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This book is called The Picture of Dorian Gray for the character, Dorian Gray, and his portrait, which are the subject of the books plot. It is a story of corruption, how a mans love for himself and his appearance come to ruin his life. The book is written by the English author Oscar Wilde, apparently the only novel he ever wrote. The story is set in 19 th century England. The main character in the book is Dorian Gray, a young man aged about twenty years.
He is depicted to have a perfect, clean appearance, and an innocent soul. The book opens with his two close friends, Lord Henry, and Basil Hallward, an eccentric painter having a conversation with each other. Basil has become completely obsessed with the image of Dorian and is spending all his hours working on a brilliant portrait of him, and Dorian Gray becomes all he can talk about. Dorian is eventually influenced by Basil's way of thinking and becomes obsessed with himself and his image. When the picture is complete, Dorian is mesmerized by it.
He takes it home and realizes that as he grows old, his portrait will retain its good looks, and wishes that the portrait could grow old and that he would stay young. It has such a dramatic effect on him that he stops caring for everyone else around him. Dorian later falls in love with a theatre actress, Sybil Vane for her acting abilities. While having a conversation with his good friend, Lord Harry, Dorian discovers his friends true feelings about women.
Dorian explains how wonderful Sybil's theatre performances are, and how deep her acting is. Lord Harry compares Dorians love for Sybil to being high on drugs, and that it will pass quickly. He has a typical 19 th century mindset, that women are worthless, and belong in the kitchen. Harry's opinion has little influence on Dorian. He gets to know Sybil better and he proposes marriage to her. One night, Dorian invites Lord Harry and Basil to see Sybil perform in theatre, acting the part of Juliet in Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet.
She is so absorbed in her newfound love that it distracts her from her acting. She feels that she has become aware of reality and stops caring about her acting, and her performance is pathetic. After the play, Dorian apologizes to Harry and Basil for inconveniencing them as they leave the theatre. Dorian stays behind to have a talk with Sybil. Sybil is infatuated with Dorian and can only talk about how worthless the theatre role is. At this point he fails to see her side of it.
He insults her deeply and tells her that she has killed his love by acting poorly, and calls her a miserable failure. When she realizes how he feels, she is heartbroken and she, too, fails to see her side of the situation. When Dorian goes home, he looks at his portrait, and finds wrinkles on its face, wrinkles that his own face does not have. He is horrified that his absurd wish has come true, and hastily has the portrait moved to his room so that no one else can see it. He reasons that the wrinkles came through his cruelty to Sybil, and decides to apologize to her with a written letter. When he sets out to deliver the message, he hears word that Sybil is dead; she has committed suicide.
Dorian is so severely affected by hearing this that he swears off women entirely. He makes himself believe that he has nothing to do with Sybil's death, which is entirely untrue. The portrait continues to grow old with the years at a regular pace; Dorian stays young forever. Basil asks Dorian to exhibit his painting at an art gallery, to which Dorian angrily refuses.
Basil is quite perplexed by this. One day, he is about to leave for Paris for around three months. He goes to stop in quickly at Dorians house, and Dorian decides to show the portrait to him. This excerpt is from page 121, Chapter 12: Yes, answered Hallward, gravely, and with deep-toned sorrow in his voice to see your soul.
But only God can do that. A bitter laugh of mockery broke from the lips of the younger man. You shall see it yourself, tonight! he cried, seizing a lamp from the table. Come: it is your own handiwork. Why shouldnt you look at it?
You can tell the world all about it afterwards, if you choose. Nobody would believe you. If they did believe you, they would like me all the better for it. I know the age better than you do, though you will prate about it so tediously. Come, I tell you. You have chattered enough about corruption.
Now you shall look on it face to face. There was madness of pride in every word he uttered. He stamped his foot upon the ground in his boyish insolent manner. He felt a terrible joy at the thought that someone else was to share his secret, and that the man who had painted the portrait that was the origin of all his shame was to be burdened for the rest of his life with the hideous memory of what he had done.
Yes, he continued, coming closer to him, and looking steadfastly into his stern eyes, I shall show you my soul. You shall see the thing that you fancy only God can see. Hallward started back. This is blasphemy, Dorian! he cried. You must not say things like that.
They are horrible, and they dont mean anything. You think so? He laughed again. Dorian led Basil up to his room where the portrait was hung on the wall.
Basil couldnt believe what he had done, and that such things were possible. He sat down at a table and began sulking, and a mad craze swept over Dorian. He grabbed a knife and quickly stabbed Basil several times in the neck until he died where he sat. Dorian later calls a chemist he knew in University, Alan Campbell, to clean up the bloody mess in his room. Alan is reluctant to assist in a murder, but eventually gives in. After his work, he shows Dorian that no trace of Basil is left, and never appears in the book again.
It has been years since Sybil Vane disappointed Dorian that night. On the street one night, Sybil's brother James attempts to shoot Dorian in the head, but Dorian shows him his young face in the light. Knowing nothing about Dorians life, he assumes he is holding up a mere boy and goes home. He learns of Dorians deal with the devil, and is later shot in the forest by chance.
Dorian feels an amazing sense of relief when he finds out about this. Life has become a wreck for Dorian and he wishes to end the grief caused by the painting. Before going to bed one night, he stabs the painting and dies. The painting is young again and he has the aged appearance that he should. There is no rip in the painting, but the knife he stabbed it with is in his chest.
This book was extremely impressive. I have never read a novel as deep as this one, and I find it hard to believe that this is Oscar Wilde's only novel. He did an excellent job of building the characters and plot. Most of the time, I felt as though I was witnessing the events in the book as they happened. 342
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Research essay sample on 19 Th Century Dorian Gray
