Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Summery
3. Analysis and Evaluation 4. Title explanation
5. Conclusion
6. Period
1. Introduction
Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher: Ward, Lock and Company
Year: 1891
Number of pages: 255
Genre: drama
I chose this book because I saw the movie and I was very impressed by the story, it really made me think about life, the meaning of life and what I wanted life to be for me.
2. Summery
The story is about a young man, Dorian Gray, who is the subject and a friend of the painter Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian’s beauty and is infatuated by him. He believes Dorian is responsible for a new mode in his art and he makes a beautiful painting of Dorian. Talking in Basil’s garden, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil with a very particular and cynical view on life. Henry and Dorian find each other very interesting and become great friends. Henry thinks that the only things worth in life are youth and beauty. When Dorian sees the finished painting he believes him, as he is so impressed by his own beauty. Dorian wishes the painting would grow old in his place. Henry had a big influence on him and he started to explore everything. He discovers actress Sibyl Vane, who acts in Shakespeare plays in a tiny dirty theatre and he falls instantly in love with her. She refers to him as Prince Charming for she does not know his name. They are proposed and when she tells her mother and brother her brother, James Vane, swears that if he harms her in any way he will kill him. Dorian invites Henry and Basil to see Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. Before she met Dorian the only love she knew was the love she had for the theatre. Now that she had the experience of true love with Dorian she lost her acting ability. Dorian rejects her, saying her beauty was in her art, and he is no longer interested in her if she can no longer act. When he returns home he notices that his portrait has changed. Dorian realizes his wish has come true – the portrait now looks different and mean and will age with each sin he commits, whilst his own appearance remains unchanged. The painting would get more and more awful but it would never die. When he decides to make it up to Sibyl, Lord Henry arrives to tell Dorian that Sibyl has killed herself by poisoning herself. With the persuasion and encouragement of Lord Henry, Dorian realizes that lust, pleasure and looks are the most important things in life, they are even more important than happiness. That marks the end of Dorian's last and only true love affair. Over the next 18 years, Dorian experiments with everything, mostly under the influence of a "poisonous" French novel, a present from Lord Henry. He travels the world, sees and does everything you can imagine. After eighteen years he returns, his appearance unchanged. Basil always was a good friend to Dorian and before Basil left for Paris, he wanted to ask Dorian about the rumors he heard about him and to talk him into being a better person. Basil declares his romantic feelings for Dorian. Dorian does not deny his debauchery and takes Basil to the portrait, which is as hideous as Dorian’s sins. Dorian blames Basil for his fate and stabs him in the neck with a knife. He blackmails his old friend an chemists, Alan Campbell, into destroying Basil’s body. After this Alan commits suicide. The ghosts of his past keep following Dorian and he deeply regrets his crime. Trying to escape it he travels to an opium den where James Vane hears someone refer to Dorian as “Prince Charming”. Realizing his sister always referred to Dorian as “ Prince Charming” he follows Dorian outside and wants to shoot him. Dorian got him to look at him in the light and he deceived him by telling him he is too young to have been involved with Sibyl 18 years ago. When Dorian left a woman approached James and told him Dorian has not aged for 18 years. James starts stalking Dorian with the intention of killing him to avenge his sister’s death. At dinner Dorian sees James outside the window and he fears for his life. This stalking lead to James’s death. When he was lurking in the bushes in a hunting area where Dorian was talking to one of the hunters, he got accidently shot and killed. After returning to London, Dorian informs Henry that he has given up his immoral ways and that he better his life. He started by not breaking the heart of his latest conquest. At his apartment he went to his portrait to see if with the decision to become a better man the portrait has lost his wrinkly old and sinful appearance but it only has become worse. He realized that he was a very dreadful person and that only full confession would release him. As he did not feel enough guilt and as he felt frightened for the consequences he decided to destroy the painting. The last vestige of his conscience. He stabbed the knife he used to kill Basil to plunge it into the painting. When the servants hear a cry coming from the locked room, they send for the police and they find Dorian’s body, stabbed in the heart and suddenly aged, withered and horrible. They could only identify his corpse through the rings on his hand. The portrait itself has reverted to its original beautiful form.
