A philosophical inquest into deleterious effects of sinful and vulgar living

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	• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics) Oscar Wilde Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 252 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Fascinating Classic

A classic and moving novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde discusses man's desire for youth, as well as his involvement in vanity. A tale of two differing personalities, the story is enticing, yet gripping

Oscar Wilde does an excellent job of revealing the contrasting atmospheres throughout the book. He does a fine job depicting the lighter side of Dorian Gray with images of life and excitement for example when he is getting painted, the light is bright and it takes place near a garden filled with beautiful flowers. Wilde is also able to portray the dark and menacing side in Dorian Gray as he eventually commits murder. Dorian Gray comes off as such a complicated character which makes him so interesting. He wants to fulfill his desires but is unable to do so successfully. People can feel how each person has a part of Dorian Gray in him or her. We all have our flaws we want to fix, but we should not become obsessive over them or it leads to destruction as seen in the book.

The story is fascinating in that it is able to capture reader's interest because the mysteries in the plot are so intriguing. Although the book has that characteristic gothic element of a man living without the fear of death or consequence, The picture of Dorian Gray is still an accomplishment because it is written beautifully through the character description.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is worth the read, as readers are guaranteed to be captivated by the mysteries the character Dorian Gray holds.

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God and the Devil

This is a very interesting story by the immensely quotable Wilde. It centers on a young dandy who is rather shallow and self-absorbed. He makes an off-handed statement about how he wishes he would never grow old and that a picture painted of him would suffer the ravages of age instead. This wish is granted and the story follows the events that unfold up to Dorian's realization that he has received everything he "wanted" and is now miserable. Two main acquaintances Basil and Lord Henry abound. Basil in some ways is a God figure in that he represents the good path and encourages Dorian to better himself and be an upright person. Lord Henry on the other hand is more of a Beelzebub. He encourages Dorian to debase himself, follow his whims and not concern himself with the wreckage he leaves in his wake. One of the two advisors wins out as the story proceeds and it ends in the only way it could.

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A scattered tale of Vice and Depravity.

Forever young, ageless, and beautiful. The dreams and fantasies of any person, right? But what if the price paid is your own soul, a downward spiral of self-immolation, fear, crippling delusions of innocence lost and the commission of acts of the most heinous kinds?

Well then, welcome to the dark life of Dorian Gray, a man who has made such a deal and paid dearly. As a cherubic and stunning attractive youth of 18, Gray is wealthy and has no cares in the world other than his own vanity and self worship, neither dallying in anything remotely troubling or important. He lives life like a flower under the sun with absolutely little responsibility and no cares at all. But when a painter friend, Basil Hallward, who is completely in love and enamored with the youthful boy, paints his likeness, it is the beginning of the end for Dorian. With the haunting and cynical opinions of Lord Henry Wotton reverberating in his head, he makes an idle, selfish and vain wish to be forever young, to have the painting grow old while he strays fresh and young.

As ten, fifteen years pass, Dorian goes through a harrowing cycle of depravity, cunning, and heartless methodical criminality that is both fascinating to read, dramatic and bold in its rendering of a fallen man with no real chance at redemption. He is cursed. The Picture of Dorian Gray is not a happy tale, even from the first page; but a picture of the world as seen through Oscar Wilde. The harsh, cynical and cruel pairing between Lord Wotton and Dorian is an interesting play between appearances. Of a jaded aristocrat whose only wish is to influence and demoralize those around him, Lord Henry is the very image of Dorian's decay but appearing socially acceptable because he is merely all talk, while Dorian, at first naive but honest, becomes the ruthless, careless man who has learned nothing, breaking all the rules and getting away from them.

While the often quotable lines are brutally honest, chilling and all too true, the story itself is, at times, less telling of a tale and more a description and philosophical discourse in the frailties of human beings as well as stark visualization of the insanities of a man who has nothing to live for. The main characters (there only being two to three) are rendered only by their dialogues and interactions with each other and no true secondary supporting characters. It lolls and jumps with choppy connections between time and events, which can be tricky and frustrating to read. There is little to no environment, very few references points to help the reader imagine this world Wilde paints, though enough to get the general idea.

