiness because you will not have time to experience sadness.
9. What bore marriage is-like having the same meal every day.
10. The only real talent in this world is the ability to make other do what you want, and then you have every talent at your disposal.

Dorian Gray: Chap 12 & 13

"I[Basil] want you[Dorian] to lead such a life as will make the world respect you. I want you to have a clean name and a fair record" (156).

Basil is spoiling Dorian; instead of see the bad that he has done and being upset with him, he attempts to shame Dorian into fixing himself. Unfortunately, and as much as it pains me to say this, Dorian is too far gone to fix himself. Not only that, but Basil is the greatest culprit of blind optimisim; he truly wishes to see Dorian beautiful inside and out. But by doing this, he is only encouraging Dorian. When Basil says "You have a wonderful influence. Let it be for good, not for evil" (156), Dorian stops listening at 'influence'; Basil encourages Dorian's behavior by telling him what he can do to people, and by how Basil reacts to him.

"How quickly it had all been done! [Dorian] felt strangely calm"(163)
Dorian has fallen deeper into his pit of sin; he has killed his best friend, Basil. Oddly enough, after he has committed the murder, he acts removed from the situation, analyzing it in the strangest way. He attempts to excuse himself: "There had been a madness of murder in the air. Some red star had come to close to the earth" (164). Then, he justifys it by saying "And yet what evidence was there against him? "(164). This sounds like he is almost proud of what he had done. One question remains unanswered: What will become of the portrait? Will the horror of the painting increase dramatically?

Dorian Gray c.11

"For years Dorian Gray could not free himself from the influence of this book; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he never sought to free himself from it" (Wilde 130).
Rewind to Sybil's death, and how Dorian expressed himself to Lord Henry: "If I had read this in a book, Harry, I think I would have wept over it"(103). Dorian does not seem to now be able to express his feelings to real situations, only in fictional ones. Perhaps this is how we can see the necessity of mortality to the purpose of life; why would anything matter if you have an infinite amount of time to make up for it? Because Dorian will never age and therefore never die, life has ceased to have the impact it once did on him. Without the idea that must cherish life while he has it, Dorian has becomed detached from all situations that everyone else feels. He becomes so lost in the book because it is something he does not necessarily understand. He speaks of the fear of looking in mirrors, water, and any reflective surface the main charcter has as he begins to lose his beauty; this fascinates Dorian because he will never experience this. It is the same reason for why he observes the painting in all its wonderful horror. He stares at the paint of what might have been, and laughs, knowing it never will.

"There were many...who...fancied that they saw, in Dorian GRay the true realization of a typer of which they had often dreamed in Eton of Oxford days- a type that was to combine something of the real cultture of the scholr with all the grace and dsitinction and perfect manner of a citizen of the world" (132).
This relates to our human tendancy of innately wanting to believe that something beautiful is beautiful all the way through. By observing Dorian, with his handsome face and intelligent nature, they believe that he must be as fantastically perfect on the inside as well. Unfortunately this is untrue; beauty is a corruptive power, as we can all see in Dorian's change. As cited later in the chapter, "it was remarked, however, that some of those who had been most intimate with him appeared, after a time, to shun him" (145). Dorian lets this undying beauty goes to his head, and allows the portrait to change more than it necessarily would if his soul were unchanged by the knowledge of what power he has.

Dorian Gray Ch3

"Yes, [Henry] would try to be to Dorian Gray what, without knowing it, the lad was to the painter who had fashioned the wonderful portrait. He would seek to dominate him- had already, indeed, half done so. He would make that wonderful spirit his own. There was something fascinating in this son of Love and Death" (Wilde 40).

Lord Henry can truly be reckless; in this simple thought we can see h is true nature and disregard for others shine through. He has not thought about at all about what this attempt at dominance over Dorian will do to him. Perhaps he will lose Dorian as a friend, or perhaps Dorian will become more dependent on him. As we see at the end of this chapter, Dorian begs Henry: "I feel I must come with you" (47). It is only the third chapter and already we see Dorian begging Henry to preach his nonsensical "wisdom" to his always.

"[Henry] played with the idea, and grew wilful; tossed it into the air and transformed it; let it escape and recaptured it; made it iridescent with fancy, and winged it with paradox" (44).

This perfectly describe Henry's thought-process. You will notice at no point does he filter was he says so as to not influence any of those around him. He just says what he means, but does not mean what he says. When he speaks, the colorfulness of his diction enchants any who hear him, and their enchantment leads them from rationality. They believe that what Henry says is absolute truth, and follow it as law. Even though Henry himself does not follow what he says; he know that the words that come for his mouth are mere silly fancy. And those who know him best, Basil, knows to pay him no mind when he goes on a tangent.

The Picture of Dorian Gray-Chpts 1-2

"I shall grow old...But this picture will remain always young. If it were I to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that...I would give everything!...I would give my soul for that!" (Wilde 28).

Plot point! This is the turning point for Dorian Gray; we see how seriously he take age now after Lord Henry's influence. Shortly after this, he snaps at Basil for judging him(only in jest) on his appearance. When Dorian's morality begins to change later in the novel, we will be able to come back to this and see ground zero. I do not blame Dorian for his jealousy of the painting; I actually feel very badly for him. I believe in his situation, after the bliss of ignorance has been stollen away, I would begin to have the same thoughts and feelings. If I were beautiful I know I would want that beauty to last forever; being young and seeing the possiblility of in a blink of the worlds eye, I could be the most elderly of the elderly, I never want my youth to end.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Preface

"To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim" (Wilde 1); if the art is beautiful, and yet the artist must be hidden, does that mean that the artist is ugly? Perhaps not physically, but morally ugly. Wilde describes these people as "those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming" (1).An interesting point he makes is about the nineteenth century dislike of realism. Realism, in the subject of art,means how a subject appears to be in real life with no interpretation. Could this dislike stem from the disparity between a person's image and their actual being? He goes on to say that this kind of morality can be used in art, or the "perfect use [art] of an imperfect medium [morality]"(1).Nearing the end of the preface, Wilde writes a small introduction to his book: "All art is at once surface and symbol./Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril./ Those who read the symbol do so at their peril."(2). He is referring to the main character and subject of the painting in question. The first line says that Gray's painting is the surface and symbol of his being, which explains how it becomes old and gruesome. The two following lines tell us that he (nor anyone else) cannot look upon it, lest they suffer the consequences.