{"id":431692,"date":"2018-03-26T12:47:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essaypaper.org\/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-essay-sample-blog\/"},"modified":"2018-10-24T08:53:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T08:53:15","slug":"the-picture-of-dorian-gray-essay-sample-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-essay-sample-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Sample | Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"The<\/p>\n

We have prepared a \u201c<\/span>The Picture of<\/span> Dorian Gray\u201d essay<\/span> for you. As an English writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Oscar Wilde, in his intellectual novel, \u201cThe Portrait of Dorian Gray,\u201d raises rather complicated philosophical, aesthetic, and moral problems, pondering the relationship and role of beauty and morality in the life of the individual. In Wilde\u2019s novel, there is a mention of the \u201cpoison book\u201d that influenced the protagonist so much and pushed him to an immoral way of life, justifying vices. Therefore, perhaps, \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d is also such a book, as claimed by many of the contemporaries of Wilde. <\/span><\/p>\n

There can be arguments for and against this statement. By absolutizing beauty, art, showing the attractiveness of vice, and the bohemian life, the author evokes envy, the desire to imitate, to \u201ctry everything.\u201d Therefore, the book is \u201cimmoral.\u201d Releasing the beauty of morality, the author shows how such a release affects a person. The portrait is paid to Gray\u2019s deeds \u2013 the personification of the soul of the hero. The dirtier the deeds, the more disgusting the soul becomes. In the end, they die together. To know what path Dorian Gray has passed to self-destruction, check out our \u201c<\/span>The Picture<\/span> Dorian Gray\u201d essay<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Can beauty be treated as moral or immoral in \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray?| What path has the Dorian Gray passed to self-destruction?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oscar Wilde\u2019s \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d raises a question concerning the balance between the concepts such as morality, beauty, and the narcissism. Not only does this particular work of Wilde questions the necessity of the coexistence of those ideas, but it is observing a relevant issue of the ability to harmoniously combine them in the human nature. The personality of Dorian Grey consists of the goodwill carefully hidden under the desire to fulfill the never-ending need of the pleasure. Wilde\u2019s vision of spirituality and righteousness in \u201cThe Picture\u2026\u201d can be interpreted as the obligation to re-establish the balance between the ethics and aesthetics, and refuse to acknowledge the fact that they are mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n

The coexistence of two different concepts, that is, ethical decisions and the desire to live a joyful life, in Dorian Gray himself, may be observed as Wilde\u2019s attempt to examine two most contradictory ideological ideas: the human soul which is driven solely by its desire to procreate and reach the most comfortable being, and the soul which is driven by the pure spirituality. Carroll states, that this particular assumption can be interpreted as follows: \u201cChristianity and Darwinism share certain concepts of the human moral and social character, but they couch those concepts in different idioms, and they would invoke wholly different causal explanations for how human nature came to be the way it is\u201d (Carroll 2). The author is incorporating two different understandings of the soul into his analysis of Wilde\u2019s work. He also claims that Wilde did not use the language (Carroll 2), specific to those theories in his works, but he inevitably developed an idea of the human, whose existence is defined by concepts such as both beauty of the soul and the beauty of one\u2019s appearance. The portrait of Dorian Gray, made by a painter Basil Hallward is an embodiment of the idea of the spoiled spirituality, an example of what may happen to a person if he or she would not choose the righteous path. The main idea of Christianity, which is that a person will always be punished for the improper behavior, is expressed by Wilde in this symbolic element. Additionally, the Darwinism (Carroll uses this term not in order to claim that the \u201cPicture\u2026\u201d actually reflects the ideas of this doctrine, but to define the most suitable opposition to the values of the Christianity) is described in the Grey himself, mainly because he has some narcissistic needs and immediately tries to fulfill them, not bothering with the damage that they might do to his troubled soul.<\/p>\n

Wilde\u2019s novel reflects the idea of instability and the relatability of morality. As the views of the concepts are likely to change continuously, Gray sees this issue as something not worth being taken into account. The particular episode of \u201cThe Picture\u2026\u201d supports the previously stated point: Gray questions the morality and the divinity-driven existence of a person: \u201cModern morality consists in accepting the standard of one\u2019s age. I consider that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest immorality\u201d (Wilde). The character is expressing the thought that the morality is a relatable idea, which can only exist in the particular context. Wilde disagreed with the point when made Dorian to destroy the portrait to end the ongoing corruption of his soul, which ended up for him in the actual death. The author is making a point that ethics and aesthetics should not be mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n

