By Oscar Wilde
The controversial poet and playwright Oscar Wilde published only one novel. Dorian Gray is an unusually handsome youth, wealthy, orphaned and innocent. One day he has his portrait painted and, upon viewing it, wishes he could always retain his youthful appearance.
Dorian comes under the influence of a corrupt friend, Lord Henry, who steers the malleable young man towards bad company, nasty literature, and opium. It doesn't take long before Dorian loses his innocence. Upon noticing his portrait, he sees that the mouth has an ugly grimace. He offends a woman who has given her heart to him; he hurts the kindly family friend, Basil Hallward, who painted his portrait. Both end up losing their lives, but Dorian is indifferent. Through it all, his appearance never changes - but his portrait, now hidden in an attic room - grows ever more hideous. His wish has come true. Like the gilded age of the novel, Dorian looks respectable on the outside, while the hidden, inner man grows ever more selfish, malicious, and corrupt.
One message I take away is that's it's never wise to judge a book by its cover. It's what's inside a person that truly defines the person and, in Dorian's case, his heart turned from kindness to malice.
No comments:
Post a Comment