Essay on "Dorian Gray the Perception"

Essay 6 pages (1910 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Dorian Gray

The Perception of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray breaks its own rule that art should exist for its own sake and not be corrupted by society to another, lesser purpose. Human beings are prone to seeking meaning in everything, and find it difficult to simply enjoy art and beauty without looking for some other reason for them to exist. As for beauty, there is the fleeting physical beauty of things of the world and the deeper, immortal beauty of what they are. Everything of this world, being mortal, will fade, but the essence of things in the world, of life and creation, of the human heart and soul, transcends time. The beauty which the artist saw and loved in Dorian Gray was captured on the canvas, but in corrupting that beauty with vain worries about the fading of its physical aspect, Dorian Gray destroyed it and himself.

The first interesting thing to note about the novel is that it proves that hidden messages within art will corrupt it. In this case, the hidden messages are the hidden traits of Dorian Gray. When Dorian wishes that the portrait should age and he remain young and beautiful in appearance, it begins this cycle. In addition, the novel, as art, is also corrupted by the moral messages it carries. It is not that the novel is not a good story, but some of the long moral lessons detract. Just as Dorian corrupted the painting with his sins, the writer corrupted the book with moralizations. In this way, it reminds me of the frames within frames of To The Lighthouse by Virginia Wolfe, except that Wilde uses themes within themes to poke fun at the Victorian audience. The yellow book, a novel within the novel, presents yet another frame. His characters do not ring true to the author's beliefs, and they expound upon philosophies with which he heartily disagreed, except for the occasional barb uttered by one of the characters aimed at the readers.

I should like to write a novel certainly, a novel that would be as lovely as a Persian carpet and as unreal. But there is no literary public in England for anything except newspapers, primers, and encyclopaedias. Of all people in the world the English have the least sense of the beauty of literature."

First in chapter one as the characters talk a bit too much about notions of goodness and beauty. Lord Henry implies that moral women should not notice good looks in a man,

Women have no appreciation of good looks; at least, good women have not." (ch 1)

The long speech in chapter 2 about beauty is another place where the pace slows. Victorians were fond of exposition and philosophy. In chapter 19, Dorian tries to lay the blame for his sins on the golden book.

You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to anyone. It does harm." (ch19)

Since Wilde firmly believed that there is no such thing as a bad book, only bad writing, this is obviously an excuse for Dorian. There are many more places where the characters discuss morality, especially Victorian morality, but the writer is really still too close to it to quite reach his goal of being funny,' Much of the moralizing in this book, which I believe Wilde was actually attacking with humor, comes off a little too serious. So the book, which may have been meant to criticize moralistic Victorian writing (tongue in cheek) actually becomes a bit moralistic on the author's soap box (the purity of art). It isn't exactly the pot and the kettle, but more like whipping the horse with his own tail.

Victorian morality was very rigid and the population was totally repressed, especially n a sexual level, so much of the literature and other forms of art were expressions of this repression. The literate social class (rich, powerful, educated) lambasted artists who did not conform to social standards of the time. Oscar Wilde was a victim himself of this judgmental society. Personally, I disgree with the idea that art is merely for enjoyment and admiration. I believe that every artist, is whatever medium, has a need and a duty to communicate with his or her audience, and that there is no such thing as putting too much of one's self into the art, as Basil fears. If the artist does not speak to me with his art, I feel no affinity for it. Art without a "soul" is to me as artificial as Dorian Gray's beauty.

However, the artificial boundaries placed upon the artist by society are equally stifling. An artist should be able to express what is inside in whatever form he or she thinks will come closest to communicating the entire meaning. Art should be both an expression of the artist and a mirror of the times. Wilde seems to have come closer on this, as his characters are probably an excellent example of the idle gentry of his time. Wilde may have felt like an outsider and was writing for other outsiders.

Art should do no harm, and Oscar Wilde probably believed that true art was incapable of harming anyone, but that people do harm to themselves, which is why the yellow book cannot take the blame for what Dorian does, unless it is not art but artifice, created solely to corrupt. Dorian tries to use art to give him immunity from aging and suffering injury and poor health through our own maltreatment of our bodies, and having our character and "soul" show through Lord Henry too uses art (the yellow book) to prove his own power of persuasion over beauty and innocence. Of course, the heart of the story is how Dorian Gray uses art to raise his own status by virtue of his perennial youth and beauty, when he wishes in chapter 2 for the portrait to absorb the damage of age and life style.

If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that -- for that -- I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" (ch 2)

The obsession with the yellow book, given him by Lord Henry, and the portrait are huge fatal flaws in the main character, beginning at the end of chapter 2 when he becomes transfixed by his own image. That Dorian is so easily misled by Lord Henry is another huge character flaw, making this character almost a grotesque, exaggerated completely out of all reality. He becomes the symbol for all sinners. He even becomes obsessed with the acting talent of Sibyl Vane, so when she finds herself unable to continue to act, because of her love for him being so much more real that acting has lost its beauty, he quickly grows tired of her. She commits suicide for losing him, and Lord Henry helps him to rationalize her death as the ultimate expression of art, Dorian's art. Sibyl has become the eternal tragic heroine, and Dorian puts away his guilt once again. He had been close to repentance twice and ready to marry sibyl, until Lord Henry turned his conscience away once more. Even Basil, who painted the portrait, cannot persuade him to at least pay respects to the mother of Sibyl.

Dorian continues to be driven by the yellow book to explore every sensual pleasure in life, living a life of idle debauchery. With each shameful action the portraqit get uglier, but Dorian's beauty remains, and it keeps him on the "A" list, even though he has no real friends. In chapter 13 Dorian kills his conscience in the person of his friend, Basil, whom he blames for his vanity, because the painter did a great painting of him. From this point, Dorian Gray is truly lost. He has no chance at redemption, because he has destroyed his conscience. So now, only the devil on his left shoulder, Lord Henry, will have his ear.

Dorian's luck after that continues to go badly. He cannot live with the idea that he murdered Basil. It more a fear that someone will find out than remorse, even though he confesses to two different people, including Lord Henry. When Sibyl's brother stalks Dorian, he is killed in a hunting accident, but even this bit of good fortune brings no relief. Dorian's soul, it seems, has been totally destroyed as his actions destroyed the portrait. In fear that someone will discover the painting and know what he has done, Dorian destroys it, but when the servants find him, the portrait has reverted to its original state and Dorian looks grotesque in death.

This final message is a twist in the plot, that in destroying the beauty that Basil saw Dorian has destroyed all… READ MORE

How to Reference "Dorian Gray the Perception" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Wilde Dorian Gray Term Paper

Personification of Dorian Gray

In Oscar Wilde's novella "The Picture of Dorian Gray," first published in book form in 1891, the main character, being Dorian Gray, described by Lord Henry… read more

Term Paper 2 pages (662 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Term Paper

Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. Specifically it will discuss the passage "[H]alf the time she did things not simply, not for themselves; but to make people think this or that; perfect… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1663 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

History Education Term Paper

Theories

Tactics

Methods and Techniques

A Specific Method

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, and RECOMMENDATIONS

Results for the Same

Examples of Voices Singing a Canon

The Project Life Cycle

Project Management Puzzle Parts… read more

Term Paper 76 pages (24173 words) Sources: 22 Style: MLA Topic: Education / Teaching / Learning

---

Oscar Wilde and the New Aesthetics Term Paper

Nature Imitates Art Imitating Nature

In Oscar Wilde's the Decay of Lying, one character, Vivian, claims that life and nature imitate art far more than art imitates either life or… read more

Term Paper 10 pages (3164 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Art / Painting / Sculpture

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>