Lippincott's Monthly Magazine Essays

Innocence is a trait that disappears with experience; we are unable to earn it back once we have lost it. We often correspond innocence with the idea of adolescence and unknowing and experience with wisdom and maturity. This is true in all cases, we grow each and every day and have many experiences where we learn new and different things, but we can never unlearn what was already taught we can only forget. “The Blue Bouquet” by Octavio Paz portrays this idea of the personal journey from innocence

Art is like that of a peacock’s tail, an extravagant display of beauty in an attempt to meet societal expectations. Yet, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray questions whether art is an expendable additive to humankind or if it has become the basis for human morality. Such a consideration draws its roots in the theory of Social Darwinism, an idea proposed by Herbert Spencer. Social Darwinism asserts that society is governed by the same laws of evolution that Charles Darwin observed in animals

Marco van Rijn S1384198 Literature 4B Dr. E.J. van Leeuwen 12 May 2015 Curating a Masterpiece: the Intricacies of Obsession in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Art for art’s sake, a saying that arose in the early nineteenth century which stresses that art should not have a didactic or moral motive. Although Oscar Wilde was a representative of the Aesthetic Movement which emphasized aesthetics over message, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray still offers a semblance of a moral focused around

The researcher decides Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned to be the objects of the study on inferiority and superiority complex causing hedonistic lifestyle in main character. The first reason, both of literary works cover the changing of each life of the main character, society and ultimately the individual. Second, they both share the same social background of the main character in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian, displays a well-respected young

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show its own shame”. The final passage from The Picture of Dorian Gray by controversial author Oscar Wilde. This is a thought provoking example of Wilde’s beliefs on censorship and self-realization. Wilde states that any book the world deems immoral, or inappropriate, is because the book reveals a shameful aspect of the world that people, and especially leaders, do not support or agree with, because it has the potential to spoil the righteous

With the beginning of the 20th century, great changes arrived in all spheres of human activity due to the growing needs of the society. Like everything else, literature had to offer new literary frames that will meet the requirements of the readership. One of the pioneers that had the courage to try something different, unique and unusual was the American novelist Francis Scott Fitzgerald who became a cultural icon because of his success to embody the era he lived in inside of his works. Through

Choices Distinguish the Individual A man defines himself by his choices. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley both embody comparable characteristics about selfishness, prejudice, and desiring excess knowledge. The victims, Dorian Gray and Victor Frankenstein’s creation, become adversely influenced by Lord Henry and Victor Frankenstein respectively in divergent ways. Choosing to ignore his creation, Victor Frankenstein disregards any physical or emotional care

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). The protagonist in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde suffers from bad company. The sway of people and objects causes impressionable Dorian to descend into corruption. Little by little, he makes choices influenced by the thoughts put in his head. At the end of the book, he has lost all of his innocence and gained cruelty. Bad company and objects are what causes Dorian Gray 's corruption. Basil Hallward is

4. Separation In love with himself alone, he finds a perverted pleasure in the constant comparison of his reflection in a mirror with an increasingly repulsive portrait: “He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul” (Wilde 106). Dorian felt under Lord Henry influence, who in turn encourages Dorian to live a “life of sensual pleasure, while he himself enjoys looking on from a safe intellectual distance. Herein lies the Mephistophelean

The Paper of Dorian Gray Throughout Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, we view the horrible actions of the main character, Dorian Gray. These actions, however, never seem to affect Dorian. We soon come to realize that this self-portrait reflects Dorian’s actions and aging process instead of Dorian and allow him to live a secret life of horrible acts. In the novel, Dorian takes full advantage of the portraits power, calling the portrait a reflection of his soul, and makes no effort

The hero of the film was quite ambiguous at the beginning. At first it was suggested that maybe Raoul (charming, poetic, kind), the French writer would be the hero, when she suggested that Diana return to Europe with him and even tried to plead his case with Ahmed, which worked. However, in the end it is revealed that Ahmed is in fact the hero after he says that he is willing to let Raoul take Diana for her own safety despite the fact that he loved her and would live the rest of his life in loneliness

Phompassorn Thanatkittiphong (Jane) 5721650567 Sec.809 The Parallels between the Myth of Narcissus and the Picture of Dorian Gray The picture of Dorian Gray is an 1819 philosophical novel written by Oscar Wilde. The major theme of this novel presents a trap of vanity or self-adoration. In the novel, Dorian Gray is the protagonist who is a young beautiful boy with feminine mannerisms. He symbolizes homoeroticism behaviors. Furthermore, the picture of Dorian Gray manifests the stage of social

The Millionaire’s Hothouse is the first chapter from Susan Orlean’s literary nonfiction personal narrative The Orchid Thief. Orlean’s opening chapter gives her account of the main character John Laroche, a self-taught American horticulturist. In this initial chapter, the reader learns how Laroche comes to clash with the legal system for orchestrating a theft with three Seminole Indians to strip a protected Florida State park of its endangered native orchids. It has been a predominant idea that any

Innocence is a trait that disappears with experience; we are unable to earn it back once we have lost it. We often correspond innocence with the idea of adolescence and unknowing and experience with wisdom and maturity. This is true in all cases, we grow each and every day and have many experiences where we learn new and different things, but we can never unlearn what was already taught we can only forget. “The Blue Bouquet” by Octavio Paz portrays this idea of the personal journey from innocence

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Mention the gothic, and many readers will probably picture gloomy castles ... However, the truth is that the gothic genre has continued to flourish and evolve … producing some of its most interesting and accomplished examples in the 20th century-in literature, film and beyond – Carlos Ruiz Zafon.1 1.1. Gothic Meaning and Definition Notoriously, Gothic is hard to confine. This term signifies variety of meanings. As a historical term, Gothic derives from “Goth,” the

There is one big question in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley that everyone asks and that is “Who is more human, Frankenstein or his creation?” and the answer to that is his creation. The reason the creation is more human than Frankenstein is because Frankenstein is neglectful and cruel to his creation. Frankenstein does not take any responsibility for his creation and acts like his creation is nothing to him. Frankenstein condemns the creature to loneliness and persecution. The creature is not a monster

Marius Pontmercy is a character ruled by his emotions in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables. In the film adaptation, he is portrayed as more composed and mature whereas in the novel, he acts childish and emotionally unstable. He lets his emotions run wild and control him to an almost instinctive level, making him unrelatable and obnoxious. Throughout the movie, his character was altered in many ways in order to make him more relatable, which in turns makes him a better character. The changes that

Beau·ty: a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. The definition of beauty today, is icommonsurable from the dictionary definition. What if I told you that people were killing themselves trying to please society? Photoshopped images create extremely unrealistic expectations of body image and beauty. The modern definition of beauty is causing depression. Everyone has one image in mind, the angular, perfect skinned, thigh

In his essay “The Decay of Lying”, Oscar Wilde wrote, “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.” This prominent playwright believed that the purpose of art stood in distortion and adornment. However, in comparing Point Reyes Country Road by Asha Carolyn Young and Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh, I made the conclusion that the Wilde’s statement is false. Many different forms of art exist, and whether it is realistic, abstract, or anything

Socratic Dialogue in “The Decay of Lying” In Oscar Wilde’s 1889 essay, “The Decay of Lying,” Wilde makes an inflammatory and risky statement with his choice of form and style. The use of Socratic dialogue was a throwback to Plato’s time when art was truly valued and appreciated and social issues were not discussed by long, uneventful, and rather boring novels. Wilde speaks on a profound subject through this form because of his distaste with realism and his motivation to steer the focus of literature