I can't say I liked PDG because it's a book like no other I've read, with less sentimentality and emotion than I expected, considering heady topics like love and the relationships between people. I neither liked or cheered on Gray, in fact, I quite loathed him, which was the point. It's an important and revealing, very gusty book but in the end, a head scratcher for me. I definitely don't regret reading it, but it's a book that needs to be absorbed by several readings to understand the full scope of his message.

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A philosophical inquest into deleterious effects of sinful and vulgar living

The Story:

Dorian Gray is an adonis who is reminded or rather made attentive to his own beauty by a gentle artist friend (or lover) of his, Basil Hallward, who makes a breathtaking portrait of Gray. The portrait eventually becomes a favorite with Dorian, which also mirrors, in its painted face a sombre reflection of his own misdeeds and immoralities -- each time he commits it -- by growing uglier and uglier. He guards it with extreme care and caution everyday wanting none to see it found marred by his iniquities. Early in the story Dorian happens to meet with a reckless rich man, Lord Henry, a friend of Basil, who cares not a tithe for morality and its dull unattractive ways but believes in living life to the fullest at any cost. He preaches hedonism as sacred and purity a sin. Both Lord Henry and Dorian take an instant liking towards each other the day they meet. This friendship has an obvious deleterious effect on Dorian in that he kills himself repentantly after realising the worthlessness of his having lived a pompous, immoral, wicked and greedy life. Just before the story ends, he kills his well-wisher Basil too.

How the story is arranged:

Initially, the first few chapters seem to move fast and the story gains momentum. Just as the reader becomes inquisitive, a dull tone appears making the following chapters languorous. Wilde becomes a bit didactic in elaborating on the various interests Dorian picks on in his later adult life. Also, as one naturally imagines Dorian as a young lad, we then suddenly find him a thirties something in the last few chapters without a clear and smooth manifestation of this transition from adolescence to manhood. Most of Dorian's life is sinfully adventurous and in spite of that is portrayed quite uninterestingly. No events are specifically narrated upon and the emphasis on homosexuality can be smoothly sidelined. Overall, the story is good only if viewed as a philosophical inquest into human nature. Anything beyond that may disappoint the reader.

Relevance, Reflections and Conclusion:

The entire story is a narration of essentially how importantly one's mind makes one's personality, how one's personality makes one's deeds, and how in turn those deeds make one's soul. Of course we do not really fashion our soul, we only help it manifest it through our deeds. Gray's character is a reflection of the kind of narcissist weaklings in humanity who lack the courage to face their dark corners, while constantly finding strength and support in being mentored (actually misled) by feckless perverse people, like Lord Henry here, who lead them increasingly towards moral obscurity. How different the world would be if each one of us could reason out "responsibly" all that seems perverse and sacred, and yet not give in to anything perverse or sacred until one has found it true himself! I have also found the concept of blame game in this story very interesting. Do we not often dutifully blame others for our own darkness and failures, just as Dorian Gray blames his friend Basil Hallward for turning him into a deplorable narcissist? A responsible man always shares the burden of his own actions, rather than carelessly and callously point fingers at others -- a good lesson to learn! The story also raises deep philosophical arguments at every nook and corner if one plunges deep into the characters of the story attentively. Simple sentences like "Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing" had me thinking and I found it strongly relevant in today's consumeristic hegemony. There are many more such dialogues which raise questions about the importance of femininity, marriage, purity, aestheticism and so on. Anyhow, to read it for its "own sake", or to try to finish it in a hurry, will certainly make it very boring and tiresome. But for those who inveterately love to question and investigate the world they live in with its various dogmas, theologies, philosophies and doctrines either propagating or thrashing morality, this book makes an interesting read. Since I do not possess a bent of mind that appreciates a tragic ending, -- I consider human life very precious --, I was sorely disappointed to see the protagonist, Dorian Gray, dead in the end. In fact I find this style of defeatist writing/ending a flaw in itself though it appeals to many. Plainly, if I were the author, I would have given my protagonist a new life, a new philosophy, a new guidance, and a new hope. HOPE...without which the entire humanity cannot exist.

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

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