Questions

Summary:
What view point does Dorian shift to after being influenced by Lord Henry and the "yellow book"?
How is the portrait of Dorian connected to the real Dorian Gray?


Themes:
What is a major theme in The Picture of Dorian Gray?
What illustrates the corruption of Dorian's soul?


Character profiles:
What main flaw of Dorian's leads him into being drawn in by Lord Henry's persuasions?
What is the one fault that Dorian sees of Sibyl's that leads him to break her heart?

Journals:
Who is the most influential character in Dorian's life? How?
Why is Dorian overcome with the need to destroy the portrait?

Literary Elements:
How is dramatic irony demonstrated between the reader, Dorian, and the characters in the book?
What does the yellow book symbolize?

Literary Elements

• Dramatic Irony
• “‘Besides, what on earth could happen to you, Dorian? You have everything in the world that a man can want. There is no one who would not be delighted to change places with you.’” (215)
• Sir Geoffrey’s reassuring words to Dorian’s fears are ironic because the audience is fully aware of Dorian’s cruelty which contributed to Sibyl Vane’s suicide and led him to murder his good friend Basil Hallward. The horrific effect that this evil has on Dorian’s soul and conscience is revealed to the audience through the aging of Dorian’s portrait but is unknown to most characters in the novel including Sir Geoffrey.
• Paradox
• "It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” (39)
• Lord Henry is being upfront with Dorian warning him that his life won't be worth living once he loses his youth. His statement is a paradox because it seems contradictory but actually reveals truth. Everybody makes judgements of people within seconds of meeting them. It is in our nature to utilize information that is readily perceived. Anyone that says so otherwise is probably fooling themselves. 

• Symbolism
• "The whole book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it." (93)
• Lord Henry gives Dorian a copy of the yellow book as a gift. . The book becomes like holy scripture to Dorian, who buys nearly a dozen copies and bases his life and actions on it. The yellow book becomes the backbone of Dorian's life. He owns copies all bound in different colors to suit his mood at the time and he never sought to free himself from it. The poison of Harry had sunk into his brain and could not be cured just as Dorian couldn't free himself from the yellow book. The yellow book is an important symbol in The Picture of Dorian Gray. It represents the profound and damaging influence that Harry has over Dorian and serves as a warning to those who would surrender themselves so completely to such an influence as Harry.

• "When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart." (Chapter 20)
• The portrait of Dorian is in reality a reflection of his inner beauty. However, while he becomes obsessed with keeping his youthful appearance, he will do anything to have it so. Thus, the picture becomes uglier after every crime he commits. The portrait has an influence on Dorian because it constantly acts as a reminder of the evil in his soul. It isn't until Dorian dies that the portrait is restored to it's former beauty. The portrait is a symbol of the immoralities that become apparent in individuals who are quickly swept into the conformity of society. 

The Journal of Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 1

You would not think that sitting while someone paints a portrait of you is hard work, but let me assure you it is! Basil makes me model day in and day out for his stupid paintings. It was not even worth it because when I finally saw the painting I realized that as I age and lose my beauty (even though it is hard to believe I could be unattractive) the portrait will forever remain young. Oh how I wish the painting would age instead of me. Yet as Basil went to destroy the work of art something made me stop him. I'll just hang it in the corner of my room. At least its a flattering angle. 

Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 8

Oh tonight was awful!! I told Sibyl I loved her and wanted to marry her and then she goes on stage and preforms horribly. How could she embarass me like that?!?! After that I realized I never really loved her. Just her acting. Without it she is nothing to me!! I could not help but to blow up at the silly girl. 

There is something different about the painting. I mean I still look beautiful (duh), but there seems to be something off with its smile. Maybe it is just because I am so worked up. Hmm. I suppose I was a bit harsh on Sibyl. I will apologize to her in morning. 

Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 9

Dear lord the portrait looks even worse this morning!

Sibyl is dead. She killed herself. At first I was upset and felt awful, but after talking to Henry I realize that the only thing there is to do it put it behind me and continue to enjoy my life. More importantly I went to a fantastic opera tonight! I thought it best to stay it home and mourn Sibyl's death, but the more that I think about it I deserve to live a crazy life of fun, sin, and eternal youth. The portrait can have my old age and worries because I most certainly will not!

I've decided to move the painting to a secluded room somewhere else in the house because I do not want other people seeing this nasty look it seems to have now.

Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 6579 (Eighteen Years Later)

I completely forgot about this old journal! So much has happened since the last time I wrote I do not even know where to start, so I will just write down the gist of it. Lord Henry gave me this fantastic book that totally changed my view on the world! It has been like a bible to me!! I have been living only for life's pleasures no matter what the sin is. Who cares?! Right? Life has been great, but the only downfall is that people are gossiping about me and the portrait seems to become uglier every day. Over these past eighteen years though I have not even aged a day!! Basil is on his way over, I wonder what he wants. 

Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 6593

Oh my goodness I have made some horrible mistakes recently. I murdered Basil! Yes it was me who murdered him, but I just can not bring myself to confess!! Sibyl's brother James Vane has ran me out to the countryside where I now reside. I need to turn my life around. The painting has become completely old, disgusting, and awful. 

Last night I could of taken advantage of this silly, vulnerable farm girl, but I have committed to being a better person so I chose not to. I hope that my kind act will cause the painting to regain some of its original beauty. I am going to return home and check on it now. 

Dorian Gray

The Portrait- Day 6594

Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy!! That is all I am and that is all this wretched portrait it. I can not take it anymore! I am done. The only left to do is destroy it!

Dorian Gray

Character Profiles

Character Profiles

Dorian Gray:

In the beginning of the novel Dorian is portrayed as simply the beautiful, pleasant young man that Basil Hallward has made his new inspiration for his art. However, once he meets Lord Henry he proves to be naïve and easy to manipulate. After just one conversation with Lord Henry, Dorian decides that he is terrified of the day that he no longer has his youth and beauty. Throughout the novel Dorian is convinced that Lord Henry's ideas about pleasure seeking and little to no regards for morals are the best guidelines for life. His extreme vanity and shallowness make him a very easy target for Lord Henry's manipulative ways. His love is even proved to be purely based on vanity when he falls in love with a beautiful actress named Sibyl Vane. Once he discovers a single flaw in the young lady, he breaks her heart causing her to commit suicide. When Dorian hears the news of the death of his loved one he has a fleeting moment of regret and guilt but quickly decides that her actions were a great and artistic sacrifice to Dorian himself. This marks the beginning of Dorian’s decent into corruption. Dorian continues to do as he pleases and his sins just get worse and worse. Eventually, he snaps and kills his good friend Basil. After this horrific event Dorian is driven mad by guilt.  

 Lord Henry Watton:

                Lord Henry is a man blessed with the gifts of charm and wit. He uses these talents for his own benefit to corrupt and persuade others. His opinions on every aspect of life are radical. He is a pleasure seeking, self-proclaimed hedonist who does not fully understand the effects that his philosophy can have on the human soul considering he never leads anyone into suicide or murders one of his close friends. Lord Henry spends the entire novel putting ideas and theories into Dorian’s head that lead to his transition over the course of time. Throughout the entire novel, Lord Henry’s character remains relatively unchanged while Dorian and Basil go through dramatic alterations.  

Basil Hallward:

The opening chapter of this novel begins with Basil expressing his deep appreciation and admiration of a young man named Dorian. Basil’s complete view on art has been transformed because of Dorian’s beauty and presence. He does not even want to exhibit his portrait of Dorian at first because he is afraid he’s put too much of himself into it. He’s afraid that everyone would be able to see his idolatry for Dorian if they were to examine the painting closely. He later changes his mind and explains that art is purely based on the abstract not on emotion. Even after this realization though, his emotional investment in Dorian remains constant throughout the novel even when their relationship is clearly over. This concern and protective nature eventually leads him to his untimely death.

 

Sibyl Vane:

Dorian instantly falls madly in love with Sibyl Vane as soon as he sees her acting in the play, “Romeo and Juliet” for the first time. She is young and beautiful and soon has Dorian proposing to her. However, as soon as she finds real love with Dorian she loses her ability to act and claims that she cannot fake love someone for the play when she is really in love with Dorian.

James Vane:

                James Vane is Sibyl’s younger brother who is about to set sail to make money for the family in Australia. He is very protective of his sister and is skeptical about Dorian. James vows that if Dorian ever did anything to hurt his little sister that he would hunt Dorian down and kill him.

Mrs. Vane:

                Sibyl’s mother who is introduced as Mrs. Vane was an actress when she was younger just like Sibyl. She loves Sibyl but instead of being concerned about her relationship with Dorian like James is, she thinks it will be an advantageous union for her daughter because Dorian seems to be a gentleman with money.

Themes

Themes of Dorian Gray 

Vanity

A big theme in the Picture of Dorian Gray is that of vanity. Lord Henry is extremely vain believing that his beliefs are superior to others. He is also obsessed with beauty believing it is the most important thing defining a person. At the beginning of the book, Dorian Gray was aware of his beauty but didn't focus on it. However, when Basil used him in all of his paintings and praised him constantly he started to realize his attractiveness. This realization is enhanced when he meets Lord Henry who praises him without fail every time he sees him. Dorian buys into the belief that beauty is everything by wishing he would stay young and beautiful forever while the portrait ages.    

Power of Influence

The power of influence is another major theme in this book. Wilde develops a character who is young and relatively innocent in the world. Dorian Gray is trying to figure out life and the people he hangs around make a huge difference in the way he approaches his life. He begins by getting influenced by Basil learning his beauty and becoming aware of its importance in society. The biggest influence on Dorian Gray throughout the book is that of Lord Henry. Lord Henry takes Dorian "under his wing" and decides to do a psychological experiment seeing how he could morph Dorian to be the person he wanted. This was very effective as Dorian continually changes his own beliefs and morals whenever they differ from Lord Henry. This highlights how important it is to associate yourself with people who have similar views as you. 

