Customer Reviews

The Picture of Dorian Gray

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

"[W]hat does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose ... his own soul?'" (Chapter XIX)

The Picture of Dorian Gray was entertaining to read and had an unexpected ending. The prose was beautiful, and there were many references to roses. The idea of this story is very creative and I was surprised that the story was this interesting. The only problem I had was that there were too many conversations to demonstrate Lord Henry's thoughts.

One day, Basil Hallward, an artist, sees Dorian Gray at a gathering and feels instantly connected to him. Basil feels that Dorian can inspire his work to be tremendous.

Basil befriends Dorian, and asks him to come to his studio so that Dorian can get his picture painted. Dorian is beautiful and young, and Basil always tells him that.

Soon after, however, Basil hints to his friend, Lord Henry, about his strange meeting with and interest in Dorian Gray. And that Dorian has inspired him, and his paintings to be the best that he has ever painted.

Hearing that Dorian is untainted, Lord Henry wants to show Dorian the world, and to help Dorian experience new thoughts and emotions. Although Basil wants to keep Dorian to himself, because he knows the mind games that Lord Henry plays with all of his friends, Henry ends up meeting Dorian by accident, when Dorian comes to the studio. That is how innocent Dorian's life changes.

Later, Lord Henry tells Dorian that he can have everything he wants in his youth, because of his appearance, but that beauty won't last forever. Dorian becomes upset, and after Basil is finished painting picture of him, Dorian wishes that he could look like the Dorian in the picture forever, and that the Dorian in the picture would age instead him.

See the wicked evils that Dorian commits to alter the face in the picture. Read the thoughts and ideas Lord Henry plants into Dorian's mind, like a devil whispering into his victim's ears.

The following are a few lines I enjoyed:

"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray, and the advantage of science is that it is not emotional." (Chapter III)

"Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes." (Chapter IV)

"It often happened that when we thought we were experimenting on others we were really experimenting on ourselves." (Chapter IV)

"... who were extremely old-fashioned people and did not realize that we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities..." (Chapter VIII)

"So I have murdered ... her as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife. Yet the roses are not less lovely for that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden." (Chapter VIII)

"`To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul!'" (Chapter XVI)

"It is said that passion makes one think in a circle."(Chapter XVI)

"Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful." (Chapter XVIII)

"Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders ... I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations." (Chapter XIX)

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a mesmerizing read dominated by two amazing personalities. Dorian Gray is certainly interesting, but I was much more impressed by his friend and mentor Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian is a perfectly nice, well-meaning young man when we first meet him in the studio of the painter Basil Hallward. Hallward in fact is so drawn to the youth that he draws his greatest inspiration from painting him and just being with him. It is the influence of Hallward's friend Lord Henry which leads to Gray's downfall. There are few characters in literature as decadent, witty, and somehow enchanting as Lord Henry. He is never at a loss for words, fatalistic observations of life and people, sarcastic philosophical musings, and brilliantly devious ideas. Among his world of social decadents and artistic do-nothings, his charm remains redoubtable and highly sought-after. Gray immediately falls under his spell, soon devoting himself to living life to its fullest and enjoying his youth and beauty to the utmost. He solemnly wishes that he could remain young and beautiful forever, that Hallward's exquisite picture of him should bear the marks of age and debauchery rather than himself. To his surprise and ultimate horror, he finds his wish fulfilled. Small lines and creases first appear in the portrait, but after he cruelly breaks the heart of an unfortunate young actress who then takes her own life, the first real signs of horror and blood manifest themselves on his portrait. His love for the ill-fated Sibyl Vane is a sordid, heartbreaking tale, and it marks the culmination of his descent into debauchery. He frequents opium dens and houses of ill repute, justifying all of his worst actions to himself, while the influence of Lord Henry continues to work its black magic on his soul. He hides his increasingly grotesque portrait away in an upstairs room, sometimes going up to stare at it and take pleasure in the fact that it rather than he bears the stains of his iniquities. In time, his obsession with his secret grows, and he is constantly afraid that it will be discovered by someone. For eighteen years he lives in this manner, moving among the members of his society as a revered figure who magically retains his youth, but eventually he begins to see himself as he really is and to curse the portrait, blaming its magic for his miserable life of ill-begotten pleasures and loss of moral character. The final pages are well-written, and the climax is eminently satisfying.

Exhibiting the undeniable influence of the French Decadence movement of the late 19th century, this wonderful novel serves as a morality play of sorts. One can understand why its unique nature upset a British society emerging from the social constraints of Victorianism, but this reader is hard pressed to see why this novel proved so damaging to Wilde's eventual imprisonment and punishment. Dorian Gray is no hero, nor does his ultimate internal struggles and yearnings for rebirth inspire one to engage in the sort of life he himself eventually came to regret. The only "dangerous" character in this novel is Lord Henry; his delight in working his evil influence on others as a type of moral experiment and the silver-tongued charm he exploits to aid him in such misbegotten quests have the potential to do harm to a vulnerable mind such as that of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry's evil genius makes him much more interesting than his disciple Dorian Gray. By today's standards, this book is not shocking, and indeed it is much more dangerous to censor work such as this than it is to read it. This book in eminently quotable, and it still manages to cast a magical spell over readers of this day and age. Quite simply, The Picture of Dorian Gray deserves a place on the shelf of the world's greatest literature.

Beautiful on the outside, ugly on the inside. That's Dorian Gray and the symbolism couldn't be more relevant today. This is one of the reasons why this has remained and will continue to be a classic. I won't bore you with a summary of the plot. I'll simply ask that you please give this book a read. It's quick, it's short, it's exciting, it's thrilling, it's very well written and it's a good summer read - I promise.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a mesmerizing read dominated by two amazing personalities. Dorian Gray is certainly interesting, but I was much more impressed by his friend and mentor Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian is a perfectly nice, well-meaning young man when we first meet him in the studio of the painter Basil Hallward. Hallward in fact is so drawn to the youth that he draws his greatest inspiration from painting him and just being with him. It is the influence of Hallward's friend Lord Henry which leads to Gray's downfall. There are few characters in literature as decadent, witty, and somehow enchanting as Lord Henry. He is never at a loss for words, fatalistic observations of life and people, sarcastic philosophical musings, and brilliantly devious ideas. Among his world of social decadents and artistic do-nothings, his charm remains redoubtable and highly sought-after. Gray immediately falls under his spell, soon devoting himself to living life to its fullest and enjoying his youth and beauty to the utmost. He solemnly wishes that he could remain young and beautiful forever, that Hallward's exquisite picture of him should bear the marks of age and debauchery rather than himself. To his surprise and ultimate horror, he finds his wish fulfilled. Small lines and creases first appear in the portrait, but after he cruelly breaks the heart of an unfortunate young actress who then takes her own life, the first real signs of horror and blood manifest themselves on his portrait. His love for the ill-fated Sibyl Vane is a sordid, heartbreaking tale, and it marks the culmination of his descent into debauchery. He frequents opium dens and houses of ill repute, justifying all of his worst actions to himself, while the influence of Lord Henry continues to work its black magic on his soul. He hides his increasingly grotesque portrait away in an upstairs room, sometimes going up to stare at it and take pleasure in the fact that it rather than he bears the stains of his iniquities. In time, his obsession with his secret grows, and he is constantly afraid that it will be discovered by someone. For eighteen years he lives in this manner, moving among the members of his society as a revered figure who magically retains his youth, but eventually he begins to see himself as he really is and to curse the portrait, blaming its magic for his miserable life of ill-begotten pleasures and loss of moral character. The final pages are well-written, and the climax is eminently satisfying.

Exhibiting the undeniable influence of the French Decadence movement of the late 19th century, this wonderful novel serves as a morality play of sorts. One can understand why its unique nature upset a British society emerging from the social constraints of Victorianism, but this reader is hard pressed to see why this novel proved so damaging to Wilde's eventual imprisonment and punishment. Dorian Gray is no hero, nor does his ultimate internal struggles and yearnings for rebirth inspire one to engage in the sort of life he himself eventually came to regret. The only "dangerous" character in this novel is Lord Henry; his delight in working his evil influence on others as a type of moral experiment and the silver-tongued charm he exploits to aid him in such misbegotten quests have the potential to do harm to a vulnerable mind such as that of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry's evil genius makes him much more interesting than his disciple Dorian Gray. By today's standards, this book is not shocking, and indeed it is much more dangerous to censor work such as this than it is to read it. This book in eminently quotable, and it still manages to cast a magical spell over readers of this day and age. Quite simply, The Picture of Dorian Gray deserves a place on the shelf of the world's greatest literature.

Rod Stewert once sang that "every picture tells a story", and in no case is this more true than of one Dorian Gray. By now everyone knows that young Dorian makes a childish wish that a beautiful portrait of his should age in his stead, and that he should remain forever young and vibrant, and somehow this wish is granted. What follows is a tale of increasing debauchery and depravity that poison a man's soul, while leaving no visible clue upon his face.

This is not the most entertaining or gripping novel that you will ever read. Far from it, in fact, but the real merits of the novel come not from the action and plot, but from the extremely clever dialogue and the shredding social commentary. (not surprisingly, this novel took a long time to get published, and was later used as evidence against Wilde during his trial for indecency) Wilde takes several shots at the aristocracy, especially their values, as well as art itself, hedonism, and the very concept of morality.

Perhaps the finest aspect of the novel are Wilde's quotes, often through his favorite mouthpiece: Lord Henry Wotton. Henry serves as a goad to Dorian through all of his excesses, and he waxes philosophical upon almost any subject that he can get anyone to listen to. He's wonderful and horrible all at once, and best of all, he doesn't even believe half of what he says. This is definitely a 'classic' novel, and well worth the read. Again, if you're expecting high paced action you'd probably best look elsewhere, but if you're in the mood to think a bit, then chances are you'll enjoy "The Picture of Dorian Gray".

The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is set in London, England. This story is about a young man who grows to be a sinful and terribly vain man driven by love, beauty and art.
The Main character, Dorian Gray, at the beginning of the book is a beautiful and youthful man. Dorian was a man everyone wanted to be around just because he had innocence and he was different. "He has a simple and beautiful nature." Says Basil Hallward. This innocence and beauty changes as he becomes friends with Lord Henry and his values of life change him. Because Dorian was so naïve, Lord Henry lured Dorian into a whole new life and new philosophies about love, beauty and selfishness. This is not the only deep friendship that is developed in this book. Dorian also becomes friends with Basil Hallward and Basil paints a portrait of Dorian and Basil puts his whole heart into this painting for it to ultimately destroy himself and Dorian. Anyway, Dorian wishes that he could stay young all his life and always be beautiful. As he grows older Dorian does many terrible and shocking things but he still remains beautiful and untouched while his painting of himself shows the real nasty, terrible, and corrupted Dorian.
One part of the book that really captivated me is when Dorian murder's one of his good friends. I think this is one of the turning points in the book because I believe Dorian realizes that life shouldn't be based on the appearance of things but more about quality and spirit. Dorian understands that his lifestyle of upscale parties with London's elite, and his friendship with Lord Henry is not all that it seems to be. You can see that after Dorian murders someone he questions himself and the painting because he realizes what the painting has done to him. During the last pages of the book we can see how Dorian self-destructs and finds away to restore the painting of exquisite and youth.
This book was very different from anything I read and I loved it. I like how Oscar Wilde wrapped me into this book with many compelling and interesting thoughts. The main lessons I learned from this book is question your role models and to value your life. Another lesson I learned is to not worry about beauty because if we only pick things that are beautiful we miss the wonderful and mysterious things that don't look pretty but deep inside they are.

This book, which I read quite some time ago but will never cease to love, is a beautiful horror story. The language, the surroundings, even the characters, are gorgeous, but at the same time, everything about them is frightening, and even a little grotesque. Lord Henry is utterly cynical, continually saying things one can never be quite sure he means or is only saying. Dorian is corrupted and horrible, and yet at the same time, one almost thinks he may suddenly stop and try to turn back. Basil is one of the only pure characters in the book, and his devotion to Dorian is sweet, but at the same time, one just /knows/ it will will cause something bad to happen to him--as, ultimately, it does.

This book is a very satisfying read, although some people might be disturbed by the content, which is rather mature. Besides that, the homosexual subtext runs rampant waving a Dorian's picture. This may bother some people, although not yours truly. :)

Personally, I think it's excellent. If you liked Victor Hugo's style, but would rather not hear historic digressions; if you liked Crime and Punishment's moral conflicts, but were highly irritated by the happy ending; if you enjoyed The Invisible Man's supernatural circumstances but would have been satisfied without the scientific explanations, then go forth ye and read Picture of Dorian Gray. (...)

Basil, who up until now was a mediocre painter after meeting Dorian Gray a young Adonis, was inspired to create a masterpiece of which he puts himself into. Against Basil's wishes, Dorian Gray is influenced by Basil's friend Lord Henry. Dorian looks at his portrait and realizes that while the portrait will stay young forever, he will grow old; so Dorian makes a wish that if only he could stay young forever and the portrait can age.

At first Dorian does not realize his wishes been granted. He falls in love with a beautiful young actress who is every woman that Shakespeare ever wrote about. But once again due to Lord Henry's influence, he realizes that she's just a common girl.

Starting with absent-minded acts Dorian slowly sinks into debauchery. And with every new act his picture becomes more grotesque while Dorian stays is young and as innocent looking as the day his picture was painted.
What will become of Dorian?
What will become of Dorian's painting?
What would you do if you were Dorian?

Oscar Wilde paints a picture himself as he describes Dorian Gray's dilemma. And we as readers travel with Dorian as each decision is made. In some places in the story Oscar Wilde seems to drag on and on with detail; however we find that this detail is necessary to set the next scene.

Oscar Wilde himself led a risky life that lead to a jail sentence; is attitudes can be seen in the dialogues in this book.

The picture that figures so prominently in Oscar Wilde's novel contradicts not the aesthetic doctrine of art divorced from morality but its more extreme offshoot: that of living life as an expression of making art, free of moral considerations. For it is one thing to insist that "all art is quite useless"--that is, without overt moral value--and another to direct behaviour in the real world towards others according to a creed of misinterpreted Epicureanism, for sensation's sake only. Wilde warned of the necessity for morals in the real world as separate from any idea of morality driving art, even though in his own storied existence he sometimes crossed that boundary. His triumph lay in using an art form, the novel, to moralize, while refuting the idea that art should be driven by moral considerations; he critiqued excess while expounding aesthetics in art. The painting's existence reveals the dangerous consequences of blurring the distinction between art and life by its unflinching reflection of Dorian Gray's moral decay; it frees him to live immorally yet exacts its price in pangs of subordinated conscience. But the picture is supernatural in the Gothic sense, an artistic device created by Wilde to illustrate a moral. As a work of art within an art form, it influences--and is influenced by--Dorian's behaviour, essentially tying together perforce themes of art and life that need not ordinarily be so entwined in real life. Full of ironies and ironic statements, the novel's overall context offers a repudiation of the kind of extreme aestheticism that entails living life by artistic criteria. A big work.

I'm only 1/4 of the way through as I am reading 3 other books right now, but so far I find this to be a most wonderful book.