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Lord Henry Wotton Character Analysis

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In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, each character has a great deal with the fall of Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who lives his life imitating others which in the end harms him more than anything. Each character plays a part in Gray’s downfall. However, Lord Henry Wotton is the main character to assist Dorian Gray during his fall. Dorian Gray, the main character, is known to be beautiful and that is all. He is put into a mold of beauty and thought not to have any intellectual thought whatsoever. His beauty is used to his advantage, furthermore pushing his life into the darkness. His features are the reason why Lord Henry Wotton and his good friend Basil Hallward take a deep interest in Gray. “No, you don’t … while …show more content…

Everyone wants to be beautiful so that they do not have to worry about certain problems in life. Lord Henry Wotton has lived a nice life, but he is missing the entertainment piece of his life. Due to Gray’s beauty, he is able to do a lot more with life and is able to come across a lot more opportunities. Wotton being more on the intellectual side of life becomes envious. Wotton preaches this idea of Hedonism but does not fully achieve it himself, but he understands that with Gray he will be able to reach it. For example, Wotton gives Gray a book, and many say that the book was used as a poison and infected Gray. The contents of the book made Gray do a complete 180 to symbolize a forbidden fruit. The novel that Gray is given is a symbol to show the mirror in his own life (Ragland-Sullivan 488). The book has a deep dark meaning but surfaces the beauty and good, just like Gray’s life. Gray reads the book and goes back to Wotton for explanations which only tightens the grasp on Gray’s life more. Gray does not understand at the time, but Wotton is actually stringing him along to a life that is impossible to achieve. Gray is told by Wotton about this lifestyle that is supposed to bring joy, but as life goes the lifestyle only ends up hurting

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