Preview

Dorian Grey - The Importance of Good Literature

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
823 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dorian Grey - The Importance of Good Literature
Good literature endures because the moral lessons OR ethical questions it raises remain relevant, while also providing cultural OR historical insights into the era which produced it.

Literature is ever present in our society but certain literature is considered superior to others, due to certain aspects within the works. While every generation has its own literature that is considered fantastic at the time, it is the literature that has endured the test of time that is truly superior. It is through the moral and ethical questions it raises that ensure the literature’s relevance, while at the same time providing an insight into the cultural life of the era. Through these aspects, literature can withstand the test of time and be considered ‘good’ literature. Oscar Wilde, the famous writer and poet, has produced literature that is widely considered as good and superior. The Picture of Dorian Grey is one of Wilde’s more famous works, widely considered a classic novel. The novel revolves around the young Dorian Grey, who sells his soul for eternal youth and pleasure. Wilde raises the theme of self-obsession and vanity, showing how it destroys ones morals, a trait still evident in society today. The unique and in-depth writing style of Oscar Wilde also gives a powerful insight into the culture of the Victorian era. The combination of these aspects allows the literature to be considered a classic.
The moral questions that arose from the novel are still relevant in society today. Critic Ted R. Spivey compares Lord Henry and Dorian Gray to the devil and Adam from the Bible (Spivey 501). Lord Henry plays the role of the devil, and Dorian Gray plays the role of Adam. It is through the temptation of Lord Henry’s words that Dorian falls into the grasp of pleasure and vanity. Just like in the bible, it poses questions about human’s moralities and whether we should give into temptation in the pursuit for pleasure. Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent within the garden to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The art of literature will never die. Many people believe that there has been a decline in the reading and writing of literature, one of those people Dana Gioia wrote “Why Literature Matters” and she argues that the younger people of america although have had an increase in education their reading of literature has had a steep decline in recent years . Dana begins building her credibility with facts and sources, citing convincing facts and statistics, and successfully employing emotional appeal throughout the passage. Throughout the piece she uses many strong facts to strengthen her credibility and to appeal to logos, as well as build her argument.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the year of 1980, Oscar Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached his height of fame. The first edition of his book appeared in the summer edition of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Although, many criticized the novel as being scandalous and immoral. Wilde, being disappointed with its outcome, revised the novel in 1891, adding a preface and six new chapters. One of the main themes throughout this book would be the purpose of art, Wilde believed art did not serve any other purpose than being beautiful. He adopted this attitude from old Victorian England, where the most popular belief stated that art was not only a figure of morality but also had the means of enforcing it. In addition, two other contributing…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Even though his last years were horrible for him, being sent to prison and criticized by lots of people because of one of his own novels, one can’t deny that Oscar Wilde lived a really interesting life. His wittiness -shown in his numerous epigrams, like «The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about»-, sense of humor, vividness and way of thinking made him one of the most interesting people of his time, and also in the history of the literature. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, received terrible reviews from critics and from the society in the moment it was first published, mostly due to its homosexual content (during the trials where he was judged, the book was used as an evidence to prove his homosexuality). It is considered a Gothic novel and one where religion is a prominent theme, with some characters wondering about it and comparing Anglicanism with Catholicism.…

    • 2014 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oscar Wilde’s novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” one of the main characters Lord Henry Wotton is portrayed, as morally ambiguous. Wilde reveals Lord Henry’s ambiguous character through the way he talks, he has a more charming tone to him, but he leads a conversation in such a seducing way Dorian falls under his spell so fast. Lord Henry’s ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole because without Henry would Dorian of taken the same path that he took? Yes, in a way a lot of Henry’s words are open for interpretation, but he is the one who provoked Dorian to even have those ideas.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A man with a copious amount of sin will collapse under the weight of his guilt just as a tortoise with a shell gilded in precious jewels and gold will collapse under the weight of it’s wealth. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and À Rebours (Against Nature) by Joris-Karl Huysmans explore similar ideas. Not only did À Rebours inspire Dorian Gray to leap into his life of sin in The Picture of Dorian Gray in the form of the ‘yellow book,’ but it was also said to have inspired Wilde’s only novel. In both works, the authors explore complementary ideas related to physical sensations, beauty, and art.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is about a young, charming man that is in conflict with the cultural anxieties of living an extravagant, seductive, moralistic, and self-confident life style. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fictional novel that reveals many aspects of cultural anxieties instilled in all the characters. The cultural anxieties complicate the virtues of every character in the novel. This leads each of their lives into the vices of their virtues. All the characters have the anxieties of living a great life and each character wants more than their role, place, and identity in society. The anxieties of the Late Victorian era were having “sexual restraints, low tolerance of crime and living a strict social code of conduct.” (Cenicola) However, no character can stay within an expected generous and moral lifestyle with the pressures of cultural anxieties that…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It also has a lasting imprint on the culture of mankind.... it endures times , politics and popular opinion. This implies that a well written book will stay with us long after the reader has left this world. As time progresses we as people change - our tastes, needs and knowledge…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel that was criticized as an immoral book due to it’s content. The novel has no immoral connotation and as Oscar Wilde said in the book, “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame” (Wilde, 487). Society doesn’t approve immoral acts, showing it’s constant dislike to murders, robberies, and others. They use the argument…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Atlantic Ocean Rabbit Run