Corruption of the Soul 

Another theme in the book is the corruption of the soul. Dorian Gray begins the book as innocent and perfect as reflected in the portrait that Basil paints for him. This portrait is then used for the remainder of the book as a mirror into Dorian's soul. His first major sin, his rejection of Sibyl Vane, is reflected as only a smidge of cruelty in the mouth of the portrait. As the book progresses and Dorian's soul becomes more corrupted the painting also deteriorates. Dorian is so disgusted that he locks it in a room and won't allow anyone to see it. When he finally shows Basil, he ends up killing him and this is reflected as blood dripping from the hands of the painting. Wilde's interesting perspective of being able to look into ones own soul is intriguing and makes you wonder what you would do if you could see the corruption of your soul. 

Outer vs. Inner Beauty

The last theme to discuss is the difference between outer and inner beauty. Of course Lord Henry believes the only thing that matters is what you look like on the outside. Basil however is a polar opposite who, though he appreciates outward appearance, also realizes the importance of inner beauty and the soul. Wilde criticizes society's infatuation with outward appearance and expresses that when youth is gone, whats left is what really defines you. 

Summary

The Picture of Dorian Gray begins in Basil Hallward's studio with Lord Henry, Basil's friend, and Basil himself. Basil is finishing his newest portrait, which, according to Lord Henry, is Basil's best creation and should be viewed by everyone. Basil rejects this and is determine to keep the subject and painting a secret from the world. The portrait is of a perfect, innocent, young boy named Dorian Gray. Due to Dorian's innocence, Basil refuses to let Lord Henry meet him for fear of corrupting Dorian's view of the world. However, Dorian visits, and Basil is unable to shield Dorian from falling under Lord Henry's influence. Lord Henry begins to treat Dorian like an experiment, and implants the idea of hedonism into Dorian's view of the world. Due to this perspective, Dorian trades his soul to stay forever young like the portrait of himself that Basil gifted him. This deal causes the portrait to become a doppelgänger of Dorian that ages with his corrupting soul, while the real Dorian stays young and beautiful to the rest of the world. 

While searching for pleasures in life, Dorian comes across a young and talented actress, Sybil Vane, that he instantly falls in love with. Soon after meeting Sybil, they become engaged, causing Sybil to no longer be able to act due to her new found knowledge of true love. Dorian is in disgust over Sybil's performance and that he ends the relationship. Later, Dorian notices his portrait has begun to morph with his cruelty, but Dorian himself has yet to change. Just as Dorian decides to take Sybil back to preserve his beauty, she commits suicide. At first Dorian feels as though it is his fault, but changes tunes as he focuses on the pleasures of the world and visits the opera that evening. 

For fear of visitors wanting to see his portrait, such as Basil, Dorian hides the painting behind a locked door, and diverts his attention to the "yellow book" Lord Henry sends him. For the next couple years, this book becomes a guide for Dorian's self centered and corrupted lifestyle. This change in Dorian's soul is viewable on the hideous aging portrait of Dorian that he keeps locked away from everyone but himself. To the rest of the world, Dorian's beauty has yet to faltered from its perfection, causing society to want to strive to be like him. However, due to the lives that he has ruined over the years, Dorian's reputation is no longer innocent like it once was. When Dorian is 38, Basil visits before leaving England to see if the rumors he has heard are true. Dorian decides to show Basil his secret, the hidden portrait of his true soul. Horrified, Basil asks Dorian to repent from his evils. Instead, Dorian embraces his evil, stabs Basil, killing him, and then blackmails his former friend Alan Campbell to get rid of the body. 
While going to buy opium, Dorian meets Sybil's brother James who is out for revenge on Dorian for causing the suicide of his sister. Due to his ability to not age, Dorian is able to escape James during their first encounter. James continues his mission, but gets killed in the crosshairs of a hunting accident. Free from death, Dorian is determined to be good again. In order to prove it he lets a girl he likes go in order to not corrupt her. While telling his plan of being good to Lord Henry, Dorian almost admits to killing Basil, yet Lord Henry does not believe him on both accounts. 

Upon seeing his beauty in the mirror, Dorian breaks the mirror and promises to start being good again. However, his soul purpose behind the good deeds is to cause he painting to be beautiful again. When this does not work, Dorian takes the same knife he used to kill Basil and slashes the painting. Due to the fact that the portrait is really Dorian's soul, as Dorian stabs the painting, he kills himself. After a loud crash, Dorian's servants break down the door, and see a hideous old man on the ground with a knife in his heart next to Basil's beautiful portrait of Dorian. The man is later identified as Dorian by the rings on his fingers.