Aestheticism can only be beneficial when accompanied by the morally acceptable behavior. Duggan states that \u201cRather than an advocate for pure aestheticism, then, Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale in which Wilde illustrates the dangers of the aesthetic philosophy when not practiced with prudence\u201d (Duggan 62). There was previously stated, that Dorian Gray\u2019s path reflects the impossibility to avoid the punishment for choosing the life full of pleasure over the righteousness. Wilde also seems to support the point. He suggests that art and aestheticism, which both were cherished by the fin-de-si\u00e8cle philosophy (Duggan 61), are undervaluing the morality, and, conclusively, should not be acceptable for a human being. \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d shows the peculiarities of the moral corruption of the time, and emphasizes the importance of being fully responsible for the self-destruction. The main character, Dorian Grey, can be observed as a typical fin-de-si\u00e8cle-personality, who has successfully ruined the sanctity of the moral values. Manganiello states that this person can be described as the one who has to cope with \u201cthe consequences of substituting an aesthetic for an ethical conscience\u201d (Manganiello 25). When Dorian Gray literally kills his portrait, and makes the transition from the being an embodiment of the pure beauty to the complete ugliness (which seems to reflect the consequences of his life choices), it becomes clear, that Wilde\u2019s work carries a clear moral message to the reader concerning the importance of the righteousness.<\/p>\n

So, Wilde\u2019s \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d is criticizing the most vicious flaw of his time: cherishing the beauty of the appearance regardless of receiving punishment for the sinful and morally unacceptable behavior. The primary idea of the novel can be interpreted as follows: the cherishing of the aestheticism has advanced to the state when one cannot observe the consequences of the self-destruction. Wilde does not deny the necessity of the joy, nor does he states that the beauty and the moral values are mutually exclusive. When creating the Dorian Gray\u2019s character, he was criticizing the eagerness of the fin-de-si\u00e8cle philosophy to deny the possibility of the harmonious coexistence of the morality and joyful living.<\/p>\n

As it was previously mentioned, Dorian Gray\u2019s personality can be examined as the reflection of the two contradictory doctrines: Darwinism and Christianity. The author created a picture of both instincts-driven person and the one that is following the divine and moral guidelines. The main character of Wilde reflected those views, and was eager to satisfy all his desires, regardless of the consequences. Wilde sees it as the significant flaw of his time, as in the cherishing of the beauty there is a great ugliness, which the author tries to point out. The understanding of the morality as a relatable and unstable concept is a way to refuse the ethics completely and substitute it with aesthetics. \u201cThe Portrait of Dorian Gray\u201d explores the peculiarities of the spoiled soul, which chose a life path full of momentous joy and pleasure. The ending of the novel can be interpreted as Wilde\u2019s way to express his disagreement with the point that was stated earlier by Dorian Gray concerning the obsolete morality. Wilde\u2019s \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d observes morality as the way to keep the balance between ethics and aesthetics.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Carroll, Joseph. \u201cAestheticism, Homoeroticism, and Christian Guilt in The Picture of Dorian Gray.\u201d Philosophy and Literature, vol. 29, no. 2, 2005, pp. 286\u2013304., doi:10.1353\/phl.2005.0018.<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Duggan, Patrick. \u201cThe Conflict Between Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde\u2019s The Picture of Dorian Gray.\u201d Art and Sciences Writing Program, www.bu.edu\/writingprogram\/journal\/past-issues\/issue-1\/duggan\/.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Manganiello, Dominic. \u201cEthics and Aesthetics in \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray.\u201d The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, vol. 9, no. 2, Dec. 1983, pp. 25\u201333.<\/em>
    Wilde, Oscar. \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray.\u201d Https:\/\/Www.gutenberg.org\/Files\/174\/174-h\/174-H.htm.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you like this sample, check out also other literature samples like this Paradise Lost Essay Sample. If you can\u2019t write essays on your own, leave it to WriteMyEssayOnline<\/strong>. Notice that our writers can deal with any type of paper.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We have prepared a \u201cThe Picture of Dorian Gray\u201d essay for you. As an English writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Oscar Wilde, in his intellectual novel, \u201cThe Portrait of Dorian Gray,\u201d raises rather complicated philosophical, aesthetic, Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-431692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-samples","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}