Inner and Outer Beauty in Dorian Gray - 1512 Words

The term ‘beauty may have very relative significance. Something can be beautiful for us, but ugly for other people. The external beauty of a person is often the first thing that we pay attention to. This is the result of the association of beauty with good and ugliness with evil. Through the outer appearance we make a general opinion about a given person. Such a way of thinking may be very misleading. In order to get to know the person we need to look to the inside Ââ€" into the soul. This is the place where the real beauty and ugliness are hidden. The notion of inner and outer beauty is perfectly presented in the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The story described in this book shows how the external†¦show more content†¦I am glad I am living in a century when such wonders happen. They make one believe in the reality of the things we all play with, such as romance, passion, and love (Chapter 7). The fear that other people could see the portrait for ces Dorian to hide it. When he is sure no one will discover his secret he starts to live a life full of pleasure and sensation. His love to his own beauty makes his deeds more and more repulsive. It all happens by the consent of the society, which judges Dorian on the basis of his look. In the belief that good look comes together with good character people do not pay attention to the evil stories about him. After eighteen years Dorians beauty is still perfect and untouched. The fear of someone seeing the picture starts to plunge him into madness. His love to aestheticism is seen in every aspect of life. He studies music and art and fills his house with beautiful objects from all around the world. The art has also other significance for him. He uses it as an excuse for his evil deeds. He commits the sins for the sake of the beauty and art. That is how he excuses his next crime, murder of Basil Hallward. When the painter sees the picture, his own work of art, he is terrified by what h e sees. The figure on the portrait does not resemble his beloved friend anymore. On the contrary, the picture presents an old man with horrific evil on his face. Basil comprehends that the beautiful and youngShow MoreRelated Inner and outer beauty in Dorian Gray Essay1495 Words   |  6 Pages The term ‘beauty’ may have very relative significance. Something can be beautiful for us, but ugly for other people. The external beauty of a person is often the first thing that we pay attention to. This is the result of the association of beauty with good and ugliness with evil. Through the outer appearance we make a general opinion about a given person. Such a way of thinking may be very misleading. In order to get to know the person we need to look to the inside – into the soul. This is theRead MoreKiller Instincts in Oscar Wildes Novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray778 Words   |  3 Pagesothers,† (Wilde 46). Dorian Gray deceives himself by not knowing he is in love, and ends by showing everyone his most horrible traits. In his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde talks about Dorian Gray, an innocent, beautiful young man who does not understand the power of his own beauty. Basil Hallward, an artist, discovers Dorian and paints a magnificent portrait of him. When one of Basil’s friends Lord Henry advises Dorian of his divine beauty and youth, Dorian wishes for the portraitRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Analysis1623 Words   |  7 Pages Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray shows us the triumph of a corrupting influence over a virtuous one. In the novel, Lord Henry’s influence over Dorian overpowers Basil’s and leads to Dorian’s eventual demise. In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the theme of good versus evil reflects off of Lord Henry’s and Basil’s interactions with Dorian and Dorian’s internal struggles, thus exemplifying that a person with weak virtues will falter in the face of hedonistic temptationRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1416 Words   |  6 PagesWilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, chronicles the transformation of Dorian Gray from an naive youth to a corrupted monster. The simplicity of the storyline contrasts the complexity of Dorian Gray; specifically, the cause of his corruption. The cursed portrait, and characters such as Lord Henry and Basil, play a significant role in the Dorian’s journey to pernicity, but neither of three can be held entirely responsible. Dorian Gray’s initial innocence conceals an inner evil within him; the amalgamationRead MoreBeauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay1224 Words   |  5 PagesPicture of Dorian Gray, beauty is depicted as the driving force in the lives of the three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Dorian, the main character, believes in seizing the day. Dorian is described as an addict, having mad hungers that grew more ravenous as he fed them. Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited ones physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. Lord Henrys moral position in Dorian Gray is akin toRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray Analysis1257 Words   |  6 PagesIn the Victorian prose, The Portrait of Dorian Gray explores the idea of duality. The divided self within the character of Dorian Gray begins with his misunderstanding of his self-image, beca use of the influence of a portrait. Dorian’s fate and transformation connect to the painting, which leads to his downfall. The painting contains Dorians moral decline as changes to the picture affects his life. Through the portrait, he gains an image of himself as an independent individual compared to his previousRead MoreOscar Wilde Character Analysis1093 Words   |  5 Pagescultured aristocrat, yet some scenes are in the east, where Dorian skulks, seeking out opium dens The golden west side contrasting with the shady east side mirrors the difference between Dorian’s clean outer appearance and his tainted soul Classroom in Dorian’s mansion is where the portrait is hidden, eventually transitioning into the same place where Dorian becomes a murderer The classroom that Dorian hides his portrait in reminds Dorian of his childhood, furthering his obsession with youth BookRead MoreThe Picture Of Dorian Gray1950 Words   |  8 PagesIn the â€Å"Picture of Dorian Gray†, Oscar Wilde prefaces his only novel by examining the value of art and the artist. After a short examination, Wilde concludes that â€Å"All art is quite useless† (Wilde, 2), contradicting the principles of the Aesthetic Movement, a contemporary to Wilde and Dorian Gray, that became popular during the fin-de-sià ¨cle English Victorian society. Aestheticism believes in imitating art and living life experiencing the pleasures of the world, adopting the hedonistic way of livingRead MoreAbstract Aestheticism in Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray2148 Words   |  9 Pagessuggested that art should hold no purpose in society and merely exist for its beauty. He argued, as any aesthete would, that by giving art a value greater than its beauty, society is in turn ruining it. He also added that art must be looked at as a whole, and only those who can see the complete pictu re can truly understand the meaning behind art, while also seeing into the artists soul. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde portrays aestheticism in many ways, mainly through art and theRead MoreGender Trouble in Paris Essay628 Words   |  3 PagesIn Gender Trouble, Judith Butler discusses complications with constructions of inner and outer worlds of the body. She argues that â€Å"internalization of gender†, as common linguistics describes it, is a part of the heterosexual hegemonic binary of gender conformity which distinguishes inner and outer worlds. Gender, in the commonly accepted model, is innate and through a process of bringing out the inner gender is expressed. Butler proposes, instead, that â€Å"the gendered body is performative† and