Oscar Wilde Morality

Dorian Gray becomes very receptive to Lord Henry Wotton’s radical notions, and in keeping up with the philosophy of new hedonism, the first person Dorian Grays influences is an actress by the name of Sibyl Vane, who he becomes enamored to. The very first evidence that Dorian has become corrupted by Lord Henry 's amoral philosophies is his short-lived relationship with Sibyl Vane, a young actress who plays Shakespearean roles in a tawdry theater located in the back streets of London. Her youth, beauty and brilliant acting makes her stand out from the dullness of the theater, which was why Dorian became attracted to her. Essentially, Dorian views Sibyl as art and rapidly falls in love with her, since he began to pursue her on sight before even

Each new topic of study lets Dorian deeper into the sins he has committed, making him less inclined to change his views on life. This lack of care on Dorian’s part for his actions allow his progression to gear him towards his destruction, specifically the destruction of his

Through this satirical writing, Wilde uses comparison of beauty and industrialism and juxtaposition between compliments and criticism to paint American social values as backwards and unappealing in order to dispel the glamour of a romantic American culture.

Symbolism Symbolism was both an artistic and a literary movement that suggested ideas through symbols and emphasized the meaning behind the forms, lines, shapes, and colors. What unites the various artists and styles associated with Symbolism is the emphasis on emotions, feelings, ideas, and subjectivity rather than realism. Their works are personal and express their own ideologies, particularly the belief in the artist 's power to reveal truth. In terms of specific subject matter, the Symbolists combined religious mysticism, the perverse, the erotic, and the decadent.

Basil admits that he idolised Dorian obsessively due to his desperation in this unrequited love. This love for Dorian was represented in his art as youthful beauty; yet this is only seen by Basil, as it is solely him such a position. Based on their tastes affected by their experiences, each subject individual possesses the ability to develop their own

According to Esther Rashkin who wrote “Art as Symptom: A Portrait of Child Abuse in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray.”, Dorian Gray is the main victim of child abuse. She argues that Lord Henry is not the one that abuses Dorian by influencing him and forcing his ideas on him and that Lord Kelso is actually the person behind Dorian’s mental issues. However, she does think that Lord Henry was a catalyst that “awakened influences already present within Dorian” (Rashkin 69). Esther believes that Lord Henry merely resurfaced his childhood memories which traumatized him greatly and that Lord Kelso made Dorian who he truly is. Because Dorian was mistreated by Kelso, he leaves the portrait in the old schoolroom which he was imprisoned as a child.

Throughout the whole story Dorian is influenced by Lord Henry to become a hedonist, however Lord Henry did not directly tell Dorian to, rather he slyly tricked him whilst taking advantage of his pure and innocent mind and molding it to follow his ideals. Dorian is innocent at the beginning of the novel, aside from desiring eternal beauty, and his mind is clear and boyish. Up until he meets Lord Henry and becomes friends with him Dorian is good-natured and beloved by all, however when he meets Sibyl Vane his world changes. After he proposes to her and they promise their lives together she gives up acting, the part he loves most about her, and he responds in such a way that she kills herself. In his moment of horrible vulnerability Lord Henry sweeps into Dorian’s life and convinces him to experience not feel.

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (quite the mouthful, isn’t it) was born to Jane and William Wilde on October 16th, 1854 in Westland Row, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. His mother had an interest in Irish folklore, which may have persuaded Wilde in his younger years to later pursue his career as a poet/playwright. He attended several schools and universities, including the University of Oxford, later lecturing there to preach his ideas of aestheticism. On May 29, 1884, he married Constance Lloyd and together they had two sons named Vyvyan and Cyril. In 1895, Wilde was charged with ‘gross indecency’ for being convicted of having an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas.

As said on Pg.97 “He never fell into the error of arresting his intellectual development by any acceptance of creed or system.” Dorian doesn’t want to be a part of a system in which he’s

He even further proves his evil soul when he murders Basil without even thinking minutes later. Dorian had turned from harsh and selfish to a murder. Dorian Gray starts off as a harsh person who thinks about repairing his mistakes, but transitions to a selfish murderer who seeks pleasure, all because of Lord Henrys poisonous words. Dorian Gray ruined countless lives throughout the book and goes from breaking hearts and causing suicides, to killing his good friend Basil Hallward. As a result of Lord Henry’s influence, he begins to think only about himself and for his own benefit and pleasure and nothing of anyone else.

As Celaena started to become familiar with him she noticed he had empathy and unlike his father he had a humane nature that Celaena loved. For example, after Dorian’s father ordered his soldiers to kill 500 Eyllwe rebels he said “ I heard about those butchered rebels, and I- I’m ashamed… He swallowed, his eyes stinging. ‘You won’t believe me. But… I don’t want to be apart of that.

Even though some people did not understand Wilde’s purpose, others easily captured the message. Therefore, although Oscar Wilde’s main priority was to mock the views of the upper class, not everyone received his message of criticism clearly, but they did enjoy the ridiculousness of the play. By using lampooning in his work, Wilde could use his heavy criticism to improve the day of the lower class by mocking the upper class’ personalities and

As the portrait significantly becomes more hideous, Dorian gradually loses his mind. The reader understands that what eventually leads Dorian to kill Basil Hallward, the only true friend he has, is the constant reminder of the evil found at the heart of Dorian’s nature, as represented by the portrait. In Dorian doing so, the reader realises that not only does Dorian kill Basil, he also kills his only chance of redemption of his soul. The reader realises that the statement that Dorian had expressed earlier in the story was the truth: “Yes, Basil could have saved him. But it was too late now.”

Wilde is greatly influenced by the societal movements in the Victorian Era, therefore the theme of hedonism is prominent displaying the influence of Aestheticism in The Picture of Dorian Gray and further explaining the consequences of selfishness and self-pleasure. The Aestheticism movement shockingly challenged all past standards of love, pleasure, and sexuality. Specifically this Victorian movement “promotes sexual… experimentation. ”(Burdett)

Relatively all authors are very fond of creating an underlying message to criticize society. Authors do this through social commentary. The book “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is no exception. The author, Oscar Wilde, criticizes the upper class through the consistent underlying idea that people are often deceived by one's beauty and are unable to understand the poison that fills the world is corrupting it. From the beginning of this book, the social commentary towards the upper class begins with the structure of the novel.