Nov 21, · Essay picture of dorian gray. Ratings. 97 % () Essay picture of dorian gray - how to cite a website inside an essay. Essay picture of dorian gray - how to cite a website inside an essay! Abortion should not be legalized essay. Self criticism essay example Read our full plot summary and analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray, scene by scene break-downs, and more. See a complete list of the characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray and in-depth analyses of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton, and Basil Hallward. Here's where you'll find analysis of the May 02, · "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is the only known novel by Oscar Wilde. It first appeared in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in and was revised and published as a book the following year. Wilde, who was famous for his wit, used the controversial work to explore his ideas about art, beauty, morality, and love
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Patrick Duggan. Download this article. Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. In this one sentence, Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England.
That is to say, real art takes no part in molding the social or moral identities of society, nor should it. Art should be beautiful and pleasure its observer, but to imply the picture of dorian gray essay influence would be a mistake, the picture of dorian gray essay. The explosion of aesthetic philosophy in fin-de-siècle English society, as exemplified by Oscar Wilde, was not confined to merely art, the picture of dorian gray essay, however.
Rather, the proponents of this philosophy extended it to life itself. To the aesthete, the ideal life mimics art; it is beautiful, but quite useless beyond its beauty, concerned only with the individual living it. Influences on others, if existent, are trivial at best. Many have read The Picture of Dorian Gray as a novelized sponsor for just this sort of aesthetic lifestyle. In the novel, Lord Henry Wotton trumpets the aesthetic philosophy with an elegance and bravado that persuade Dorian to trust in the principles he espouses; the reader is often similarly captivated.
It would be a mistake, however, to interpret the novel as a patent recommendation of aestheticism. Dorian Gray personifies the aesthetic lifestyle in action, pursuing personal gratification with abandon. Yet, while he enjoys these indulgences, his behavior ultimately kills him and others, and he dies unhappier than ever. Rather than an advocate for pure aestheticism, then, the picture of dorian gray essay, Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale in which Wilde illustrates the dangers of the aesthetic philosophy when not practiced with prudence.
Aestheticism, argues Wilde, too often aligns itself with immorality, resulting in a precarious philosophy that must be practiced deliberately. Dorian Gray is often read as an explicit proclamation of the worthiness of living life in accordance with aesthetic values.
Oscar Wilde, however, proposed that the principles of the Aesthetic Movement extend beyond the production the picture of dorian gray essay mere commodities. Speaking of aestheticism, Wilde is quoted:.
I mean a man who works with his hands; and not with his hands merely, but with his head and his heart, the picture of dorian gray essay. The evil that machinery is doing is not merely in the consequence of its work but in the fact that it makes men themselves machines also. Whereas, we wish them to be artists, that is to say men. in Pearce Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, the picture of dorian gray essay, and poisons us.
Lord Henry warns that without an enthusiastic embrace of aestheticism, one will perpetually anguish with the desire of precisely what he must deny himself, all for the sake of propriety. This, however, is too shallow of an interpretation. It is at these times that the virtues of the wholly aesthetic life become questionable. The ruination of Dorian Gray, the embodiment of unbridled aestheticism, illustrates the immorality of such a lifestyle and gravely demonstrates its consequences.
Wilde himself admits, in a letter to the St. Aestheticism does well to condemn the renunciation of desires, but it is an excessive obedience to these desires that is subversively dangerous. The character of Dorian Gray and the story of his profound degeneration provide a case study examining the viability of purely aesthetic lives. Dorian lives according to what Lord Henry professes without hesitation, and what Lord Henry inspires Dorian, through persuasive rhetoric, is an attitude indifferent to consequence and altogether amoral.
Dorian pursues Sibyl from first sights, intent on acquiring her before he ever attempts to truly know her. For Dorian, whose uncontrolled aestheticism rejects the concept of morality, the immorality of his actions goes unrecognized. In his pursuit of his own pleasures, a distinctly narcissistic attitude emerges, and the incompatibility of morality and unconditional aestheticism becomes all the more apparent.
This self-absorption, then, appears to be an inevitable consequence of aestheticism. Only a more deliberate practice of aestheticism may harness this egotism and avoid the immorality Dorian embodies. According to mythology, Narcissus, upon catching a glimpse of his reflection in a pool, becomes so enraptured by it that he stood and admired it endlessly, unmoving for the rest of his life.
Eventually, as in the myth of Narcissus, such egotism has its consequences. In the end, as a testament to the purely aesthetic life, the only legacy Dorian leaves behind—everything that identifies him as who he was—is his superficial jewelry. There is an argument, then, made by Wilde for a new aestheticism, approached with more constraint than Dorian employs.
This argument is based not only in the moral obligation of the individual, but with the betterment of all of society in mind. Arnold focuses on its detrimental effects on society and the possibility for societal improvement when aesthetic tendencies are properly controlled.
As Arnold views his contemporary society, it is arranged hierarchically, dividing the aristocrats, the middle-class, and the working-class, all of which, Arnold laments, are inclined to live hedonistically, pursuing pleasure and only what is comfortable and easy.
Arnold is optimistic that some may pursue beyond the immediately pleasurable and act to perfect themselves both morally and intellectually, the picture of dorian gray essay. This pursuit of perfection, however, is likely an arduous and uncomfortable task, and is therefore incompatible with pure aestheticism. Some concessions must be made for the absolute aesthete, then, for such transcendence occur.
Dorian exemplifies a regression in social intellect from his beginnings rather than the kind of transcendence hoped for by Arnold. Dorian displays no such pursuit of intellectual perfection as he is slowly corrupted and in turn corrupts others, luring them with him into the slums and opium dens of London. The mere existence of these aliens, however, provides hope that the utter hedonists of society may learn to harness their damaging tendencies, the picture of dorian gray essay, and in doing so, better the intellectual and moral state of humankind.
Indeed, Dorian appears to realize the consequences of his unbridled aestheticism; however, he is much too far gone to salvage. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. Unfortunately for Dorian, this realization comes too late to save his soul from its degradation, long-nurtured by a purely aesthetic life, and he the picture of dorian gray essay destroyed.
Wilde realized and depicted in the life of Dorian Gray, a need for a more controlled and deliberate approach to aestheticism, without which morality will inevitably be elusive. The adoption of unrestrained aestheticism, as exhibited by Dorian, results in a lack of remorse, self-absorption, and intellectual regression. For the sake of preserving morality, a concept proven the picture of dorian gray essay with pure aestheticism, more deliberation is necessary from the aesthete in deciding upon action.
As Wilde makes clear, it is only through a more restrained the picture of dorian gray essay that aestheticism and morality may eventually align. Arnold, Matthew. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman, Becker-Leckrone, Megan. Craft, Christopher. Matsuoka, Mitsuharu. Pearce, Joseph. The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde.
NY: Ignatius Press, Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Patrick Duggan Download this article Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. Works Cited Arnold, Matthew.
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY BY OSCAR WILDE // ANIMATED BOOK SUMMARY
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