Portrait of dorian gray summary. The picture of Dorian gray short summary/Oscar Wilde 2022-10-26

Portrait of dorian gray summary Rating: 4,5/10 1144 reviews

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde that was first published in 1890. It tells the story of Dorian Gray, a young man who is given the opportunity to retain his youth and beauty forever.

Dorian is a beautiful and charming man who is admired by many, including the artist Basil Hallward, who paints his portrait. As Dorian sits for the portrait, he meets the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, who introduces him to the concept of hedonism – the belief that pleasure is the most important goal in life.

Lord Henry encourages Dorian to embrace this philosophy and live life to the fullest, without worrying about the consequences of his actions. Dorian becomes infatuated with the idea and makes a wish that the portrait of him would age and suffer instead of him, so that he can continue to live a life of pleasure without any consequences.

As Dorian embarks on a life of excess and indulgence, he becomes increasingly selfish and cruel, using and manipulating those around him to get what he wants. He becomes increasingly distant from Basil, who is horrified by the changes in Dorian's character, and instead becomes more and more influenced by Lord Henry's hedonistic philosophy.

As the years pass, Dorian's portrait becomes increasingly grotesque, reflecting the ugliness and corruption of his soul. Dorian is able to maintain his youth and beauty, but at the expense of his own morality. Eventually, Dorian's actions catch up with him and he is faced with the consequences of his choices.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale about the dangers of hedonism and the corrupting influence of unchecked pleasure-seeking. It is a thought-provoking and cautionary tale that explores the corrupting influence of unchecked pleasure-seeking and the dangers of living a life focused solely on pleasure.

The picture of Dorian gray short summary/Oscar Wilde

portrait of dorian gray summary

The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary The novel opens in the luxurious London home of celebrated artist, Basil Hallward. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys t This is the first time I've read this classic book. Books like this are why I love classics. Perhaps we never really had it. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. And it seems most of my reviews end up being mostly quotes from the book itself, but I figure this is what shaped and informed my reading, so I want to share it with all of you. Dorian is invited backstage after the show to meet Sibyl, and plays the piano for her in the empty tavern.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray: Full Book Summary

portrait of dorian gray summary

Also he is suggestive of the Victorian ideal of the perfect societal image. The portrait ages while he keeps his beauty. . Would it teach him to loathe his own soul? Author of various works such as The Canterville Ghost or The Faithful Friend , he became internationally famous with his work The Picture of Dorian Gray , which has gone down in history as a great classic of Gothic horror It is a work that starts from the argument so universally known as the search for eternal youth is. Dorian is horrified when he learns about her death the next day. This story read somewhat like a dark, corrupted Jane Austen in that the writing was snappy and pleasant on the ear, but the feeling it left you with was one of hopelessness and despair.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray Study Guide

portrait of dorian gray summary

At last Dorian had freed his soul from the hell he lived in within the portrait. I should have just skipped to the last page. Dorian brings him in front of the canvas and stabs him to keep the secret of his life. Dorian calmly denies ever knowing a Sibyl Vane, and asserts that he is too young to have had anything to do with a death that occurred eighteen years before. He locks up the room and goes down to the library.

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A Summary and Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

portrait of dorian gray summary

Instead, Dorian kills Basil and hides his body. Terrified of aging, Dorian wishes he could trade his soul to stay as young as he looks in the portrait; a short while later, he again wishes that he could stay young while the image in the painting aged. Of course they are charitable. It's by Oscar Wilde for fuck's sake. I think their dynamic and their interactions are very interesting and to me it seems like Lord Henry is some sort of catalyst. Bottom line: Valiantly resisting the urge to make this book my entire personality. My favorite parts of the story were the extensive dialogues between the characters, usually Dorian and Lord Henry.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Plot Summary

portrait of dorian gray summary

Here goes: "There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. A beater is an individual who beats at shrubbery—thus startling wild game into leaving their cover and giving hunters a clear shot at their prey. He sins and feels guilty about it, but keeps doing it anyway. Campbell is a scientist specializing in anatomy and chemistry, and Dorian blackmails the highly reluctant man into disposing of Basil's body. The next morning, Basil arrives and expresses concern for Dorian, given the events of the previous day. Dorian has truly become a shell of a man. Dorian escapes to his country estate.

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“The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde

portrait of dorian gray summary

It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. I mean he was corrupted and tainted by Lord Henry, and he ends up corrupting and tainting his friends but despite all of this he still wonders why they have become like that. Dorian, of course, is still young and fresh-faced, but his portrait looks meaner and older than ever. This idea was hugely shown in many conversations made by Lord Henry to many of his guests and friends. In Basil's horror Dorian can see the total loss of his innocence—he hates Basil because Basil knew him when he was innocent, and because in painting the portrait Basil started Dorian on the road away from innocence. Initially this novel was banned due to being too immoral along with its relation to aestheticism, these ideas played throughout his novel and many.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

portrait of dorian gray summary

Finally checking the rings on the corpse's hands, they identify the dead man as Dorian Gray. He goes back to the room and locks himself in. In the wild struggle for existence, we want to have something that endures, and so we fill our minds with rubbish and facts, in the silly hope of keeping our place. It left me speechless. Dorian first feels responsibility for her death, but then views it both as wonderful entertainment and a selfish act on her part. Retrieved 30 May 2011.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary and Analysis

portrait of dorian gray summary

How terrible they were! The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Finally, utterly lost and feeling trapped by a life of sin, in the final chapter of the book, Dorian takes a knife to the painting. It will never be older than this particular day of June. James Vane admits that this man looks too young to be the suspect, and releases him. . Lord Henry realizes that he could probably have great influence over Dorian because of this.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

portrait of dorian gray summary

There is much to take away from this book. I love this quote: "But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Dorian soon learns, however, that a man accidentally killed in a hunting accident is James, and so he feels safe. Ahahaha, you're soooooooo worldly wise and charming. He feels immense guilt over how badly he had treated Sibyl, and hastily composes an apology letter in an attempt to redeem himself.

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