3. Analysis and Evaluation
The picture of Dorian Gray is an amazingly powerful book. It really makes you think about the life that you are living. About your youth and how great it is to have it. How important youth and beauty actually is. In a way I can understand Dorian. I myself find it very horrifying to think about the future ahead of me, the future of my body and it’s decay. There are a lot of discussions that take place in this book and they are very interesting. Henry sais a lot of things that should never be said because they are dangerous things to say. If people realize how right he is, there will be chaos in the world. He says things like: ‘ A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.’ With this he means that when a man loves a woman he will do anything to get and keep her. That is a headache most of the time and he has to sacrifice a lot of himself for her happiness. ‘These days all married man live like they are bachelors and all bachelors act like they are married.’ I think that with this he meant that most married man are not faithful and the single men cannot get a woman because they all go for the successful men, which most of are married. He says love is an illusion and that ugliness is one of the seven deadly sins. He says that thinking of a sin is as worse as actually committing the sin because when you yearn to commit a sin but you do not give in to it, the idea stays in your mind. If you just give in the only thing that remains is the memory of the pleasure or the feeling of guilt. If you resist, your soul will sicken with longing to the things you kept from it and desire to the things that humans call inhumane and illegal acts. The hurt that Dorian felt when he saw his picture and realized he was growing older with every second and that he would decay while his picture would always be young and beautiful really touched me because I understand the fear to grow old. He was so jealous that he wished for a trade. That his picture would change instead of him. He said that he would commit suicide the moment he saw himself grow older. The book was written in old English so I did not understand everything but I got enough to know what the story was about and enough to become obsessed with the story. The story was so interesting that it made up for the fact it was written so difficult. It was very hard for me to stop reading, I felt like I experienced everything the characters experienced.
4. Title explanation
The title is “The Picture of Dorian Gray” because the story is about the effect the painting had on Dorian’s life. The picture has a very important role in the story.
5. Conclusion
I certainly think that everyone should know the story of Dorian Gray. There are interesting subjects in the book that are really worth discussing. Henry’s theories about life were circling through my mind for a few weeks and while I agree with him at most points, I also think that there is something after life and that you cannot sin too much for karma will catch up with you. The book was written in an older version of English of witch I could not understand every word but I understood the most important things and I loved the book. After I saw the movie I wanted to know more about Dorian Gray so I decided to read the book and I certainly do not regret it.
*extra: Character that impressed me the most.
Lord Henry Wotton was the character that impressed me the most. This character was so complex and had such interesting theories on life that I really wished that he was real and alive so that I could discuss them with him. I really wish that I could have know Henry. I think that we would get along very well. His view on love, looks and life was not a view other people shared with him. He was so interesting that Dorian listened to everything he said and lived how Henry wanted him to. I think Henry pushed Dorian to live the life Henry was too afraid to.
6. Period
The period in which The Picture of Dorian gray was written was the Victorian age (1890)
Characteristics of this age are: religious doubt
materialism
1. Introduction
2. Summery
3. Analysis and Evaluation 4. Title explanation
5. Conclusion
6. Period
1. Introduction
Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher: Ward, Lock and Company
Year: 1891
Number of pages: 255
Genre: drama
I chose this book because I saw the movie and I was very impressed by the story, it really made me think about life, the meaning of life and what I wanted life to be for me.
2. Summery
The story is about a young man, Dorian Gray, who is the subject and a friend of the painter Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian’s beauty and is infatuated by him. He believes Dorian is responsible for a new mode in his art and he makes a beautiful painting of Dorian. Talking in Basil’s garden, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil with a very particular and cynical view on life. Henry and Dorian find each other very interesting and become great friends. Henry thinks that the only things worth in life are youth and beauty. When Dorian sees the finished painting he believes him, as he is so impressed by his own beauty. Dorian wishes the painting would grow old in his place. Henry had a big influence on him and he started to explore everything. He discovers actress Sibyl Vane, who acts in Shakespeare plays in a tiny dirty theatre and he falls instantly in love with her. She refers to him as Prince Charming for she does not know his name. They are proposed and when she tells her mother and brother her brother, James Vane, swears that if he harms her in any way he will kill him. Dorian invites Henry and Basil to see Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. Before she met Dorian the only love she knew was the love she had for the theatre. Now that she had the experience of true love with Dorian she lost her acting ability. Dorian rejects her, saying her beauty was in her art, and he is no longer interested in her if she can no longer act. When he returns home he notices that his portrait has changed. Dorian realizes his wish has come true – the portrait now looks different and mean and will age with each sin he commits, whilst his own appearance remains unchanged. The painting would get more and more awful but it would never die. When he decides to make it up to Sibyl, Lord Henry arrives to tell Dorian that Sibyl has killed herself by poisoning herself. With the persuasion and encouragement of Lord Henry, Dorian realizes that lust, pleasure and looks are the most important things in life, they are even more important than happiness. That marks the end of Dorian's last and only true love affair. Over the next 18 years, Dorian