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Despite a difference of seventy years and the distance of the Atlantic Ocean, Rabbit, Run by John Updike and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde present striking similarities in their characters and themes. While I initially could not draw the connections between the two novels, I now recognize the many ways in which the authors criticize and analyzed their own environments through their works. I believe that the lessons on the dangers of societal influence and the nature of ethics that Rabbit, Run and The Picture of Dorian Gray explored were not only paramount subjects in their own times, but in the modern day as well. Their writing introduces and reminds readers of imperative issues that incite revolutions of critical thinking.…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Picture of Dorian Gray

    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Dorian Gray was a young man. He was found to be the most attractive young man around by males and females alike. Everyone within his social circle wanted to be enchanted by this Prince Charming. Although the person most enchanted by him, was Dorian himself. He was only a young man with good looks until he met the artist, Basil Hallward. He became a young man with an attitude, after he sat for the artist. A portrait painting like no other came from that sitting. It introduced a new type of arrogance to the young man. During the time he sat for Basil, he was introduced to Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry was compelled to induce this new arrogant behavior. The three men had a triangle of romance with the new piece of art right in the middle.…

    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde’s novel is an extended metaphor that reinforces his idea that ‘There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book’. In The Picture Of Dorian Gray his view is very contradictory. His theory is reinforced through the changes in Dorian’s personality, the ‘yellow book’ A Rebours (‘against nature’) which was one of the most important novels during the decadence period, which was given to Dorian Gray by Lord Henry. Consequently, leading us to the corruption of Dorian Gray and his inevitable death.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dorian Gray Ignorance

    • 2180 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A renowned painter named Basil Hallward meets this young, handsome man named Dorian Gray. Basil is set in a trance with Dorian's beauty from the very start. He asks to paint Dorian to capture and preserve his youth. He has painted him many times, but this final time he paints him how he appears. During the time Basil and Dorian are together Basil cherishes every moment. He notices how innocent the young lad is and, can capture it in his paintings. On a day he is going to start on his painting of Dorian his friend Henry Wotton pays him a visit. Henry is a witty man that manipulates people using his charisma and his lifestyle . Basil who is a polar opposite knows that Henry is bad news and doesn't want Dorian to even meet the guy. The meeting between Dorian and Henry was inevitable by this point. Once they met the bond between them was formed. Basil was filled with fear that…

    • 2180 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, was an Irish author who lived from October 16, 1854 until his death, at the age of 46, on November 30, 1900. He attended the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the Magdalene College in Oxford, England. Mr. Wilde was an active member of the aestheticism literary movement, during his day, although he lived during the Victorian Era. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, there are many passages or episodes that hold key meanings in the book as a whole, and without them; a large amount of the underlying tones and themes would be lost. In chapter two, there is a very significant key passage that has to do with the roles of Lord Henry and Dorian Gray and how they are going to affect each other. The key passage pushes Lord Henry under the role of the victimizer and Dorian Gray as the victim.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Today, readers learn much about older cultures through the writers of a specific period. A common method is to illustrate the life of a citizen in a community who is alienated from the rest. An individual that is alienated from society is not always looked down upon or discriminated against. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray is seen as immoral by the citizens of London and by himself.The personality Wilde gave Dorian Gray is a representation of who many citizens of 19th century England wished to be because Dorian possesses what mattered most, beauty and wealth.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    "The Conflict Between Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray » Writing Program » Boston University." Boston University. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. .…

    • 1566 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays