...The Picture of Dorian Gray: Plot Analysis The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a fiction novel that tells about a man who goes through many trials and tribulations that test his sanity. The novel takes place in the late 19th century which is considered to be the Victorian era. The Victorian era was an era of great judgement and it really depended on your social class whether or not you would get treated with high regards. The contrast between middle-class society and the sins of the wealthy corrupted upper class played a huge role in the novel. Dorian Gray was considered to be of the higher class, therefore, he struggled with the madness that came with it. Dorian Gray was beautiful. So beautiful that Wilde made a point to explain to the reader how beautiful and good-looking he was. “Yes, he was certainly wonderfully handsome, with his finely-curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes, his crisp gold hair” (Wilde 11). Not only was Dorian Gray well respected, but he was quite the man to look at and everyone admired him. However, Dorian Gray had some of his own demons to battle with his quest to stay forever young. Having this impossible and selfish wish comes him transforming from a gorgeous innocent pure soul, to a full developed maniac. To continue, like many other novels, there’s other characters that have a great impact towards the main character. Lord Henry is the definition of a bad influence that impacted Dorian Gray. Dorian Gray does not have any parents because...
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...Steven Miller April 9, 2013 Professor Thiele Intro to Fiction Sexuality in The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray alludes to homosexuality throughout the entirety of the novel. While homosexual relations between the characters are not directly discussed, the context and conversations between the characters points to homosexual relations between all of the male characters. Oscar Wilde, himself, was part of the Decadents movement at the end of the Victorian period. Decadents are known for undermining the mainstream Victorian ideals. There has been a significant change in society’s morals since the publication of the novel in 1891. A person reading The Picture of Dorian Gray in today’s culture may see nothing wrong about the context of the novel or the relationships between the characters within it but, at the time of publication, it was seen by society as an immoral book and even used in the trial against Oscar Wilde that resulted in two years imprisonment and hard labor. I will argue that using the characters of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton, and Basil Hallward, Oscar Wilde supports the common Decadents belief that open sexuality in mainstream Victorian culture would make for a better, happier society. From the very beginning of the novel, homosexual relations are apparent through the conversation about Dorian Gray between Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. As Lord Henry questions Basil about the mysterious person in his painting, Basil’s odd obsession...
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...The novel, A picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde, glorifies one’s conforming to society that Lord Henry had laid out for them so much that the “rebels” who do not adapt to the social standards, are eventually lead to their downfall. As long as they don’t mix their inner thoughts or feelings into their perfectly molded social lives, there is no problem. However, as soon as the two intersect, they are doomed. This idea is presented many times throughout the book with various characters ultimately ending with Dorian himself. This notion of social conformity goes beyond just the book- the whole book to the Victorian’s was insane and in no way an act of conformity, an idea that was also glorified greatly in their society. Lord Henry is the...
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...Rocky Horror Picture Show This production is based on rather mature themes, and therefore has a dash of provacative display of conduct. Although it does not include any direct nakedness,it is a pretty kinky ensemble. In this bizarre, outlandish performance there is singing and dancing done by aliens, a virtuous young couple, a transvestite from Transylvania , and his muscle man. Both science fiction and horror are correspondingly integrated, creating an unusually entertaining show. The Rocky Horror musical is about an affianced couple (Brad Majors and Jane Weiss) that get stuck in a thunder storm while driving. They then stumble upon the mansion of a peculiar transvestite scientist named Frank N. Furter, where they are addressed...
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...In the two passages from Dorian Gray, Lord Henry seems to give off this mysterious and romantic tone. His tone was mysterious and somewhat romantic and he was able to change his view of Dorian despite his past into a romance story of some sort. The way the passage was said affected the meaning in the sense that it made Dorian Gray seem to have an even bigger interest in Lord Henry, but it still kept whether Lord Henry feels the same a mystery. It even made Dorian seem like he was hypnotized and just sat there gazing at Lord Henry while he spoke. A quote that shows this “Dorian Gray never took his gaze off him, but sat like one under a spell” (38-9). With this, the reader is never completely sure whether or not Lord Henry feels this obsession...
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...To give an insight into society and humanity whilst still being aesthetically interesting and thought provoking is a feat that only the best of classic literature can accomplish. Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1897) and The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (1893) are such novels and they both reveal different aspects of life in the Victorian era. Whilst Stoker’s writing affirms the ideas of British supremacy in technology as well as the fear of foreigners, Wilde’s writing sheds light on the superficial nature and decaying morals of people in the era. With the aid of language techniques such as imagery, descriptive language and gothic style both texts are an aesthetic read and provoke thought as they both subvert ideas readers may already have...
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...Mayorga 1 Shirley Mayorga Mrs. Conlon ENG4U January 6 2012 The Power and Destruction of Vain Pursuits in the Picture of Dorian Gray “In fact, despite his power of rationalization and the continuing influence of Henry. Dorian is increasingly disturbed by doubts about his moral freedom and stung by the pangs of the conscience that will not die” (Liebman 10). Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is centered upon the effects of liberty of the soul and degradation that results from it. If one chooses to always act on inner desires and passions, ignoring ethical values, one’s life will be destroyed by vain pursuits. Dorian Gray a wealthy young man has been challenged to “embark upon a hedonistic life, after having feared it for so long, developing every intellectual, aesthetic and sensual appetite to the utmost. Despite the look of his innocent beauty...”(Magill Book Reviews 1) Dorian becomes very vain with the pursuit to simply fulfill his desperate desires without looking into the ethical importance of his actions and thus becomes hopeless and defenceless to his own desires. When one becomes aware of the fear to venture in life, one will pursue to fulfill every incomplete/unfulfilled passion without limits. This in turn leads to an amoral representation of one’s life. For once in his life, Dorian Gray was inspired. He was woken up to a world of freedom. Lord Henry Wotton opened his eyes to a world of hedonism...
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...At Warehouse Theater, in downtown Greenville, South Carolina, I saw a production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, it is a very interesting experience. Bear in mind, I am not a virgin. This showing the cast did a little something different. No virgins were pulled up on stage in this “tradition” but, the “Time Warp” was still demonstrated at the beginning of the show. Rocky Horror is a show like no other. It is about a transvestite, who happens to live in a castle. A recently engaged couple is out on a drive, when their car unexpectedly catches a flat. All they need is a phone, in order to call for a tow truck, and lucky for them there is a castle they passed just down the road. However, it is raining and they begin to panic. They finally reach the castle. Unfortunately for...
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...I want to bring up a theme that I noticed from the beginning of the book to the end of the book; the use of the color white. Dorian's direction from a figure of innocence to a figure of degradation can be seen by Wilde's utilization of the color white. White ordinarily represents purity and innocence, as it does when Dorian is first presented. It is in fact "the white purity" of Dorian's childhood that Lord Henry finds so dazzling. Also Basil conjures whiteness when he discovers that Dorian has gave his innocence, and, as the artist looks at the ruined painting, he cites a scriptural verse from the Book of Isaiah: "Though your sins be as scarlet, yet I will make them as white as snow." But the times of Dorian's blamelessness are finished. It...
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...Pictures: When families move to a new country, they are often confronted with a new culture. For the grown-ups this can be exciting to meet a new alternative world other than the one they are used to. But the children on the other hand, often experience the upheaval to be much harder than their parents. Where the parents have a strong anchorage in their old culture and religion, the children have not learnt much about their culture and their religion, which makes it more likely for them to be manipulated. When they are growing up in a society which teaches them one culture with one set of norms and at home they learn another where they have to behave and appear different. This is what the story pictures is about: The story is written by a Pakistani woman; Rahina Khan, and it takes place in the 50’s in a town in England. The story is about the girl Amina. Amina goes to a school where there appears to be mostly British students. This conclusion comes from the fact that they draw pictures from the Christian bible, and that the teacher does not know that Amina is not allowed to draw pictures from the bible. Amina is a young Muslim girl. A guess is that she is around eight years old, based on the facts that she does not know that she is not allowed to draw the Jesus child and they apparently spend a lot of time drawing in her school, so she is probably going in 2’nd grade or so. Amina lives with both her parents in the back room of their shop, where she spends most...
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...Using Focal Points in Photography by Darren Rowse 20 del.icio.us Twitter StumbleUpon Digg [pic][pic][pic]Image by H@Ru Next time you take your digital camera out and line it up for a shot pause before you press the shutter button and ask yourself: “What is the Focal Point in this Picture?” Some other ways to ask the same question might include - What is the central point of interest? What will draw the eye of the viewers of this picture? What in this image will make it stand out from others? What is my subject? The reason a focal point is important is that when you look at an image your eye will generally need a ‘resting place’ or something of interest to really hold it. Without it you’ll find people will simply glance at your shots and then move on to the next one. Once you’ve identified a point of interest or focal point you then should ask yourself how you can enhance it. 6 Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an Image A focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better - but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including: • Position - Place it in a prominent position - you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas. • Focus - Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point. • Blur - If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower...
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...named Vivian to set out a series of doctrines which detail his personal philosophy on the relationship that exists between art and life, and the rolls that they should play. Chiefly these are: art should only express itself, expressing life and nature makes for bad art, life imitates art more than art imitates life, and that lying is the true aim of art . When applied to his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray these doctrines add an extra layer of meaning to the themes already presented, and this allows for a greater level of understanding. There are several instances during the narrative of the novel which show a relationship between the roles of art and life, and the ways in which they are separated, combined, and reversed. Understanding the theories set out by Vivian helps with comprehending the relationship between Dorian and his portrait, as well as with his friends Lord Henry and Basil Hallward. The Decay of Lying is presented as a slightly confusing and seemingly contradictory essay on the relationship between art and life which treads the border between being sincere and ironic, while The Picture of Dorian Gray is a metaphor infused novel which blurs the lines between art and life as actively as it seeks to separate them. Both writings leave room for speculation regarding their interpretations, be they the more obvious meanings or their ironic opposites. This is entirely suitable for an essay which aims to bring back the art of lying and the beauty of untruth. The inconsistency...
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...Pictures In the short story ''Pictures'', which is written by an unknown Pakistani Woman, we meet some of the difficulties with a multicultural society. The story takes place in an English town in the 1950s where unfamiliar religions still are a new phenomenon. A little, black girl called Amina does not understand that people act different on the grounds of their background and religion. ''Pictures'' shows the reader how people can be racially abusive and discriminatorily against people with other cultures. But can people change and develop so they become accommodating towards new cultures and religions? The story takes place in an English town in the 1950s. The name of the town is not mentioned because it is not important information. The xenophobia is namely the same all over the English country in the 1950s, so the writer does not have to tell the exact town to come out with her message. The plot in the text is distributed onto Amina's home and her school. She lives at the back of the shop in which her parents work every day and own. A large part of the text is also set in the school where Amina draws her pictures. The writer uses the school with its teacher and pupils as a comparison, so she can put the foreigner, Amina, up against the English people. In this way, the writer makes her message clearer. Amina is a Pakistani girl, who lives with her poor parents in England. She goes to an ordinary school where they one day have to draw paintings of Mary and baby Jesus. Amina...
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...Pictures Culture and religion were not necessarily major themes over sixty years ago, when this short story ‘’Pictures’’ took place, but it is certainly a major theme today, as there still seems to be problems with culture and religion. These problems are mainly caused by cultural clashes or racism. The world has changed very much in the past sixty years and people have become more aware of these major differences between cultures and religions. How the things are described in ‘’Pictures’’ would probably never have happened today, as teachers today have become more well-informed, educated and enlightened. It is the development of the multicultural society that forced us to become more aware. Racism is usually caused by ignorance or the fear of the unknown. This is represented by the teacher. She does not understand or accept why Amina would paint Mary and the child Jesus with dark skin. It is hard to tell whether the teacher tries to protect her job, and is not really racist, or that she is trying to make up for her mistake, of letting Amina down and not letting Amina put her picture on the wall in the classroom. We know that the mistake was rejecting the picture, but the question is why was it a mistake? Was it because she did not allow Amina to express herself artistically, or was it simply because in a white skinned dominated society a middle eastern complexioned mother and child just didn’t fit into the norm. The teacher could have been worried that other students and...
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...------------------------------------------------- College History... Ladies College Colombo was founded as a self supporting institution in 1900 by Liiian Nixon from Ireland and Ms Elizabeth Whitney from Canada at the behest of the Church Missionary Society. The history of the school is woven round the seven principals of the college who were responsible for its founding, expansion and ethos. There is no doubt it was due to their Christian faith and commitment that Ladies College grew from a rented bungalow in Slave Island with two students to what it is today... Quoting Ladies' College 1900-2000 Several issues fascinated us. …… How a Christian Missionary school like Ladies’ College, established in 1900 within a colonial ethos, adapted itself to the social, cultural, and economic changes that were ushered in with independence in 1947? How did the school come to terms with the subsequent shifts in educational policy by successive governments especially during the second half of the last century? How did the school cope with such dramatic changes and do so while still remaining geared to the national system of education? How did Ladies’ College not only survive for a period of a hundred years, but grow from strength to strength? Lilian Nixon BA Cert. Ed Principal (1900 - 1914). | At Ladies' College Cheltenham Lilian Nixon came under the influence of its famous Principal Dorothea Beale who brought to the realm of women’s education a vision and determination that had...
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