experiments with everything, mostly under the influence of a "poisonous" French novel, a present from Lord Henry. He travels the world, sees and does everything you can imagine. After eighteen years he returns, his appearance unchanged. Basil always was a good friend to Dorian and before Basil left for Paris, he wanted to ask Dorian about the rumors he heard about him and to talk him into being a better person. Basil declares his romantic feelings for Dorian. Dorian does not deny his debauchery and takes Basil to the portrait, which is as hideous as Dorian’s sins. Dorian blames Basil for his fate and stabs him in the neck with a knife. He blackmails his old friend an chemists, Alan Campbell, into destroying Basil’s body. After this Alan commits suicide. The ghosts of his past keep following Dorian and he deeply regrets his crime. Trying to escape it he travels to an opium den where James Vane hears someone refer to Dorian as “Prince Charming”. Realizing his sister always referred to Dorian as “ Prince Charming” he follows Dorian outside and wants to shoot him. Dorian got him to look at him in the light and he deceived him by telling him he is too young to have been involved with Sibyl 18 years ago. When Dorian left a woman approached James and told him Dorian has not aged for 18 years. James starts stalking Dorian with the intention of killing him to avenge his sister’s death. At dinner Dorian sees James outside the window and he fears for his life. This stalking lead to James’s death. When he was lurking in the bushes in a hunting area where Dorian was talking to one of the hunters, he got accidently shot and killed. After returning to London, Dorian informs Henry that he has given up his immoral ways and that he better his life. He started by not breaking the heart of his latest conquest. At his apartment he went to his portrait to see if with the decision to become a better man the portrait has lost his wrinkly old and sinful appearance but it only has become worse. He realized that he was a very dreadful person and that only full confession would release him. As he did not feel enough guilt and as he felt frightened for the consequences he decided to destroy the painting. The last vestige of his conscience. He stabbed the knife he used to kill Basil to plunge it into the painting. When the servants hear a cry coming from the locked room, they send for the police and they find Dorian’s body, stabbed in the heart and suddenly aged, withered and horrible. They could only identify his corpse through the rings on his hand. The portrait itself has reverted to its original beautiful form.
The picture of Dorian Gray is an amazingly powerful book. It really makes you think about the life that you are living. About your youth and how great it is to have it. How important youth and beauty actually is. In a way I can understand Dorian. I myself find it very horrifying to think about the future ahead of me, the future of my body and it’s decay. There are a lot of discussions that take place in this book and they are very interesting. Henry sais a lot of things that should never be said because they are dangerous things to say. If people realize how right he is, there will be chaos in the world. He says things like: ‘ A man can be happy with any woman, as long as he does not love her.’ With this he means that when a man loves a woman he will do anything to get and keep her. That is a headache most of the time and he has to sacrifice a lot of himself for her happiness. ‘These days all married man live like they are bachelors and all bachelors act like they are married.’ I think that with this he meant that most married man are not faithful and the single men cannot get a woman because they all go for the successful men, which most of are married. He says love is an illusion and that ugliness is one of the seven deadly sins. He says that thinking of a sin is as worse as actually committing the sin because when you yearn to commit a sin but you do not give in to it, the idea stays in your mind. If you just give in the only thing that remains is the memory of the pleasure or the feeling of guilt. If you resist, your soul will sicken with longing to the things you kept from it and desire to the things that humans call inhumane and illegal acts. The hurt that Dorian felt when he saw his picture and realized he was growing older with every second and that he would decay while his picture would always be young and beautiful really touched me because I understand the fear to grow old. He was so jealous that he wished for a trade. That his picture would change instead of him. He said that he would commit suicide the moment he saw himself grow older. The book was written in old English so I did not understand everything but I got enough to know what the story was about and enough to become obsessed with the story. The story was so interesting that it made up for the fact it was written so difficult. It was very hard for me to stop reading, I felt like I experienced everything the characters experienced.
4. Title explanation
The title is “The Picture of Dorian Gray” because the story is about the effect the painting had on Dorian’s life. The picture has a very important role in the story.
5. Conclusion
I certainly think that everyone should know the story of Dorian Gray. There are interesting subjects in the book that are really worth discussing. Henry’s theories about life were circling through my mind for a few weeks and while I agree with him at most points, I also think that there is something after life and that you cannot sin too much for karma will catch up with you. The book was written in an older version of English of witch I could not understand every word but I understood the most important things and I loved the book. After I saw the movie I wanted to know more about Dorian Gray so I decided to read the book and I certainly do not regret it.
*extra: Character that impressed me the most.
Lord Henry Wotton was the character that impressed me the most. This character was so complex and had such interesting theories on life that I really wished that he was real and alive so that I could discuss them with him. I really wish that I could have know Henry. I think that we would get along very well. His view on love, looks and life was not a view other people shared with him. He was so interesting that Dorian listened to everything he said and lived how Henry wanted him to. I think Henry pushed Dorian to live the life Henry was too afraid to.
6. Period
The period in which The Picture of Dorian gray was written was the Victorian age (1890)
materialism
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