Preview

Humanity: The devil's playground

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1805 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Humanity: The devil's playground
Humanity: The Devil’s Playground
Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a mythological tale of a young boy’s coming to age in Victorian high society. Dorian is unveiled innocent and shaded from the world. He is born with genetic gifts that some people can only dream of such as beauty and charm. The death of Dorian’s grandfather left him alone and vulnerable with a few years to spare before Dorian inherits his “gentleman” status. Unluckily for Dorian, this is a perfect opportunity for the devil to play. The first character introduced was not Dorian Gray but Lord Henry Wotton who corrupts Dorian into a hedonistic lifestyle which ultimately leads to his demise. Legend depicts the devil wearing many faces and this proves true as he wore the face of Lord Henry Wotton while influencing Dorian throughout his Faustian Bargain.
A Faustian bargain derived from the German legend of Dr. Faust who made a deal with the devil in exchange for knowledge. The story became so popular and rewritten over time that Dr. Faust’s tale became known as a Faustian Bargain. There are many similarities between the old legend and the story of Dorian Gray. Both characters are willing to exchange their soul for something beyond their mortal limits. For Dr. Faust it was knowledge but for Dorian it was youth. Also in both stories, an innocent girl’s life is destroyed by the corruption of the two characters under the influence of the devil. During their decent towards evil, both Dr. Faustian and Dorian fall further under the influence of the devil committing all of the seven deadly sins until their ultimate demise. Dr. Faust was not the first tale of dealing with the devil just one of the more popular stories. The devil wears many faces and may appear in any shape or form in which he chooses making it impossible to determine who he will influence next (Kulik,195-220).
Lord Henry’s interest in Dorian spawned from Basil’s obsession with the boy. Lord Henry could not influence Basil with his
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Characterization And Symbolism In 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'
    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Characterization And Symbolism In 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray'

    Dorian Gray’s characterization illustrates the theme throughout the story. At the beginning he is a charming, innocent young man who does not care so much about his looks. He then meets Lord Henry Wotton who severely influences his views and outlook on life. Lord Henry explains to Dorian that his looks are everything. Once he loses them, he will be and have nothing. Lord Henry tells him to live life to its fullest now and do things that pleasure him because once he has lost his looks, he will no longer have the opportunity. As Dorian examines the finished portrait of himself he realizes that Lord Henry is right about his looks and becomes resentful of the painting, angry that it will continue to look youthful while he slowly deteriorates. He pledges to sell his soul in order to stay beautiful while the painting takes on his altering features. Dorian then begins to…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare/Contrast Dr. J and Mr. H and the Picture of Dprian Grey Essay Example
    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Compare/Contrast Dr. J and Mr. H and the Picture of Dprian Grey Essay Example

    The Picture of Dorian Gray covers the psychological position on dual nature in humans. In the novel, Dorian is a stunningly picturesque man, with a deeper evil nature. There is a portrait of him, which, whenever he performs his wicked deeds, distorts and becomes more and more revolting. Though he, himself, remains striking on the outside; his conscience deteriorates and he becomes less principled internally. “Society, civilized society at least, is never very ready to believe anything to the detriment of those who are both rich and fascinating. It feels instinctively that manners are of more importance than morals,…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    English Seminar the Things They Carried
    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages

    English Seminar the Things They Carried

    Henry-What matters most to Dorian, Lord Henry, and the polite company they keep is not whether a man is good at heart but rather whether he is handsome.In this novel, Lord Henry Wotton creates a conflict with the naïve and innocent Dorian Gray by influencing and mentally corrupting him. Under this influence, Dorian becomes a hedonist, constantly pursuing pleasure and everlasting beauty. This one-way conflict, where Lord Henry almost completely controls Dorian's emotions, is the cause for Dorian's downfall and death.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Lord Henry Intellectualism Quotes
    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Lord Henry Intellectualism Quotes

    For example, the philosophy that Lord Henry believes and says is based on his intellectual abilities, which relies on his observations and deductive reasoning. His foundation of his beliefs are not based on the physical application of them, and is merely just his perception on scenarios that he has not experienced first hand. This led to the ultimate change of Dorian, who has experienced corruption of sin, and has been greatly affected by the sin he indulged in. Dorian then began to have an obsession with youth because of Lord Henry, who told him that it has great importance to society and the world. With that, Dorian sold his soul to preserve his youth and beauty, and started to engage in grotesque behavior behavior he let the artificial sense of beauty cloud his thoughts and perception of himself and his own…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Devil's Playground
    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Devil's Playground

    We as human beings naturally strive to participate and be active members of a “society”…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Cat's Cradle: the Destructive Nature of Humans
    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Cat's Cradle: the Destructive Nature of Humans

    Everyone has heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat." That is to say, the search for new wisdom can often have unpleasant consequences; a child curious about the kitchen stove is bound to get burned. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut demonstrates in Cat's Cradle with the example of ice-nine, which is developed by the fictional creator of the atom bomb, Felix Hoenikker. It is symbolic of the atom bomb in that it has the power to end human life. Hoenikker is obviously an exceedingly smart man; however, it can be inferred from his inventions that he does not always consider the negative consequences of his new discoveries. He is merely on a quest for further knowledge, not a quest to better our society. The game of cat's cradle, which Hoenikker was playing on the day of Hiroshima, can be understood to represent both the naîve, infantile nature of Hoenikker as well as the great destruction caused by his invention. Vonnegut counters the scientific aspects of the novel with the bizarre religion of Bokononism. Overall, Cat's Cradle is used by Vonnegut to point out the flaws in modern society. Through the analogous ice-nine, Vonnegut shows that humankind's search for knowledge is prone to end up in destruction.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Moral Ambiguity in Dorian Gray
    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Moral Ambiguity in Dorian Gray

    Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, is slowly tortured by a sliver of his conscience and fear of fate in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. When Dorian believes, thanks to the devilish Henry Wotton, that physical beauty and pleasures are the key to true happiness, he begins on his horrid journey. The flawed logic keeps Henry content and happy and seems to do the same for Dorian. Although, as Dorian does evil with credit to his newfound logic, his evil deeds paired with everlasting youth and a morphing self-portrait keep his conscience alive and his morals in turmoil.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Similarities Between Frankenstein And Dorian Gray
    • 1591 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Similarities Between Frankenstein And Dorian Gray

    Artist Basil Hallward sees Dorian and decides he wants to paint a portrait of this stunning example of a man, and Dorian consents. While sitting for the portrait at Basil’s studio, Dorian meets Basil’s dear friend, the socialite/philosopher Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry is an aesthete who whiles away his time by attending parties, going to the Club, supping and other such frivolities. He is a man of charisma, intelligence, sharp wit and “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (Wilde 56). Lord Henry is immediately taken with Dorian and quickly becomes infatuated. Over the course of time, Lord Henry begins to play a very sinister game with Dorian’s life—he seduces Dorian into leading the life of an aesthete, like himself. A life of debauchery and evil where the pursuit of happiness is paramount and comes at the expense of everything and everyone else—morality be damned. Lord Henry has no particular motive for doing this except to amuse himself and to play the game of creation. Dorian slowly begins to change; Dorian, the beauty on the outside becomes Dorian, the monster on the inside. He transforms into a selfish, hedonist. His disregard for others directly causes the suicide of his fiancée. He participates in immoral acts. He seeks personal gratification with abandon. His creator, Lord Henry, does nothing to intervene and stop Dorian’s progression from young, naïve man to loathsome monster. In…

    • 1591 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Picture Of Dorian Gray
    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Picture Of Dorian Gray

    The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. The book was written during the Victorian era, a period of time that brought Britain several changes concerning technology, science, culture, religion and others. The Picture of Dorian Gray talks about a character called Dorian Gray, who is a young and handsome man that owned a portrait of himself. An artist and friend called Basil Hallward painted it. The artwork was different from a normal painting. It showed Dorian’s physical changes through years while his physical aspects in real life were always the same without any change. Every time Dorian saw the painting, he saw his true self rather than the one he showed to society. Basil introduced Dorian to Lord Henry Wotton,…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To what extent is Dorian Gray a satirical novel?
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To what extent is Dorian Gray a satirical novel?

    . As a potential ‘reincarnation’ of Narcissus, Dorian Gray embodies both tendencies in a poisonous, self-negating confluence signifying madness. He is potentially the greatest of all the satires in Wilde’s novel. He is arguably the most obsessed with outward appearances in the whole novel. Indeed as Wilde writes, ‘beauty, real beauty ends where an intellectual expression begins’. This stays true to his original declaration in the Preface that ‘all art is at once surface and symbol’. In this allegory about art, Wilde's book and its producer are themselves a part of this illusion.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Picture Of Dorian Gray Analysis
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Picture Of Dorian Gray Analysis

    In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde constructs a tale in which Dorian Gray’s desire to stay young forever becomes a Faustian pact. His journey begins when Basil insists on painting him even though Dorian resists this. It is possible he protests too much, but it is also possible he feels a bit embarrassed as well as flattered with the attention. One might consider this the gate into the garden (of Eden) where Sir Henry plays the part of the devil tempting Dorian to take youth and beauty serious when he says:…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Picture of Dorian Gray
    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Picture of Dorian Gray

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dorian Gray Research Paper
    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dorian Gray Research Paper

    Dorian’s change in personality reinforces Oscar Wilde’s idea. This is because Dorian is living a double life, and in regards to the novel elements of his good and bad side is shown. This is shown with hints in the novel and shows the cautionary tale of the novel. As his friends, such as Lord Henry attempted to “spoil” his “beautiful nature” one of his closest friend Basil was cautious this was going to turn young Dorian from good to evil. Wilde does this to show how Dorian’s lifestyle can be corrupted morally and immorally, as things such as the painting make him accomplish the things he always wanted accepting pleasures moral or immorally. In spite of this, Lord Henry threatens Dorian’s fear of the…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dorian Gray Ignorance
    • 2180 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Dorian Gray Ignorance

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Corruption In The Picture Of Dorian Gray
    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Corruption In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

    Throughout Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the sinful actions of Dorian cause Dorian himself as well as the portrait of Dorian to diminish. The portrait Basil paints of Dorian depicts an innocent, beautiful young boy who has yet to be corrupted by the influence of the world. However, as Dorian grows older he becomes debased by the thoughts of others and his own experiences. As the novel progresses, the reader loses sight of the innocent, pure Dorian and sees the cruel, corrupted Dorian. After Sibyl killed herself Dorian illustrates his corruption by claiming, “when she played so badly, and my heart almost broke. She explained it all to me. It was terribly pathetic. But I was not moved a bit. I thought her shallow” (96). Dorian no…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics